This 1923 advertisement directed at both the newly arrived and home makers opens with the words: 'Now that you have arrived in this great land - Australia...'. It advises that 'if you are going to settle here' then 'furnishings for your new home' and 'suitable wearing apparel for the present season', in fact 'everything you could need in this country' is available for purchase at John Martin & Co., 'The Big Store'.

During the 1920s there were new immigration agreements between the Australian states and Commonwealth government. From this period, selection, medical examination and transport of immigrants was governed by the Commonwealth, while states determined numbers of immigrants required, and organised their settlement in Australia.

The Commonwealth Empire Settlement Act of 1922 formalised these arrangements. In this decade more than 220,000 British immigrants arrived in Australia, mainly in eastern states. In contrast, restrictions regarding non-British immigrants increased.

The oncoming economic depression at the end of the 1920s led to decreased numbers of British immigrants, and some already in Australia chose to return to their homeland.