The Inspector General of Hospitals Office was established in 1914, replacing the Colonial Surgeon’s Office. The Inspector General conducted visits and inspections of the public hospitals, asylums, and mental hospitals, and the superintendents of these institutions reported to the Inspector. In 1940 the Inspector General of Hospitals Office was replaced by the Hospitals Department.
The Ministering Children’s League was a British organisation founded in 1884, with branches operating globally and across Australia. The League conducted charitable work, such as supporting, fundraising for, and running various institutions such as hospitals, respite/convalescent homes, and children’s homes. The League was non-sectarian and included adult and child members. It operated with the objective…
The Housing and Community Services Bureau was established on 14 December 1989. The aim of the Bureau was to provide and facilitate the delivery of housing and community services to individuals, facilities and the community. The Bureau operated under various administrative structures, but in 1995, the Housing and Community Services Bureau’s functions were separated. Some…
Library & Archives NT was formed in 2019 following the merge of the Northern Territory Archives Service and the Northern Territory Library. Its organisational goal is to collect, preserve and provide access to historic and contemporary materials relating to the Northern Territory. It holds government records related to the history of the Northern Territory, including…
The Department of Human Services was created in 2018 when the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion was renamed. The Department of Human Services has responsibilities for youth justice, disability services and child safety.
The Catholic Family Welfare Bureau – Archdiocese of Melbourne was previously known as the Catholic Social Service Bureau. It was a Catholic social work organisation that administered applications for children to be admitted to Catholic children’s Homes in Victoria. It also counselled single mothers and arranged foster care placements and adoptions. The Catholic Family Welfare…
The Sisters of Mercy, Geelong Congregation, a Catholic religious order of women from Ireland, was established in 1859. The Sisters provided care for girls at St Augustine’s Boys’ Orphanage before opening Our Lady’s Orphanage and St Joseph’s Industrial School for girls. In 1907 the Sisters of Mercy started to consolidate the number of congregations across…
The Rutherglen Viticultural College, Chiltern Valley Road, Rutherglen, from 1904 accepted wards of the state deemed to be suitable for viticultural and general farm work as trainees. The Department for Neglected Children and Reformatory Schools and the Agricultural Department struck an agreement to facilitate this placement. The arrangement appears to have ceased by 1927. The…
The Friendly Brothers Society (1845-c.1880) was a lay Catholic association which played a leading role in providing for vulnerable children in Melbourne and Geelong. During the 1840s and 1850s members of the society arranged private boarding placements for children in need. From the late 1850s Catholic orphanages emerged as the Church’s preferred means of providing…
St Paul’s Discovery Centre was established in 1979 by the Reverend Ian Paxton of the Mission of St James and St John. It was located on the site of the former St Paul’s Home for Boys at Newhaven, Phillip Island. St Paul’s operated as holiday camp for ‘disadvantaged’ children. St Paul’s Discovery Centre opened in…
Dec 17, 2025
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Nov 15, 2024