Archives



Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall, on the Great Western Highway at Hazelbrook, near Woodford, was opened as a boys’ home by the Sydney City Mission in 1950, taking boys from Stonehaven. In 1951 the boys were moved to Mt Gibraltar, Bowral, and girls from Mt Gibraltar were placed in Haddon Hall. Haddon Hall closed in 1967 and the…

Lawson Cottage

Lawson Cottage in the Blue Mountains, was established by the Sydney City Mission in 1927. It housed groups of girls and boys from Sydney alternately for short periods. In 1929, Stonehaven at Springwood opened as a girls’ Home and boys remained at Lawson. This soon reversed and girls returned to Lawson Cottage until the girls’…

Stonehaven

Stonehaven, run by the Sydney City Mission, was located at Park Road, Springwood in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, and was opened in 1929. Initially occupied by girls, it became a boys’ home. From 1942-1945 the children were sent to Cronulla Children’s Home and Stonehaven was occupied by the Defence Forces. In 1951 Stonehaven…

Cowley House

Cowley House was opened in 1946. It was formerly the Cronulla Children’s Home. It was run by the Sydney City Mission. Due to a decrease in demand as the State Government became more involved in providing temporary accommodation for children in need of care, Cowley House was closed and sold off in 1976. Cowley House…

Cronulla Children’s Home

Cronulla Children’s Home was established in 1916 by the Sydney City Mission. It operated as a holiday home except for years 1942-45 when it was used as a Boys’ Home while Stonehaven at Springwood was being used by the Defence Forces. From 1945 it accommodated children whose home life had become temporarily or permanently disrupted….

On Track

On Track began operating in 1994 under the auspice of Stretch-A-Family Inc, working with young people aged fifteen to eighteen to provide residential care and preparation for independent living. On Track ceased operating in 2020 when Stretch-A-Family stopped providing out-of-home care.

Young People’s Refuge

The Young People’s Refuge opened as a crisis centre in Chippendale in 1975. It was linked with Stretch-A-Family. In 1991 it was based in Marrickville and offered 24-hour crisis accommodation to girls aged 13-17. In 2013 it has two refuges in inner-western Sydney and is linked to Detour House, a supported accommodation service that includes…

Our Children’s Home

Our Children’s Home at Concord, also known as Ardill House, was established in 1918 at Davidson Avenue by the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children. It was a children’s home until 1982, when it was converted to administration for the Society, and then to a child care centre. Our Children’s Home, Concord, was one…

Our Babies Home

Our Babies Home was founded in Enmore in 1894 by George Edward Ardill’s Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children. It moved to Knox Street, Newtown in 1897 then to Albemarle Street, Camperdown in 1901. Our Babies Home closed in 1904 and the children moved to the Society’s new premises at Rockdale.

Camp Toukley

Camp Toukley, located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, was originally built as a holiday camp for children living at Lutanda Children’s Home. Operated by Lutanda Children’s Services it opened in 1954 on 27 acres of land. Over time its main purpose changed to running Christian holiday camps for groups of children, family…