Archives



Chief Protector of Aborigines

The Chief Protector of Aborigines was an official role first held in 1898. The Aborigines Act 1897 abolished the Aborigines Protection Board, and created both the Aborigines Department and its head, the Chief Protector. The role was given legal authority by the Aborigines Act 1905. The Chief Protector was the legal guardian of every Aboriginal…

Aborigines Protection Board, Crown Colony of Western Australia

The Aborigines Protection Board in the Crown Colony of Western Australia was established in 1887, as a result of the Aborigines Protection Act 1886. The Board was responsible for the welfare of all Aboriginal people. This included the care, custody and education of all Aboriginal children, and the power to apprentice any Aboriginal child. In…

Children’s Court of Western Australia

The Children’s Court of Western Australia began under the State Children’s Act 1907 and operated within the City of Perth. After amendments, the Court was allowed to sit in the metropolitan area. The Perth Children’s Court became known as the Children’s Court of WA when the Children’s Court of WA Act 1988 was passed. The…

Churches of Christ Christian Welfare Centre

The Churches of Christ Christian Welfare Centre (CCCWC) was involved in administering Karingal, a Home for high school age girls. The CCWC purchased the Karingal property in April 1966 and sold the building to the Child Welfare Department in 1974.

Cockburn Youth Services Association

Cockburn Youth Services Association ran Cockburn House, an emergency accommodation service for young people, from 1989 to 1993.

Child Migrants Trust

The Child Migrants Trust (CMT) was established in 1987 by English social worker Margaret Humphreys to address the issues surrounding the deportation of children from Britain, and to offer to former child migrants and their families services including counselling, support for family reunions, and family research. Since 2010, the CMT has administered the UK government-funded…

Aborigines Department, State of Western Australia

The Aborigines Department was created in 1926, taking over the responsibilities for Aborigines for the whole of the state of Western Australia that were divided previously between the Department of the North West and the Department of Fisheries. The Department had the Protector of Aborigines as its head. It was replaced by the Department of…

Department of the North West, State of Western Australia

The Department of the North West was given responsibility in 1920 for Aboriginal people living in the ares of Western Australian above latitude 25 degrees south. The Department administered the policies of Chief Protector of Aborigines which included, who was legal guardian of every Aboriginal child as stipulated in the Aborigines Act 1905. In 1926…

Fisheries Department, State of Western Australia

The Fisheries Department had a brief role in the ‘care’ and ‘protection’ of Aboriginal children from 1920, when it was given responsibility for Aboriginal matters in Western Australian areas below latitude 25 degrees south. It administered the Aborigines Act 1905 in this area of the State until those functions were removed from the Fisheries Department…

Department of Aborigines and Fisheries, State of Western Australia

The Department of Aborigines and Fisheries in Western Australia was created in 1909 by the amalgamation of the Aborigines Department and the Fisheries Department. The head of the Department, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, was the legal guardian of every Aboriginal child in Western Australia, as stipulated in the Aborigines Act 1905. In 1920, the…