Ellis Island
Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the U.S. as the United States' busiest immigrant inspection station for over 60 years from 1892 until 1954. Ellis Island was opened January 1, 1892. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990.
Ulrich Ellis
In 1928, Ellis was appointed private secretary to Earle Page, the leader of the Country Party. They became close friends, and Ellis shared Page's passion for the New State Movement, which advocated for the creation of new states in regional New South Wales and Queensland. In 1933, Ellis served as the publicity officer for Charles Hardy's Riverina Movement, which advocated the secession of the Riverina from the rest of New South Wales. The following year, he gave evidence before the New South Wales royal commission on new states, chaired by Judge Harold Sprent Nicholas. Ellis served on the executive of the New England New State Movement from 1948, and he and his wife moved to Armidale, New South Wales, in 1960. He campaigned for the "Yes" vote in the 1967 New England secession referendum, which failed.