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Willowburn Mental Asylum

The Willowburn Mental Asylum was situated at the corner of Hogg and Tor Streets, North Toowoomba. The institution was run by the State of Queensland. It opened in 1867 and was renamed Toowoomba Mental Hospital in 1953. Evidence shows that children were inmates of Queensland mental institutions however more research is needed to find out…

Good Shepherd Home for Girls, Mitchelton

The Good Shepherd Home for Girls, situated in Mitchelton, was run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Initially set up in 1930, the institution focused on the reformation of girls and the care of poor, neglected children. The name was changed to Mt Maria Re-Education Centre in 1966. According to the publication A Piece…

Mt Maria Youth Centre

The Mt Maria Youth Centre, situated at 40 Prospect Street, Mitchelton, was run by the Order of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. It was previously known as Mt Maria Re-Education Centre. The name was changed in 1973 and the home closed in 1974. By the early 1970s changing government and social attitudes towards children’s…

Boys’ Home, Washpool

Boys’ Home, Washpool was an institution at Washpool Farm near Kalbar. It was run by the Salvation Army and accommodated boys from the Industrial School for Boys, Indooroopilly from 1942 to 1945, during the second World War. After the war the boys were moved back to Indooroopilly. The facility was known as the Boys’ Home,…

Westbrook Youth Detention Centre

The Westbrook Youth Detention Centre, run by the government, was situated at Westbrook, 15 kilometres south west of Toowoomba. It was previously named the Westbrook Youth Centre. The institution was renamed the Westbrook Youth Detention Centre in 1993. It closed on 30 June 1994 and was transformed into the Darling Downs Correctional Centre. In March…

Westbrook Youth Centre

The Westbrook Youth Centre, run by the government, was situated at Westbrook, 15 kilometres south west of Toowoomba. It was previously called the Westbrook Training Centre and in 1993 the named changed to the Westbrook Youth Detention Centre. According to the 1999 report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Abuse of Children in Queensland…

Westbrook Training Centre

The Westbrook Training Centre, run by the government, was situated at Westbrook, 15 kilometres south west of Toowoomba. It operated as a reformatory for boys under the age of 18 who were confined by a court order. It was previously known as the Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook and in 1966 the name was changed…

Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook

The Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook was situated 15 kilometres south west of Toowoomba. It was a state-run reformatory for boys under the age of 18 who were confined by a court order. Until 1919, the institution was known as the Westbrook Reformatory for Boys. In 1966 it became known as Westbrook Training Centre. According…

Diamantina Reformatory School for Boys

The Diamantina Reformatory School for Boys, run by the government, opened at South Brisbane on 1 October 1899 when boys from the Reformatory School at Lytton were transferred to what had formerly been the Diamantina Orphanage. Boys under the age of 18, who were confined by the Children’s Court, were sent to the Diamantina Reformatory…

Reformatory School for Boys – Hulk Proserpine

The Reformatory School for Boys, run by the government, was established at Lytton in 1871, on the former prison hulk Proserpine. The hulk was declared a Reformatory School for Boys under the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Act 1865. Boys under the age of 18 years were sentenced to a term of confinement at the reformatory…