Archives



Elizabeth Grace Community Unit

The Elizabeth Grace Community Unit was established by the government in North Adelaide in 1975. It was run as an non-secure open hostel for girls from Vaughan House who were working in the community. The hostel had originally been created as a part of Vaughan House as an open hostel section called the Elizabeth Grace…

Finniss Springs Mission

The Finniss Springs Mission was established by the United Aborigines’ Mission (UAM) north west of Marree, in 1939. It operated as a Mission, a Mission school and a government ration station. A dormitory for Aboriginal children whose parents worked away from the Mission was operating by 1944. Approximately 75 people resided at the Mission in…

Point McLeay Mission Station

The Point McLeay Mission Station was established at lake Alexandrina by the Aborigines’ Friends’ Association in 1859. Dormitories were set up at the Mission for orphan Aboriginal children. When Poonindie Mission closed in 1894 some families were transferred to Point McLeay. The State Government took control of the Mission in 1916 and the dormitories were…

Yalata Mission

The Yalata Mission was established in 1954 by the Lutheran Church on a government Aboriginal reserve 130 miles west of Ceduna. Aboriginal people from Maralinga and the Ooldea Mission had been brought to the area in 1952. The Mission operated a school and other facilities for the residents of the reserve. In 1974 the Yalata…

Nepabunna Mission

The Nepabunna Mission was established by the United Aborigines’ Mission (UAM) in north-east South Australia in 1931. The Missionaries assisted with housing, schooling, health and other facilities at the Mission. A dormitory for Aboriginal children was constructed at Nepabunna early in the 1940s but was not used for several years. The State Government took control…

Ernabella Mission

The Ernabella Mission was established by the Presbyterian Church in the Musgrave Ranges of north-west South Australia in 1937. A school operated at the Mission. In 1970 the State Government took administrative control of the Mission and in 1972 this transferred to the Commonwealth Government. In 1974 the administration of Ernabella Mission passed to the…

Kali Cottage

Kali Cottage was opened by the government in Westbourne Park in the former premises of the Kali Boy’s Hostel. It operated as a cottage home for a small number of children. Kali Cottage closed in 1977 when the government decided that its location was not suitable.

Rescued Sisters’ Home

The Rescued Sisters’ Home was opened by the Salvation Army on the corner of King William Street and South Terrace in 1890. It operated as a rescue home for destitute women and girls. From 1893 it operated in conjunction with the Adelaide Maternity Home. The Rescued Sisters’ Home closed in 1899 when the Salvation Army…

Ru Rua Nursing Home

Ru Rua Nursing Home opened in North Adelaide in 1978. It provided accommodation for children and young adults with severe and multiple disabilities. In 1981, Estcourt House at Grange was renovated, and Ru Rua Nursing Home moved to these upgraded premesis. In 1982, it became part of the newly created Intellectual Disability Services Council. Ru…

Balaklava Aboriginal Welfare Institution

The Balaklava Aboriginal Welfare Institution was established by the Commonwealth Government in 1942 at the Balaklava Racecourse as a temporary accommodation facility for Aboriginal people evacuated from the Northern Territory during World War II. It accommodated women and children and a small number of men. Several farms in the surrounding area were also used to…