Why did she do it? Why didn't she want me? - I was wrapped in newspaper... and left in the pathway to someone's house. Why did she do it? Why didn't she want me? - You won't believe what I've just found. - This is just all so surreal. Oh my gosh. Why would my mother do that? I've got a lot of questions that I'd really like answered. It's just so mind-blowing. Captions by Faith Hamblyn and Lillie Balfour. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021. - I'm David Lomas. I'm heading to Tinui, near the Wairarapa settlement of Castlepoint, to meet 57-year-old grandmother Julie Corlett. Like many people I've helped over the years, Julie was adopted as a baby, but what happened before her adoption is, at first glance, one of the most shocking tales I've come across. So, what is your story? - Well in 1962, in Wellington, I was abandoned as a baby. I was wrapped in newspaper and left in the pathway to someone's house, and I still had my umbilical cord attached. - Crikey. So, how can I help you? - Well, I'd really like to find my birth parents, as I've got a lot of questions that I'd really like answered. - All right. Well, let's go and sit down and have a chat and see what we can do. - That'd be great. - Julie grew up knowing that she had been adopted. But she didn't find out about the circumstances leading up to her adoption until much later. - I would have been in my early 20s. I went and saw Mum, and she said, 'I believe you want to find your birth mother'. And I said, 'Yes, I do.' And Mum was, like, 'That's fine. That's OK, but you need to know that you were abandoned. 'You were wrapped in newspaper, with the umbilical cord still attached.' And it was, like, 'Wow. Really? Why would my mother do that?' - The newspaper baby case was big news in Wellington at the end of 1962. The local papers reported how, on the morning of New Year's Eve, two sisters in the central suburb of Newtown had found the baby wrapped in newspaper on their front path. - Why did she do it? Why didn't she want me? Having two children of my own, there's no way I could have done that to my children. But then I had to sort of sit and think, back then, what were her circumstances? Was she alone? Did she have no one to go to? Is this the only thing she could think of doing? - Mm. - So these are some of the questions I want answered. - Besides searching for her mum, Julie is also keen to meet the two sisters, Marina and Dixie Thompson, who found her. - Even if I can't find my mother,... I'd like to find these two girls, to thank them for finding me. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. I could have died. - After her unusual start to life, Julie was adopted by farmers Nelson and Valerie Corlett, and grew up near Tinui with two brothers and three sisters. - I could not have asked for a better childhood. I didn't want for anything. I was fortunate to have parents that loved me. - Brings back old memories ` it really does. - Yeah, it would do. - Julie's adoptive parents have passed away, but Julie's search has the full support of her family, especially older sister Jan Madden, who was also adopted. - This was a really cool school to go to, Julie. - Jan's already found her birth parents, but that didn't go all that well. - I found my birth parents, that I call the sperm and the egg, because they weren't my parents. I found two half-sisters and a half-brother. The only thing I can say about it is blood is certainly not thicker than water. - And Julie's sitting on the sidelines; what Jan found out wasn't that great, but you're still keen? - Jan's outcome wasn't really what she expected, but I still want to keep searching and find my birth parents. - In your case, you were abandoned. Do you still hold out hope that you would be welcomed, if you can meet your birth parents? - I think with my situation, I don't think I will be so much as embraced. Even if I just got to meet my birth parents ` or if they're not alive, maybe siblings if I've got any ` just to meet them,... just for me to get closure, get some closure on... on who I am. - Back in Auckland, I start my research. I find that while in the early 1900s, many children were abandoned, the development of the welfare state which gave some support to single mothers meant by the 1960s, dumped-baby cases were