In 1938, M. Hannigan, 9, along with 4 other boys from St. Joseph's Home, Enfield, England, in a combined group of 37 boys from various Catholic orphanages throughout England and under the auspices of Nazareth House, Stoke Bishop, England, arrived at Perth, Australia, en route to an Agricultural School run by the Christian Broth­ers at Tardun, Australia.

Michael wrote on the Blaisdon Hall Old Boys website:
r n"We were housed in one of the homes run by the Christian Brothers for a week awaiting the arrival of a second boat, RMS "ORTRANTO", carrying a further 31 boys which docked on 16th August 1938. These boys, also, had been accompanied by two Sisters of Nazareth.
r n"The contingent of 68 boys, mainly 7-11 years old, the four Nuns and several Brothers embarked on a steam train for a 300 mile journey north of Perth to the Agricultural School run by the Christian Brothers which was the basis of the "scheme" under which we had been sent to Australia. The governments of the UK and Australia had agreed with the Catholic Church to send young boys chosen from among it's orphanages to Western Australia into the care of the Christian Brothers. The boys were to be educated and trained in the hope that many would take up farming and settle on the land.
r n"On leaving Perth we were soon into the vast and sparsely populated bush land which got even more desolate with every mile. Eventually we arrived at a small railway siding called Tardun - just a small general store no platform or shelter - to be met by three trucks. We clambered aboard and travelled a further 10 miles into the bush, to suddenly come upon what was to be our home for the next six to ten years!
r n"Since departing England in July we were on a high - so much had happened. New sights and experiences, new friends made among the boys, we had been feted and fussed over on arrival at Fremantle and had a 300 mile train trip! Reality wasn't long in coming however.
r n...
r n"1941 was important not only because 10 of us successfully passed the end of year exams for grade 10, but we were to lose the Nuns who had accompanied us from England. They went to Geraldton - a seaport and rail terminal 100 miles west - to operate a brand new institution specially built for orphaned girls, who had also been sent out from England. Four Nuns from the Presentation Order from Geraldton replaced them.
r n"Another type of work we did was quarrying for granite stones that were used to build the outer walls of a beautiful two- storied Convent built during the first year. At times we had to use gelignite for blasting. The larger suitable stones were loaded onto horse drawn drays and carted to the site. The rest was put through a mechanical crusher and reduced to aggregate for concrete.
r n"Memories of the first summer bring back a funny incident. I was riding in a truck with a Brother inspecting a fence line - it was very hot. In the distance I could see a lake. After a while we stopped and the Brother handed me a can and told me to get some water for the radiator that had begun to steam. I set off willingly at a brisk pace and had been walking for some time but did not appear to be getting any closer to the lake. After about 20 minutes the truck pulled up beside me, and the grinning driver told me to hop back on board. When he had finished laughing he explained I had been chasing a mirage!
r n"1942 was an interesting year - our fourth. Four of the older and stronger of our special class commenced full-time work on farm duties. The Brothers were unsure what to do with the remaining six so for a full year we marked time, and although we continued school we had no formal syllabus and were not preparing for exams. I remember we had a lot of fun with chemical experiments and spent a lot of time away from our desks.
r n"1942 was also a year of some upheaval. Although we had experienced little evidence of the war, being so isolated, the first week of