Former British child migrants are demanding King Charles III intervene after a "disgusting" compensation offer for abuse suffered at Australia's notorious Fairbridge farm schools.
Administrators for UK company Fairbridge Restored told abuse survivors this month they would receive only about one per cent of their claims, because there was insufficient money.
King Charles III's charity, The Prince's Trust, set up Fairbridge Restored Ltd, in a bid to help Fairbridge survivors across the Commonwealth.
Old Fairbridgians Association WA president Ric Hinch has written to King Charles, asking him to step in.
"He should look at moneys which are paid to Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, and the money that goes to them should go to Fairbridge kids from around the world," he said.
Promise of a better life
The then Fairbridge Society sent thousands of children from poor areas of Britain to Australia, Canada, and what is now Zimbabwe, starting in the early 1900s, with the promise of a better life.
Some were as young as four.
Past pupils of the farm schools have told of emotional, physical and sexual abuse, from staff and older students.
In 2020, King Charles's charity, The Prince's Trust Group, reinstated "Fairbridge Restored Ltd" as a vehicle to help abuse survivors.
It was declared insolvent soon after.
Many survivors viewed the establishment of the company as a bid to distance The Prince's Trust from liability for the abuse.
In 2020, the Australian Government named and shamed Fairbridge Restored Ltd, when it failed to sign up to the National Redress Scheme.
The Prince's Trust has always insisted Fairbridge Restored Ltd was not legally able to join Australia's redress scheme.
In 2021 it told the ABC it was working with Fairbridge Restored Ltd to help survivors.
Insufficient money
It's understood about 300 former farm school pupils have been identified as creditors of Fairbridge Restored, with a UK court last year determining an average claim value of $AU328,000.
Administrators for Fairbridge Restored, Alistair Wardell, wrote to creditors on May 10 stating there was insufficient money to pay claims in full.
"The amount that will be paid to you will therefore be a small proportion of the admitted claim value," he said.
"Our current estimate is that it may be in the order of 1 per cent."
The claim is also less any redress payments paid by the Australian Government, or through separate civil claims against the Australian Government.
It means survivors will at most received $3,280 from Fairbridge Restored Ltd for abuse suffered.
Disappointed and disgusted
Ric Hinch represents the past pupils of Fairbridge Farm School in Pinjarra, south of Perth, the first of the Fairbridge farm schools, set up in 1912.
He said it was another example of people associated with Fairbridge refusing to take responsibility for the abuse suffered.
"It's not only disappointing, to me it's disgusting," he said.
"None of the people who were ever responsible for setting this whole thing up have ever admitted to it, they've all run away and tried to hide."
Mr Hinch said he had serious questions about what happened to the money from the sale of the historic Fairbridge Farm School in Pinjarra in the 1980s.
"When Fairbridge Pinjarra was sold in 1983, it was sold in US dollars ... where the hell did that money go?"
Former ABC chairman David Hill spent three years at Fairbridge Farm School in Molong with two of his brothers after his impoverished single mother was promised better opportunities for her children
Mr Hill said the Prince's Trust had "ratted" on an agreement to help fund hundreds of Fairbridge survivors' claims.
"Most of the Fairbridge kids would be lucky to see any money at all," he said
"They've ratted on the agreement."
The Prince's Trust have been contacted for comment.