uncommon. However, while the numbers declined, abandoned-baby cases remained some of the toughest to solve. But science, in the form of DNA testing, gives me a big advantage over the old investigators. Julie has done a DNA test,... and her result is now through. - Hello. Gail speaking. - Oh, hi, Gail. David here. - Gail Wilson-Waring is a DNA expert, and I want her to see if she can find any links to Julie's birth parents. - Do you mind having a look at it and see what you can find? - That sounds great. Just send it through, and I'll get back to you. - Meanwhile, I head to Wellington, to the National Library. It has the country's largest newspaper archive. I want to read all the articles from the time in the hope of finding more clues about Julie's mother and also details of the two girls who found the baby. While the stories tell me nothing more about the mother who abandoned her baby, I discover a lot about how Julie was found and what happened afterwards. 10-year-old Dixie Thompson noticed the newspaper bundle first, but it was her 12-year-old sister Marina who heard the noise that she thought was from puppies. The baby was named Maria by hospital nurses, and many people sent gifts and offered to adopt her. The police inquiry found no trace of the mother. In one of the stories I find the exact address where the baby was found. I decide that visiting the site is a good next step in my investigation. I head to the address, Daniel St in Newtown. I'm hoping that seeing where newborn Julie was left might give me more of a feel for what actually happened on the morning of New Year's Eve, 1962. Much of this old part of central Wellington has changed little in the past six decades, but at Marina and Dixie's old address,... I find a relatively new building and no trace of the old pathway. However, at the next property, there is an old entrance, and that gives me an impression of what the spot where Julie was abandoned would have looked like. It's distressing to think of a newborn baby being left on a path like this, wrapped only in newspaper. And making the dumping of Julie here even more chilling is that Wellington Hospital is just a few hundred metres away, which makes me wonder, why didn't the mother take the baby there? Was she on her way to the hospital, and if so, did she actually live nearby? (INTRIGUING MUSIC) (LOCK THUDS) - Laters. (CHUCKLES) - Oh, OK, see ya. - I'll catch ya later. (CHATTER) (CAR ALARM CHIRPS) (INTRIGUING MUSIC) (LOCK THUDS) - Oh. (INTENSE MUSIC) (CAR THUDS) (HORN BLARES) (LIGHTS CLICK OFF) (POLICE RADIO CHATTER) (LIGHTS CLICK OFF) (METAL CRUNCHES) (POLICE RADIO CHATTER) - (GASPS) ` Oh no. Oh no. - (HORSE WHINNIES) (KEYS CLATTER) (LIGHTS CLICK OFF) (INTENSE MUSIC) (CHUCKLES) - MAN: Good night? - Yeah, good as night. - Wairarapa grandmother Julie Corlett was abandoned as a newborn baby, and was left wrapped in newspaper, on the path of a central Wellington house. The mother was never found, but 57 years on, I'm hoping DNA might reveal who she is. Back in Auckland, DNA expert Gail Wilson-Wearing has finished analysing Julie's test result. - Morning. - So, you got some good DNA news? - Yep. The DNA is very promising. - Fantastic. - So, Julie has four close family matches. - Uh-uh. - They're all women, and they're all on the maternal side. And what's really interesting is they all share a relationship with Helen Christine Taylor. They're either daughters or granddaughters of Helen's and Helen was born in 1935 in Wellington, and I think it's most likely that she is the mother who abandoned Julie in Wellington in 1962. - Crikey. So, that's amazing. So if I do some work and try and find out as much as I can about Helen Taylor. - And in the meantime, I'll try and make contact with these four close matches, - so that you can talk to them. - That sounds great, yeah. All right. Well, we'll touch a base a bit later. Good work. We'll keep in touch. - Keep in touch. OK. - Cheers. - Thanks, David. - (TINKLY PIANO MUSIC) - I head to the Auckland Public Library to search the archives for Helen Taylor, who, it seems, could be Julie's mother. I search the microfiche for New Zealand births,... and I discover a Helen Christine Taylor born in 1935. Interestingly, I notice the entry is handwritten, indicating the name was added later. So I check and I see