The Yarra View Training Farm, located in Lilydale, was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1957. It was usually staffed by about seven Brothers and accommodated up to 90 youths, aged over 16. The institutions for children run by the St John of God Brothers in Victoria were all described as being…
The Churinga Special Residential School, located in Greensborough, was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1967. It housed 60 Catholic and Protestant boys (aged 7 to 16) and, in later years, some girls. It was an institution for children deemed to have an intellectual or developmental disability. From 1987, Churinga was registered…
The Victorian School for Deaf Children was the new name given in 1949 to the former Victorian Deaf and Dumb Institution. By the 1970s the School had 180 pupils of which 40 were in residence. As the School closed on weekends, any children not able to go to their family homes were placed at family…
Woodbine came into being in 1954 with the establishment of a hostel of the same name in Warracknabeal. As well as the hostel on Craig street, Woodbine also ran a number of family group homes in Warracknabeal. In 2018, Woodbine provides accommodation, day and employment programs and training to people with intellectual disabilities in regional…
The Talbot Colony for Epileptics was established in 1907. It was a non-denominational institution for boys and girls with epilepsy over the age of five. The Talbot Colony for Epileptics was renamed to the ‘Royal Talbot Colony for Epileptics’ in 1958. In 1961, it relocated from Clayton to Yarra Boulevard, Kew (its former site was…
St Mary’s School for the Deaf was run by the Dominican Sisters and was situated in Portsea. Formerly, the building had been an Australian Camp Hospital and officers’ convalescent home. It opened in February 1948. In the 1950s, it catered for boys aged 3-10 and girls aged 3-16, all of whom had hearing difficulties. St…
The Moorakyne Hostel was established in 1942 in Daylesford. It housed young women employed at Daylesford Textile Mills who were former residents of Travancore. In 1944, Moorakyne relocated to Travancore in Flemington and in 1950, relocated again to Hawthorn. The Moorakyne Hostel ‘for backward girls and women’ began when the buildings at the Travancore Developmental…
The Sandhurst Boys’ Home was an institution for adolescent boys with intellectual disabilities, run by the Mental Hygiene Branch of the Department of Health. It was located in Finn Street, Bendigo. The residents received ‘training’ in various occupations and some older residents were placed in work in the Bendigo area. In 2010, it was known…
The Janefield Colony was established in 1937 by the Department of Mental Hygiene. It provided accommodation and educational instruction to mostly boys and girls aged 14 and over who were classified as ‘mentally deficient’. Janefield closed in 1996. The site of the Janefield Colony was formerly the site of the Janefield Sanatorium, a training farm…
The Pleasant Creek Colony in the town of Stawell was established in 1937 by the Department of Mental Hygiene. It accommodated older children and young people up to the age of 20 who were classified as ‘mentally deficient’. Residents attended Pleasant Creek Special School no. 4549 which was located on the site. Pleasant Creek closed…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
