This front page marked the start of a new life for Robyn McParland. Photo: Supplied.
Many people are not that fussed about being born on or around Christmas when it is easy for their big day to be overshadowed.
Kiama’s Robyn McParland-Fogarty is one of those people, so when she turned 40 she decided to move celebrations from 29 December to a new date.
“It needed to be a significant date, so of course, I chose 2 August,” she said.
It was the date in 1960 she started a new life after appearing on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald as the first baby to travel from London by air for adoption in Australia on an Air India plane.
At the time she was seven months old and accompanied by an air attendant who looked after her throughout the flight.
Her adoptive father, Thomas McParland, an Irish immigrant and a dairy farmer at Jamberoo, told the Herald on that day in Sydney he and his wife, Dorothy, had one son but they had lost two daughters – one at birth and one at 10 months to meningitis.
He had organised for relatives (Eddy and Veronica) in Northern Ireland to negotiate an adoption on his behalf because of the then two-year wait in NSW.
Robyn said her father stipulated they wanted a baby with dark hair and olive skin, so the nuns at the Belfast orphanage put 24 babies in one room for Eddy and Veronica to view.
“They walked around the room twice when Eddy stopped at my cot and said, ‘I don’t care if they want a wee, dark one or not, her wee smile lifted her’, so they chose me, which was funny because I had red hair, blue eyes and fair skin,” said Robyn.
“I stayed with Eddy and Veronica for a month while they organised my airfare and then Veronica took me to London for the flight with just a tiny suitcase, a list of feeding instructions and what I was wearing.”
Robyn said her parents were wonderful hardworking people who raised her in a loving environment with three other siblings.
“Mum was a great cook and made beautiful cakes,” said Robyn.
With her parents’ support, Robyn studied at the Australian Catholic University and became a primary teacher in the Catholic system.
Robyn eventually found her birth mother in Northern Ireland. Photo: Supplied.
After three failed attempts to find her birth mother in Northern Ireland, Robyn finally found her when she was 35.
“It was a remarkably out-of-this-world experience because I was the spitting image of her. And despite the fact we had spent no time together, our idiosyncrasies were the same.
“Her story was typical of the time – a young girl gets pregnant to a boy who then disappears, leaving the girl with no options except adoption,” said Robyn.
“My birth mother died six years later from a brain tumor at the age of 61, but before that happened she came to visit me in Australia and it was beautiful. She and Mum got on like a house on fire,” said Robyn.
“Looking back, it was an emotional rollercoaster but I’m very grateful I got to know my birth mother and her family,” said Robyn.
As for changing the day she celebrates her birthday, Robyn maintains it was one of the smartest moves she ever made.
“I grew to dislike having to squeeze my birthday celebrations in between Christmas and new year because there was no chance to recover from all the food and drink.
“And my parents didn’t mind because the new date I chose was very significant for them as well.”
“And I don’t double dip, but my husband, Dennis, does give me a card and a birthday hug – but that’s all,” she assured.