an Eileen Taylor with the same reference number. It's an intriguing find. Eileen changed her name to Helen. I wonder why. I then search New Zealand marriage records and find that Helen Taylor was married not just once, but three times ` first to Francis Murison in 1958,... then to Ernest Napier in 1963... and finally to Albert Korndorffer, in 1965. In the days when getting a divorce was difficult, three marriages was unusual. I checked the birth records in the years following each marriage, to search for any children Helen might have had. I find nothing for the first two marriages, but in 1965, I find a daughter, Johanna Korndorffer, born to Helen Korndorffer in Wellington. So if Helen is Julie's mother,... Julie has at least one half-sister. But there may be other siblings, given the close matches Gail has found through her DNA research. Back at the office, I order copies of Helen's marriage certificates. - (SEAGULLS CRY) - A few days later, the certificates arrive, and there are a couple of bombshells. The first is Helen's address from the time of her second marriage. She was living 150m around the corner from where newborn baby Julie was found and less than 500m from Wellington Hospital. The second is even more startling. Helen's first husband, Francis Murison, was a bigamist. Bigamy, where a person marries while already married to someone else, was a seldom-reported crime in New Zealand. In court, Murison said he believed his divorce had been finalised when he married Helen Taylor. He was sent to jail for nine months. I put together a timeline of Helen Taylor's life, with details of her marriages and at least one other child. I find little to explain why Helen's life was so complex. The only clues that were her parents separated when she was 12, and that with her mother struggling to raise her children alone, Helen had left home by her late teens. What happened to Helen after her third marriage is also still a mystery. When I search historical records under Helen's last married name, Korndorffer, I find her in Wellington in the 1970 electoral rolls, but after that, no trace. But I've had luck with trying to locate the girls who found baby Julie, Marina and Dixie Thompson. I've tracked down a phone number I believe is Dixie's. - (PHONE LINE RINGS) - Hello? - Oh, hello. Is that Dixie? - Yes, yes. - Dixie, it's David Lomas here. Look, I'm trying to solve the mystery of the baby which you and your sister Marina found wrapped up in newspaper. - I see, yes. - I was wondering if I could come and talk to you. - I don't feel I need to talk. - Dixie says she doesn't want to meet me or Julie and that her sister Marina passed away a few years ago. - Well, could I just talk to you a little bit about what happened on the phone? - Oh, well, it's so long ago, I don't know where we went, but we were both... - But she does tell me what she remembers of what happened on the morning of New Year's Eve 1962. - I heard a noise, like a baby crying, and Marina looked down and thought the noise was coming from a bundle of newspaper. And so she opened it up, and there it was ` a little baby inside. - And Dixie tells me some details that I think will be of great interest to Julie. - All right, well, look, thank you so much. - OK. Thank you, David. - All right. Bye. - Bye. - Meanwhile, one of Julie's close DNA matches, Sue Hutchings, has sent a message to my DNA analyst, Gail Wilson-Waring, saying she is happy to meet me. - Hello? - I was wondering if I could come and talk to you. - Sue works in the travel industry and lives in Auckland. If her mother is Helen Taylor, then I believe Sue will most likely be Julie's half-sister. I head straight to Sue's place. I'm hoping she will know where Julie's mother is, but I'm also worried about how she will react when I tell her about the baby left wrapped in newspaper. - Hello. - Hello, David. How are you? - Good. - Come on in. - Ta. (UPLIFTING MUSIC) Come and play on the Gold Coast. Get seven nights and activities from just $499 per person. - Grandmother Julie Corlett is searching for the birth mother who wrapped her in newspaper and abandoned her as a baby in Wellington 57 years ago. I'm about to meet one of Julie's close DNA matches, Sue Hutchings, who I believe could be Julie's half-sister. How will she react to what I'm about