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…
Kew Children’s Cottages date back to 1887. They were located adjacent to the Kew Asylum and were also known as the ‘idiot ward’. They provided accommodation and education to children with intellectual disabilities. They were closed in 2008. Kew Children’s Cottages became known by that name from around 1929, although the Kew Asylum had housed…
Hartnett House was established in around 1955 when Melbourne City Mission amalgamated its Maternity Home and its Toddlers’ Home on Albion Street, Brunswick. The new institution was named Hartnett House in 1958. In 1973 Hartnett House stopped operating as a maternity home and ceased its adoption operations but continued as a children’s home. In 1982…
The Our Lady of Sion Orphanage was established in 1913. It was run by the Sisters of Sion and situated in the town of Sale on the grounds of a college for girls. It generally accommodated girls aged from 4 to 15 years. It ceased to operate in 1947. The Orphanage was run by the…
Padua Hall was established by the Franciscan Friars in Kew in 1945. It provided a ‘halfway house’ for former residents of the Morning Star Youth Training Centre at Mt Eliza, and also Catholic ‘youths’ who were wards of state with indeterminate sentences. Padua Hall closed in 1960. Padua Hall was an institution in Kew run…
The Windsor Youth Welfare Service was established in 1973. It included a residential unit, and provided support and supervision for approximately 100 young women per year aged 13 to 18 years. Young women were referred to the Windsor Youth Welfare Service from regional Centres; Winlaton, Allambie and the Children’s Court. The Service also operated a…
The Gables was opened as a state-run children’s Home in 1962. It accommodated 25 children who were wards of the state, consisting of boys from 4 to 10 years of age and girls from 4 to 14 years of age. Most of the children accommodated at The Gables had either physical, behavioural or learning difficulties….
The Melbourne Youth Justice Centre is a high security centre commissioned by the state government in 1993. It is located in the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct, and replaced the Turana Youth Training Centre. The Justice Centre is a custodial facility for males aged 15 to approximately 18, who have been sentenced to a Youth Justice…
The Nunawading Youth Residential Centre was established in 1991, on the former site of Winlaton. It accommodated young people from ten and fourteen years who had been sentenced to detention. It also provided youth training centre programs. In around 1992-93, its functions were consolidated at the former Baltara Reception Centre site and the new facility…
Hayeslee House was established in 1976 in Ballarat. It was run by the committee that also managed Lisa Lodge Girls’ Hostel. Initially, Hayeslee was created to accommodate adolescent girls being transferred from Nazareth House, Ballarat, which closed in 1976. Hayeslee House accommodated boys and girls, aged 11 to 15 from the Ballarat district. In 1977…