Somerville Homes was established in 1964 when the Methodist Overseas Mission began to discuss the closure of the Croker Island Mission and the transfer of all children to smaller group homes in the Darwin area. It had links with both the Methodist Overseas Mission and the United Church in the Northern Territory. Somerville Homes ran…
St Mary’s Child and Family Welfare Service was established as a local Central Australian based welfare agency of the Anglican Church in 1972. The name was later shortened to St Mary’s Family Services. This organisation ran St Mary’s Children’s Village and three other town based cottages in Alice Springs. In the 1980s the organisation became…
The Darwin Youth Refuge, also known as Murkwood House, opened at Myilly Point in 1978. It was managed by the Young Women’s Christian Association, YWCA, with funding from the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments. It provided short term emergency accommodation for up to 14 teenagers who were homeless or affected by family crises. The Refuge…
The Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Darwin holds extensive records relating to the care of children in the Northern Territory. These include records related to a number of Catholic mission stations, residential care facilities, schools and other services for children. The Diocese holds a collection of baptismal records dating from the 1880s and is the…
The Plymouth Brethren Mission was established in Darwin in 1910 by missionary Alexander Barry. It aimed to provide care and spiritual training for Aboriginal children. In 1911 the mission applied for a lease of government land to further its work. This request was rejected and the mission closed in 1912. The Plymouth Brethren Mission was…
St John’s Hostel opened in Alice Springs in 1941 It provided accommodation for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children from remote areas who were attending school. In 1945 six Aboriginal boys from St John’s were transferred to the Church of England Hostel for Inland Children at Kensington Park in South Australia. St John’s Hostel also took in…
The Methodist Overseas Mission, a department of the Methodist Church of Australia, was established around 1930. Previously it was known as the Methodist Missionary Society of Australasia. It established missions and Homes in the Northern Territory and Western Australia during the early and mid twentieth century. The Methodist Overseas Mission became part of the Uniting…
Territory Health Services was formed when the health function of the Department of Health and Community Services [l] was separated in 1995. In 2001 a second version of the Department of Health and Community Services was established and this took over the functions of Territory Health Services.
The Department of Community Development took over from the Department of Community and Social Development in 1978. It became responsible for the social welfare, including child welfare, guardianship and adoption. In 1987 this department was combined with Department of Resources and Health to form the Department of Health and Community Services [l]
The Department of Community and Social Development was the new name given to the Department of Community Services in September 1977. Among other functions, this Department was responsible for social welfare. On 1 July 1978 new administrative arrangements were made in the Northern Territory Government and the majority of former departments were abolished. The functions…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