to tell her? - Hello. - Hello, David. How are you? - Good. - Come on in. - Ta. Well, thank you for doing this. As I said on the telephone, a woman's approached us, and she's done a DNA test, and that's led us to you as a possible sister. - Does that surprise you at all? - No. Not at all. - What do you know about your mother? - My mother died in Johannesburg in 2002. - And what was she like? - I don't know. I was adopted at birth. - So, how do you know who your mother is? - Because I applied for my original birth certificate, and I found out my name was Jill, where I was born, my mother's name, Helen Christine Taylor. - That Helen is Sue's mother and that Sue and Julie are close DNA matches means that Sue and Julie are almost certainly sisters. - Did you meet her at all? - No. No. She moved to Johannesburg in, I think, about 1975. She had two children to this gentleman that she married, a daughter and a son. - This story is getting more complicated. - (LAUGHS) Not yet. - So, we have Julie and you; now there's two other children ` is that correct? - (CHUCKLES) There's seven others. - Seven? - Seven, counting Julie, yeah. Nine of us. Born '55, '56, twins born '57, I was born 1960, then there was a boy born in '61, Julie in '62, and then the daughter and son from the marriage ` that's nine, I think. Isn't it? (CHUCKLES) - So, do you know why you were put up for adoption? - Back in those days, there wasn't any support for unmarried mothers. And it was frowned upon ` that's why a lot of us were adopted. - How many were adopted? - Lorraine, Leonie, Jo, Peter, myself, the boy, Julie Anne ` seven, that we know of. Cos there are gaps in the years, and some of us are convinced that there will be more. There will be more. - Sue's naming of Lorraine and Leonie is the clincher ` those two are Julie's other close DNA matches. That means there is now no doubt that their mother, Helen, is the woman who abandoned Julie. - Did your mother raise any of the children? - The two that went to South Africa with her and her husband in the '70s, yeah. - When you found her, did you get in contact with her? - Yes. I rang her up, and I explained who I was. Um, she denied any knowledge. - For Sue, her mother's denial was frustrating. Sue's son was unwell, so she wanted answers about Helen's medical history. - I got a bit tenacious and I just kept hitting redial. And in the end, she left the phone ringing. And her husband answered the phone, so I very gently explained who I was and why I was ringing, and that's why I have contact with the daughter in South Africa, because they were delighted that there were other children. After the incident with the husband, I did get a brief note from Helen, 'Sue, I don't know how I can help you. If I am your mother, which I know I am not, 'the chap I was going with died in a motorbike accident; otherwise his health was all right. Helen.' And that was it. So to me, that was acknowledgment that she was my mother. otherwise why would she have written that note and explicitly talked about the partner? - And did she tell you who your father was? - No. - No. - And your sister Jo in South Africa, what has she told you about your mother? - Not a great deal at all, really. We recently got a photo of our mother, and interestingly, the eldest daughter, Lorraine, probably looks the most like her of any of us. - Any thoughts on her character? - No, I don't ` I have no preconceived ideas about her. I'm in no place to judge. I've not lived my life perfectly; nor has anyone else. Different times. - Julie was adopted, as you know, but her birth was quite different to yours. I have a newspaper article just here, which I'd like to show you if you're happy to have a look at that. This is how Julie came into the world. - Oh God. Oh. Wow. - So you can understand Julie's desire to know about her mother and possibly the reasons why it happened. - Buggered if I know, because she had all the rest of us in hospitals. Well, apart of myself ` I came so quickly, I was born in the toilet, apparently. - So you were born quite suddenly? - Mm. - It's interesting, because your mother, when she had Julie, was living 500m from the hospital. And the place where Julie was left was probably 300m from the hospital. It was en route. - Right. Well, maybe she was on the way and didn't