Archives



The Sir Harry Smith

The Sir Harry Smith, was a hulk (ship) anchored off Fishermans Bend, near Hobson’s Bay. From 1865, it housed mostly older boys sentenced under the Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act of 1864. The Sir Harry Smith was anchored off Fishermans Bend in the River Yarra before it flowed into Hobson’s Bay. It was one of…

Wimmera Community Care

Wimmera Community Care was founded in 1981 when Wimmera Family Group Homes and Wimmera Emergency Housing amalgamated. It operated family group homes, Residential Care, foster care, Shared Family Care and Adolescent Community Placement in the Wimmera region of Victoria. The organisation changed its name to Wimmera UnitingCare in 2010. Wimmera Community Care ran two family…

Olinda Farm Reformatory

Olinda Farm Reformatory was established by Max and Louisa Brown in 1893. It was a training farm for up to six boys in South Wandin (now known as Silvan), near Lilydale. It was in operation for less than a decade and closed in around 1900. Olinda Farm Reformatory was a training farm for up to…

Marian Lodge Training Centre

Marian Lodge Training Centre was established by the St John of God Brothers. It was adjacent to St John Of God Training Centre in Cheltenham. Marian Lodge catered for boys described as having moderate intellectual disabilities and being unable to follow a special schooling program, but able to benefit from other training.

Diamond Valley Youth Hostel

Sutherland Homes established the Diamond Valley Youth Hostel in 1979. It offered accommodation for young people making the transition from Sutherland Homes for Children into the world outside. The Hostel moved to Greensborough in 1986, and the former hostel was remodelled as a residential unit. Sutherland Homes established the Diamond Valley Youth Hostel in 1979…

St Faith’s

St Faith’s was established by the Mission to the Streets and Lanes in 1975. It was one of two cottages (the other was Unit 64) on Wilson Street, Brighton. The cottages provided specialist temporary residential care to children and adolescents. St Faith’s and Unit 64 were closed in 1984. In 1975, the Mission to the…

Yarra View Training Farm

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…

Churinga Special Residential School

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…

Beth-el Children’s Home

The Beth-el Children’s Home was established in Caulfield, in 1963 and later also occupied sites in Balwyn and Canterbury. The Home was operated by a nursing sister. From 1978 the Home did not house any wards of state. It continued to receive private placements until at least 1983. The Beth-el Children’s Home was established in…

Tweddle Hospital for Babies and School of Mothercraft

The Tweddle Hospital for Babies and School of Mothercraft, in Footscray, opened in 1920. In the 1960s, Tweddle was classified as an approved children’s home. Tweddle provided temporary care for babies and toddlers awaiting foster care or adoption, including some wards of state. It also provided short term care for babies whose mother was ill…