Monsignor George Michael Crennan AO OBE (1900 – July 2001) an Australian Catholic cleric, was known for his service as Director of the Federal Catholic Immigration Office in Australia from 1949 until 1995.

Family

Crennan was born in

Mount Gambier, South Australia Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about sou ...

in 1900, one of the large family of children born to Frederick William Crennan, and Elizabeth Sutton.

Migration

Crennan was responsible for bringing thousands of refugees under the sponsorship of the Catholic Church, and the development of ways to make available interest-free loans for refugees and other migrants with no means. These loans assisted about 60,000 needy people to travel to and settle in Australia. Crennan worked with the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to carry through his plans. Crennan was also responsible for the child migration schemes, which brought British children from UK children homes over to Australia between the 1940s and the 1970s. The migration schemes were mired in controversy because most of the children were forced to travel to Australia. Many were lied to and told their parents had died and many of their parents were lied to and told that either their children had died or that had been adopted by English families, whereas in fact they were living in Australian institutions. Many were involved in forced labour, treated sadistically and sexually abused.Humphreys, M. (2011) Oranges & Sunshine, Corgi Books.

Recognition

Crennan was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

on 10 June 1967 for his work as Director of the Catholic Immigration Committee. In 1989, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

with the citation: In recognition of service to the community, particularly in the field of migrant welfare. Crennan was also the recipient of the 1998

Austcare ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...

Paul Cullen Award for his work on behalf of refugees over many years. The Governor General of the day, Sir

William Deane Sir William Patrick Deane (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 19 ...

, presented the award at a ceremony to open

National Refugee Week 1998. Crennan died, aged 100 years, in July 2001 in Sydney, Australia.

Footnotes

References

*South Australian births, registrations 1842 to 1906 omputer file South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc and Macbeth Genealogical Services Pty Ltd *It's an Honour: Canberra, Govt. of Australia, 2008: http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/ *Catholic News: Catholic Telecommunications, 9 August 2001: https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203046/http://cathnews.com/news/108/41.html *"Journey's End" Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office Newsletter 2nd ed Dec 1988:https://web.archive.org/web/20080318234115/http://www.acmro.catholic.org.au/newsletter/dec_98.htm 1900 births 2001 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia Australian centenarians Men centenarians {{RC-clergy-stub

Family

Migration

Recognition

See also

Footnotes

References