get there. But why not carry on? Why just dump it? Wow, that's pretty distressing, really. (SIGHS) - Would you like to see what your sister looks like now? - Yes, please. Yes. - I'm just... Play. That's your sister. Oh. - I still want to keep searching and find my birth parents or siblings, if I've got any. Just for me to get closure. I'm who I am. (EMOTIONAL PIANO) - She is so us. Wow. I see Jo there, I see Lorraine. I see myself. Mm. It's pretty awesome, eh? - I'd like to get the two of you together. Happy to meet? - Definitely. Definitely. Yes. Mm. Wow. I returned to Wellington to meet up with Julie Corlett. I'm here to tell her what I've learnt about her birthmother. Thank you for coming over today. You've never actually been to the spot where you were left, have you? - No, I haven't. No. - Well, if you were to look over there. See that modern-ish white building there. - Yes. - That's essentially where it all happened. - Oh, wow. - But, as you can see, it's all totally changed. It's modern. But if you were just to have a look up this little alley here, this is almost identical to what would have been just down there. It was a spot just like that where you were left. - Oh, wow. So lucky that I was found. - You've always tried to track down the two girls who found you. - Yeah. - Marina and Dixie ` why were you trying to find them? - To thank them. If it wasn't for them finding me I probably wouldn't be here today. - Well, sadly, Marina, the older girl, she's passed away a few years back... - Oh. - ...but I managed to track down Dixie. - Oh, wow. - She spoke to me on the phone, and I'll just play you a little clip from what she said. So, if you were just to have a listen to that. - And you think that the mother clearly wanted the baby to be found? - Oh, most definitely. If she didn't want it, she would have just dumped her in the bushes somewhere. But to be on the path just as you turn off from the footpath ` her mother laid her in a place that she knew she would be found. In fact, she was so new, according to my mother, her mother might have even been watching. Just seen Marina pick the baby up. Who knows? - Well, she thinks that you helped save her life. - I don't think that's the case. I think her mother handed her to us to find a life for her. She was obviously in a clear state of despair over the whole situation, but her mother saved her life. We just took the bundle out of her hands. That was it ` she began a new life. - Wow. - So she could have been just over there somewhere watching. - I hadn't thought of it like that. My mother could have been watching to make sure that I was found and that I would be OK. - It's all very interesting, this spot, because if you just look there, that's Wellington Hospital. - Oh, wow. So close. - So, I don't know, perhaps she was on the way... - To hospital. Could have been. - And just a bit further away, in the other direction to the hospital, is another surprise for Julie. I now know the name of your mother. This house is quite significant in your mother's life. She was living here when you were born. - Oh my gosh. To think that she was so close to the hospital. - 140m back to where you were left and another 200m or so to the hospital. - Wow. - Now, over the years, you must have wondered so much about her. - Yeah. Even to know what she looked like, what she did. - Well, I can tell you her name. Her name was Helen Taylor... - Wow. - ...and she was 27 when she had you. - And is she still alive or has she since passed? - She has passed away. I have a photograph of her here. - Oh my gosh. - Would you like to see it? - I'd love to. (GASPS) Wow. That's my mum. (WONDROUS MUSIC) That is absolutely amazing. Wow. It's actually surreal to have a visual of her. She's nothing like I imagined she'd look like, but I can actually see a lot of my facial features in her. Even right down to haircuts I used to have. (CHUCKLES) It would have been really nice to have met her, but, unfortunately, now that's not going to happen. But to have a photo of her is just absolutely amazing. Thank you. - I have more to tell Julie about her mother's hectic life so we head to a nearby cafe. Your mother was a very interesting woman. She had eight other children that we know of. - Oh, my gosh! - Six of them were adopted out. - Oh, wow. - But