Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to many countries across the world, including Australia.

On 22 March 1975, the Saigon Post newspaper reported that the United States was beginning to airlift 10,000 refugees a day from the central Vietnam city of Da Nang. Australia also began airlifting orphans from April 1975.

Sadly, the first plane bound for the United States crashed only 12 minutes after take-off. Some 143 babies and volunteers were killed, including 2 Australians from Adelaide, who had volunteered to help with the children. This tragedy, however, did not deter the operation from continuing.

Some saw Operation Babylift as a humanitarian act, while others were concerned about the future of the children in Australia.

Unfortunately it was not all smooth sailing for the children after their arrival in Australia. While en route to Australia, a lot of the children, had their identification tags removed. This made it hard for the authorities to identify which child belonged to which family.

The orphans that were transported from Saigon to Australia were being given to families that were already approved for adoption overseas.

Once the orphans arrived in Australia, they were immediately taken to hospital where they were checked for any health issues. Many of the children had to be admitted, due to severe health issues. Others were admitted for less serious issues, and some were able to continue on their journey to their new homes. For the adoptive parents it was a long wait once their child arrived in Australia, as they were not allowed to have contact with the children until they were released from hospital.

Tragically there were some children who were too ill and did not survive for very long after their arrival in Australia.

Approximately 3000 orphans were evacuated from Vietnam during April 1975.