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Allambie Reception Centre

The Allambie Reception Centre opened in Burwood in 1961, on the former site of Kildonan Children’s Home. It was the Victorian Government’s main reception centre for children. Allambie could accommodate up to 90 children including (from 1964) babies and toddlers and by the 1970s its capacity had grown to 228 children. Allambie closed in 1990….

Kildonan, Burwood

Kildonan was a children’s Home in Burwood run by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria from 1937. Formerly, Kildonan had operated a children’s home in North Melbourne. Kildonan accommodated boys and girls, aged between 2 and 15. In 1961 the government-run Allambie Reception Centre opened on the site. The Kildonan home in Elgar Road, Burwood was…

Kilmany Park Farm Home for Boys

The Kilmany Park Farm Home for Boys in Sale, Gippsland, was established by the Presbyterian Church in 1924. It operated as a farm for boys aged between 10 and 16. Many boys from Kildonan’s homes in North Melbourne and Burwood were sent to Kilmany Park Farm Home, especially in 1933 to 1934. Kilmany Park was…

Kilmany Family Care

Kilmany Family Care came into being in 1979. It operated family group homes in East Gippsland, including one house specifically for Aboriginal children, with an Aboriginal cottage mother. In 2002, the organisation became known as Kilmany UnitingCare. Kilmany Family Care came into being in 1979 when the Uniting Church appointed a new Council to be…

Convent of the Good Shepherd, Abbotsford

The Convent of the Good Shepherd at Abbotsford was established by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1863. A number of different institutions operated on the site at Abbotsford on the banks of the Yarra River, including an industrial school, reformatory, orphanage, female asylum and school. In 1961, it was designated by the department…

Kildonan, North Melbourne

Kildonan was a children’s home in North Melbourne, established in 1890, and run by the Presbyterian Church. It usually housed children waiting to be ‘boarded out’ in the country, but some children were housed for longer periods. In 1937, the children were transferred from North Melbourne to a new Kildonan Home in Burwood. Kildonan in…

St Cuthbert’s Home for Boys

St Cuthbert’s Home was established in 1948. It first accommodated boys aged 6 to 14 years, but by the 1960s also housed girls. The use of the name ‘St Cuthbert’s Children’s Home’ probably started around this time. From the late 1960s, St Cuthbert’s established a number of family group homes. In 1977, St Cuthbert’s was…

Girls’ Memorial Home

The Girls’ Memorial Home, in Fairfield, opened in 1922. It was a maternity home run by Wesley Central Mission. A toddlers home also operated within the home. Many of the young women’s babies were transferred from the Girls’ Memorial Home to the Methodist Babies’ Home in South Yarra. In 1973, it became Georgina House, a…

Geelong Protestant Orphan Asylum

Geelong Protestant Orphan Asylum was the new name given in 1862 to the Geelong Orphan Asylum. The orphanage’s name was changed to clarify the asylum’s religious connections and support base. There was no formal connection between the orphanage and the church.

Glastonbury – Geelong Protestant Orphanage

Glastonbury- Geelong Protestant Orphanage was the new name given in 1955 to the Geelong and Western District Protestant Orphanage. In 1977, the name changed again, to Glastonbury Children’s Home. In 1955, Glastonbury- Geelong Protestant Orphanage applied to the Victorian government for registration as an approved children’s home. The inclusion of Glastonbury in its new name…