it's complicated so I've done a bit of a timeline on her life, and if you were to look at this. She had the first daughter when she was aged 20 who she called Jennifer. Jennifer was left on some church property steps just left there to be found. - Oh, my gosh. - Not quite like your abandonment. In this case, the people at the church had an idea who she was and she was identified. - Wow. - When she was 21, she gave birth to another child who was adopted out. Then when she was 22, she gave birth to twins. - Oh, wow! - Both adopted out and living in Australia. - Oh, my gosh. So many children. - 'It's tough-going for Julie, but there is still a lot to tell her 'about her mother's complicated life...' If go down here to 1958,... '...and the men Helen Taylor lived with.' ...she married a Francis Edmund Murison. Now, this is quite a fascinating part of her life because your mother married a bigamist. - Oh, my gosh! Bigamist. - Just read that one out. - 'The girl Murison had bigamously married at Wellington had a short criminal list.' - That's your mother they're talking about. - Oh, my god. She has, so far, had a very interesting life. - And then we get down to 1962 and the baby wrapped up in newspaper. - Yep, that's me. - After you, she married the man next door. - (LAUGHS) Oh, my goodness. - In 1965, he filed for divorce. And that year she also gave birth to a daughter, Joanne. And she also married Joanne's father later that year. And then she had another child and moved to South Africa. Your mother raised just two of her children, and those were the two children who moved to South Africa with her. - That's just so mind-blowing ` to have all those children and only keep two. - And as you can see there, sadly, your birthmother died in 2002 and her husband died a few years later. - Oh. - And one of... - The son. - The son in South Africa. So, the bad news is that, sadly, you won't get to meet your mum, but I do have a bit of good news. - Oh, OK. - I've managed to get in contact with one of your sisters. - Really? Oh, that's awesome. - Her name's Sue and she was born in 1960, so she's a little bit... - Older than me. - And if you were to push that button there, that's your sister, Sue. Julie was adopted, as you know, but her birth was quite different to yours. - Oh my gosh! - This is how Julie came into the world. - Oh, my gosh. Wow, that's pretty distressing, really. (SIGHS) - RECORDED: I'd like to get the two of you together. Happy to meet? - Definitely. Definitely. - Oh, cool. - Yes. - Oh, that's awesome. - I also have a couple of photos here of your sister, Jo, who lives in Johannesburg. - Oh my goodness. - And this is your brother who sadly passed away. - So that's Anthony. Oh, my gosh. This is just all so surreal to actually see a photo of my mum and to actually see photos of sisters and a brother that I've got. I really feel complete. - Sue would love to meet you. Would you be happy to meet her? - I'd love to meet Sue. Yeah, that goes without saying ` I'd love to meet her. Definitely. (SOARING MUSIC) (CHILDREN AND ADULTS SING) # Heads, shoulders, knees and toes # Heart, liver, skin and bones... # Argh! # Strains on joints and eyes on phones # Your body is the only one you'll own... # GIRL: Look after your body every day. - Coming? - Grandmother Julie Corlett was abandoned at birth and adopted. Now, for the first time in her life, she will meet a blood relative ` her half-sister Sue Hutchings. - No, we're going this way. - But before that meeting, I need to talk to the only living sibling who had a relationship with their birth mother. Jo works for a gold mining company in Johannesburg, South Africa. I'm hoping Jo might have answers for Julie and Sue. Because of the COVID pandemic, Johannesburg is under a dusk-to-dawn curfew so I've arranged for Jo and her husband, Ronnie, to check into a hotel so we can film a video call with her. By telephone, I've already told Jo about Julie, but what I haven't yet revealed is that her mother left newly-born Julie on a street wrapped in newspaper. I have, however, warned Jo that I have something to tell her that will be upsetting to hear. Good morning, Jo. - Good morning, David. - Thank you for talking to me. There's a bit of a mystery behind what happened to your sister, Julie. - OK. - But there's a bit more to