Windermere Child and Family Services takes its name from the location of the Melbourne Orphan Asylum from 1878, in Windermere Crescent, Brighton. Windermere came into being in the wake of changes at the Melbourne Orphanage. With the transition from institutional, congregate care to family group homes during the 1960s, the Orphanage became known as the…
The National Children’s Bureau dates back to 1971, when it was known as the Child and Family Welfare Council of Australia, a national peak body. In 1986, it was incorporated as the Children’s Bureau of Australia. From 1990, supported by Family Action, the National Children’s Bureau of Australia was a leading children’s advocacy and research…
The Koorie Records Unit, within Public Record Office Victoria (PROV), promotes awareness about Aboriginal records within PROV’s collection and aims to improve the accessibility of these records to the Aboriginal community.
The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), the national non government peak body in Australia representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, was established in 1981.
The first branch of the Church of England Boys’ Society (CEBS) in Australia was established in around 1914 in Kew, Victoria. It was initially under the guidance of the Church of England Men’s Society. CEBS played a role in a number of children’s institutions in Victoria, sometimes delivering services in conjunction with St John’s Homes…
The Franciscan Friars arrived in Victoria in 1839 and built two of the colony’s first churches. This Catholic Order, which dates back to Italy in 1209, has been working in Australia almost since the time of first European contact. In Victoria, the Franciscans ran the Morning Star Boys’ Home and Padua Hall.
The Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines was established in 1869, under the provisions of the Aborigines Protection Act 1869. Previously, the Central Board Appointed to Watch Over the Interests of Aborigines had been operating in Victoria since 1860. The Board, which ran missions and reserve stations in Victoria, had significant statutory power over…
The Ballarat District Orphan Asylum was run by a non-denominational Committee of Management, comprising a President, two Vice-Presidents, five Trustees, a Treasurer and a Committee of Management of sixteen members. Each year it would meet to present the annual report and balance sheet, and to hold elections for officers. A House Committee of five people…
In 1970, eight women from Ballarat, who worked as Honorary Probation Officers, established a hostel for adolescent girls called Lisa Lodge. In 1976, the Committee established Hayeslee House. In 1994, Lisa Lodge Hostel closed and was replaced by a Family Adolescent Support Team. Hayeslee House, which relocated from Ballarat to Sebastopol in 1977, was renamed…
The Community of the Holy Name is a religious order founded in Melbourne, in 1888. The founder of the order, Emma Caroline Silcock (also known as Sister Esther), led the work of the Mission to the Streets and Lanes in Melbourne, and the two organisations had a close association. The order was not formally established…