Member for Gilmore, Joanna Gash, has called for people who grew up in orphanages or as wards of the state to register for the event, which will be held in Canberra on November 16.

“This apology has been a long time coming and it’s an important step in the healing of people who suffered neglect or abuse in these homes,” Mrs Gash said. “I have personally heard from four people in the Shoalhaven who were affected, but I’ve been told there are quite a number more.”

Callala Bay retiree Billy Hughes is one of them.

He grew up in a boys’ home in Carlingford from the age of five, where he counts himself “lucky” to have escaped much of the abuse suffered by other children.

“I had a lot more freedom than the other boys,” he recalled. “I even had a little cattle dog as a pet, so I was often down the paddock with him. It was a good thing.”

Despite his relative freedom, Mr Hughes still remembers shocking treatment at the hands of his carers, including being used as a “guinea pig” for new medications and vaccines.

Other children suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

“I have vivid memories of playing with the other boys and the strong camaraderie we shared, but that is the good stuff and there are obviously bad memories as well.

“I remember the day the police came to get me. They were trying to take my sister, and I reached up and pulled a brass button off the jacket of one of the men. I escaped from them that day, but they came back for me.”

Like many of Australia’s so-called “forgotten children”, Mr Hughes doesn’t know much about his childhood prior to the 11 years he spent in government care.

“I know some things, like my mother was sick and my father couldn’t look after us properly,” he said. “I was one of four children, and we were all given up at different times, but I haven’t got a full background of what happened.”