the story. In front of you, there's a bit of a shock headline about what happened in 1962. - Yes, I see 'A Child Finds Newly Born Baby Wrapped in Newspaper.' - So that was Julie, and as you can see there, your mother had left her on the sidewalk. - It's terrible, it's shocking, it's` I can't believe my mother could do something like this. it's a total shock to my system, really. (SIGHS) (EMOTIONAL MUSIC) Sorry, I'm just a bit upset. (SNIFFLES) It's not nice to hear that about my mum. (CHUCKLES DARKLY) (SNIFFLES) Sorry. - I just needed to tell you all this before you spoke to Julie. - I understand you had to tell me. I would probably would have found out some time or another anyway. - All right. OK. So, I'll get Julie and Sue to talk to you a little bit later. - OK, no problem. (SNIFFLES) - With Jo on board, I immediately fly to Palmerston North, then drive to the outskirts of Levin. Julie has recently moved here from the Wairarapa. - Oh, so exciting, isn't it? - Also here is Julie's sister, Jan, her son Brody Corlett and grandchildren, Layton, Montana and Thor. Well, today's the day. How are you feeling? - A lot of emotions. I'm excited. I can't wait to meet Sue. And it seems so surreal that I'm meeting an actual sister. - Jan, how's she been? - Just so excited that you've found family for her. Amazing. Thank you. - Well, I'm going to duck off and go down the road. Hopefully Sue has arrived and she'll be up here shortly. Good luck. - Thank you. (SIGHS) It's really happening, Jannie. - Yep. - I head back up to the main road to meet Sue, who has also travelled down from Auckland for the occasion. Hello. Right. Well, how are you feeling? - Excited. Yes. Been a long journey. - Well, I'm going to get you to go about 2km up the road there. - Wonderful. OK, looking forward to it. - Leave you to it. - Right. OK, thank you. (THOUGHTFUL MUSIC) - (EXHALES) - It's exciting. (GIGGLES) It's so good. - It has been a very long wait for Julie, but she is finally about to meet her first blood relative. - (MUFFLED SPEECH) - I know. My sister. - I know. - That's my sister. - Hello. (MUTTERS NERVOUSLY) - Go and meet her. - Hello. - Hi, Sue. - You've joined a big family, haven't you? - (LAUGHS) - Nice to meet you. - Oh, nice to meet you too. - How are you? Good? You all right? - I'm good. - Overwhelmed? - Yeah. And you? - Oh, I've had a long time to get used to it all ` '86, I started my journey. - Oh, OK. - And you all keep popping out of the woodwork. (BOTH LAUGH) - Seven of us. - Yeah. - Got a bit more than you bargained for. - (LAUGHS) - Hmm. Yep. - Oh, wow. - So, you actually` got sun in my eyes. You look a lot like Jo in Australia, because we've got two sisters called Jo. - Yeah. - Yep. And you look a lot like Lorraine, who's down in Dunedin. - Oh, OK. - Mm. Mm. How did you feel, for the first time, seeing someone who looked like you? - When I saw that photo of Mum I kind of looked at it and thought, 'I've got her mouth.' - Yes. Yes, and her eyebrows. - Yep. - Mm. Mm. - Yeah. - Mm. And you're all tall. I'm the shortest. - (LAUGHS) - It's not fair. - 'To actually meet one of my siblings,...' (LAUGHS) ...and to have a hug ` - Come on, then. - Yeah. Why not? - Oh. - it's been just absolutely amazing. Sue is just` She's lovely. She's down to earth. - Feeling a bit more complete? - Yeah, I am. She's just` She's awesome. She's really awesome. I am. - It's amazing, isn't it? - I now have a beginning. I'm living the middle, and the end will come whenever the end comes. - Yeah. Well, it will never come because we're connected forever... - Yep, we are. - ...through our children. Yes. - Yeah. - And Sue is also pleased to meet Julie's sister, Jan,... - So I've got another sister. - Really? - Yes. - That's awesome. - This is my son, Brody. - ...and Julie's son... - How's it going? - (LAUGHS) Good. My nephew. - Yep. - Wonderful. - Yeah, it's great. - This is Layton. This is my grandson. - Oh. - ...and grandchildren. - Hi, Thor. Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you too. - Exciting, isn't it? - My granddaughter, Montana. - Oh, and in amongst all these males, another girl. Wonderful. - So the family's getting bigger and bigger. - By the minute. (BOTH CHUCKLE) (PEACEFUL MUSIC) - Later that day, I have a surprise lined up for Julie and Sue. While you've been away, I've set up my laptop just down there in the kitchen area. I've set up another video call with Jo in South Africa. The sisters will all be seeing each other for the first time. - WHISPERS: Oh my gosh. Hello. - Hello. - (CHUCKLES) - How are you, Sue? - Good, how are you? - Eventually we get to see each other. - (LAUGHS) Meet your younger sister. - Hello, Julie. - Hi. Oh, my gosh. - Oh, wow. - How are you? - I'm good. - Good. That's good to see you. (LAUGHS) - OK, so what can you tell us? You are a mine of information. - Not really. I know at one stage, my mum was a nurse ` that I know. I read through that newspaper script that David sent over. You know, it is very, very upsetting. It wasn't nice to read something like that at all. Especially when they say your mother did something like that ` that's traumatising. It was a total shock to the system, really. - You know, thinking about what mum had done ` she obviously had her reasons, and it's OK. You know? She did what she thought was the right thing. And for that I thank her because if those girls hadn't found me, goodness knows where I would have ended up. - Yes. She took everything with her to the grave, so I'll never know. - Only she knew how many children there were. - Yes. I remember my dad telling me. He said to my mum, 'You know, Helen,' he said, 'If you had other kids before I met you, I would still accept them as my own and I'll still love you. 'I'll never leave you.' And she went hysterical and completely denied it. So we never got anything out of her again after that. - No, but thankfully, we have you, and you've been so open with all of us. - To me, it's just nice to know I've got other siblings. But unfortunately, they're on the other side of the world. It would have been nice to have siblings around me instead of being alone this side. - So today, for me, has been really awesome ` meeting Sue, and now meeting you. It's just been absolutely amazing knowing that I have blood relatives. - Yes, you too. - It's given me a start to life ` to know where I've come from. - Yeah. - Is your husband there with you? - Yes, he's sitting here by me. Do you want to meet him? - Yeah, bring him on. - OK. (LAUGHS) - Bring him on. - There's` This is Ronnie. - ALL: Hi. - This is Sue, and that's Julie. - Hi, Ronnie. How are you? - Hi, Ronnie. - Hi, Julie. Nice meeting you guys. - Likewise. - So more sister-in-laws, eh? - (CHUCKLES) - To finally see Jo and talk with her was amazing. Yes, it was really good. - Jo seems really lovely. And then to meet her husband ` that was just really cool too. - The first part of it was just shock. It's traumatising, but it's actually very nice to meet my two sisters and actually see them live in the flesh. It was nice to meet them. And I hope to stay friends with them. - Wonderful. - Gonna be another nice day. - Julie and Sue spend the rest of the weekend getting to know each other. - I know nothing. - And for both, their time together has provided some much needed answers. - I used to talk about when I was younger, I felt a bit like an untethered spinnaker on a yacht. I'm feeling a little bit more anchored as I learn more so it's good. - And Sue has thoughts on her mother, Helen. - I think she was a very conflicted young woman. Why do you go and have so many children and adopt them? I'm just glad that at the end of it she had a wonderful husband who adored her. And, you know, I think she had a happy life. - Learning all about it would be really, really interesting. 'This whole journey, I did not think it would turn out the way it has. 'But to find out I've got so many siblings `' Eight brothers and sisters. It's a big family. They're my blood. They're my brothers and sisters. I've added them on Facebook. Hopefully we will get in contact and hopefully I'll get to meet the rest of them one day. - Oh, this is the life, isn't it? - Tis. - Yeah. Hm. - Julie has kept in touch with sisters Sue and Jo, and is looking forward to meeting more of her siblings. - She called us and asked us to come and pick up the baby. - Two babies ` - It was a bit of a mess, but at least he had been found. - both left behind. - She just disappeared. (DOGS BARK) - I did a bit of time in jail. - Why did their parents just disappear? You've had nought in 40 years. - Yeah. I don't even know his name.