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St Vincent de Paul Children’s Home

St Vincent de Paul Children’s Home was renamed from St Vincent de Paul Girls’ Orphanage in 1962, and was run by the Sisters of Mercy. In 1966, the Home relocated from South Melbourne to Black Rock where children were housed in family group homes. In 1992, its name changed to St Vincent de Paul Child…

Melbourne Legacy

Legacy is a national organisation that was established in 1923 to assist men returned from the Great War and their families. Initially established to improve business prospects for returned soldiers, in 1925 Legacy’s focus became the provision of assistance to the children of deceased servicemen. In the state of Victoria, Melbourne Legacy ran a number…

The Menzies Home for Children

The Menzies Home for Children was the new name given in October 1961 to the former The Menzies Home for Boys. From this time Menzies allowed girls to be admitted and increasingly housed children in family group homes in the Frankston and Dandenong areas. The organisation became Menzies Inc. in 2000. The Menzies Home for…

Bethany Babies’ Home

Bethany Babies’ Home was originally the Geelong Female Refuge when it was established in 1868. From 1928, the Refuge became known as Bethany Babies’ Home. It accommodated pregnant women, babies and toddlers; it operated a maternity hospital and also adopted babies out. In 1977, it ceased to operating as a Home and adoption agency and…

The Salvation Army Westcare

The Salvation Army Westcare came into being in around 1980. With support from the Department of Community Welfare Services (DCWS), Westcare established residential units for children and young people in the western region of Melbourne. The Salvation Army Westcare ran residential care units for young people until 2018 when the Department of Health and Human…

Melbourne Orphanage

The Melbourne Orphanage was established in 1926. It was formerly the Melbourne Orphan Asylum. It was located in Brighton where it accommodated boys and girls aged between 3 and 16. By the 1950s, some children were housed in group homes in Glen Waverley. In 1965, it became the Melbourne Family Care Organisation. The Melbourne Orphanage…

Melbourne City Mission

The Melbourne City Mission was formed in the mid-1850s, as a result of the efforts of Hester Hornbrook, a philanthropist, and John Singleton, a medical doctor. Hornbrook and Singleton’s vision was for ‘a mission embracing all denominations and unsectarian in its character’ to address the hardship and suffering caused by the social upheaval of the…

William Booth Girls’ Home

The William Booth Girls’ Home, East Camberwell, opened in 1912 and was run by the Salvation Army. It accommodated girls aged between 4 and 14 years old. The first 43 girls in residence at the William Booth Girls’ Home had been transferred there from the Murrumbeena Girls’ Home, which closed in 1912. When the Home…

Abercare Family Services

Abercare Family Services was formed in 1981. Its name reflects its connection with the Aberfeldie Baptist Church. Abercare was a provider in temporary foster care in the western suburbs from the early 1980s. In 2009, Abercare Family Services changed its name and became known as Baptcare’s family services division.

Baptist Children’s Homes

Baptist Children’s Homes were a number of family group homes run by Baptcare (formerly known as the Baptist Social Services, and Baptist Community Care) from around 1968 until around 1984. Baptist Community Care (also known as Baptist Social Services) ran 3 family group homes in Melbourne. Westside Children’s Home in a large house in Park…