Archives



Fremantle Native School

The Fremantle Native School was established by The Reverend George King in 1842. It was an Anglican residential school for Aboriginal children, mostly girls. Starting with 15 students, the school closed in 1851. The remaining students were transferred to Annesfield in Albany.

Swanleigh

Swanleigh in Middle Swan was the new name given in early 1960 to Swan Homes. It was a hostel for country children attending high school in the city. In 2010 Swanleigh became a conference and camp facility.

Swan Boys’ Orphanage

Swan Boys’ Orphanage was opened in 1876 in Middle Swan. It had previously been the Perth Boys’ Orphanage in Perth. In 1942, the boys were joined by girls who had been evacuated from from the Perth Girls’ Orphanage due to World War II. In 1943, Swan Boys’ and Perth Girls’ orphanages were combined to form…

Perth Boys’ Orphanage

A Church of England orphanage for boys was opened on the same site as the Perth Girls’ Orphanage on 1 June 1869, with four boys admitted. The boys and girls’ orphanages were separated by a ‘five-foot high close-picket fence’. In 1876 the boys were transferred to the new Swan Boys’ orphanage at Middle Swan.

Annesfield

Annesfield, in Albany, was founded as a residential school for Aboriginal children in 1852 by Mr and Mrs Camfield. The first children had been transferred from the Fremantle Native School. The children who were living in Annesfield when it closed in 1871 were transferred to Bishop Hale’s Institution for Native and Half-Caste Children in Perth….

Rottnest Island Reformatory

The Rottnest Island Reformatory was a government-run institution, established in 1881 as an alternative to sending boys younger than 16 to gaol. It closed in 1902 and boys were sent to the Salvation Army Reformatory School in Collie. The Rottnest Island Reformatory opened in 1881 as an alternative to sending boys ‘of European descent’ who…

Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage

Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage for Roman Catholic boys was established by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth in 1872 and run by Benedictines (1872-1876) then the Sisters of Mercy (1876-1897), and the Christian Brothers (from 1897). In 1901 the orphanage moved to Manning and became known as Clontarf. The St Joseph’s Girls’ Orphanage was then established…

Kenwick Farm

Kenwick Farm was established in 1947 and was a farm property for senior boys from Sister Kate’s Children’s Home in Queen’s Park. It was located in Kenwick along the Canning River, not far from Sister Kate’s. Its stated purpose was to train boys in farm work for two years after they left school aged 14….

Memorial Cottage, Roleystone

Memorial Cottage was the name given to the Sister Kate’s Children’s Cottage home during its wartime evacuation to Roleystone in the Darling Ranges outside Perth. This cottage was purchased with funds donated from England in memory of Archdeacon Lefroy, hence the name ‘Memorial Cottage’. After a couple of years, the children and staff moved back…

Greenbushes Hostel

Greenbushes Hostel was the name given to the Sister Kate’s Children’s Cottage Home during its wartime evacuation to Greenbushes in southern Western Australia. Some children and staff relocated to the de-licensed Duke of York Hotel at Greenbushes on 29 February 1942. By 1944, some of the children and staff had returned to Queen’s Park but…