Wendy is a Forgotten Australian, a child who was put in state care in 1965 when her parents were deemed unfit to look after her.

There are more than 500,000 Forgotten Australians. Many of the children had single mothers, and many endured physical and sexual abuse, neglect and deception in orphanages.

At age 5, Wendy was separated from her four siblings when they were all placed into different state-owned orphanages.

"All I had when I was taken in the police car was the clothes I had on," she said last week.

"It's like I didn't exist for 17 years. There's a shame, a stigma, attached to coming from a home."

She was released from an orphanage in Geelong when she was 17.

Three days before a federal apology to Forgotten Australians by former prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2009, Wendy read a magazine article and realised she was one of them.

Since then, she has become an advocate for Forgotten Australians. She moved to Hume two years ago and has found many people who were unaware that they fit into that category.

She also met her best friend Karen, who is a Forgotten Australian.

"I didn't know anyone when I moved here so I went to Dallas Neighbourhood House, to the women's weekly meeting and there I met Karen," she says.

Wendy advertised for more people to come forward and attend a local meeting.

"We had 35 at that meeting who knew nothing of Forgotten Australians.

"I think there would be a lot of people in Hume who aren't ready to come forward yet, because the government let them down as kids.

''I've heard there's people in Craigieburn and Roxburgh Park. Since I've been here I've probably found about 20."

Wendy is urging people who think they fit into the group to contact the Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN), a group which supports Forgotten Australians and protests each month outside the Department of Human Services offices in Melbourne, seeking redress for what they went through.

To contact CLAN, phone 1800008774.