Archives



Innaminka Hostel, Greenmount

Innaminka Hostel, Greenmount, opened in the early 1970s, when Mogumber (1951 – 1974) was being replaced by a number of small homes in Perth suburbs. It began as a hostel for boys, but by 1975 was used for short term placements for girls aged 5-17 years. By the 1980s, it was again a boys’ hostel…

Gilliamia Hostel

Gilliamia Hostel in Onslow was established in 1961 as a government-run Aboriginal education and employment hostel for school-age children and young people of working age who came from outstations and communities to the township of Onslow for school or, occasionally, work. Gilliamia closed in 1990. Government reports (Signposts 2004, pp.218-220) show that Gilliamia was a…

Westview

Westview was the new name given to the Geraldton Group Home in 1981 when it moved to new premises. It was a government-run facility providing accommodation for children aged 0-17 years, including Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children who were wards of the State and those who were not wards. Over the years, Westview has been involved…

Geraldton Boys’ Employment Hostel

Geraldton Boys’ Employment Hostel was a government-run hostel for (mostly) Aboriginal boys of working-age in Geraldton. It was established around 1973 and closed in 1979. The building was later used by the Aboriginal Boomerang Council Inc for the Boomerang Youth Hostel. In government records, this hostel is sometimes referred to as an ‘Anglican hostel’. It…

Fourteen

Fourteen was a government-run hostel in central Perth, established for up to 12 teenage boys who had been released under supervision from Riverbank. All boys were wards of the State (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) and went out to work or training from Fourteen. It closed in 1979 and was replaced by the Victoria Park (Riverbank) Annexe….

Fitzroy Crossing Hostel

The Fitzroy Crossing Hostel was run by the United Aborigines Mission from around 1956. By 1971 there were 80 primary school age Aboriginal children at the hostel. It was run by the Department for Community Welfare from 1972 until 1976 when it was replaced by the Fitzroy Crossing Group Homes (Burawa Hostel). The Fitzroy Crossing…

Fitzroy Crossing Group Homes

Fitzroy Crossing Group Homes, or Burawa, provided government-run accommodation for up to eight Aboriginal children with Aboriginal house parents in three Homes. By 1979 there was only one Home open and it was converted to a hostel in 1980. In around 1987 Burawa became part of the Junjuwa Community. Government reports (Signposts 2004, pp.205-207) show…

Fairhaven Hostel

Fairhaven Hostel in Esperance, was established by the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board Inc. (now known as Global Mission Partners) in 1965. Its purpose was to provide accommodation for Aboriginal girls aged 14-17 years while they undertook education, training and employment in Esperance. The Fairhaven Hostel was run by the Churches of Christ…

Derby Hostel

Derby Hostel was established by the United Aborigines Mission in 1956 as a residential child care facility for Aboriginal children going to primary and high school in Derby. Until 1963, the Commissioner of Native Welfare was the guardian of all children at the hostel. In 1975, the Department for Community Welfare took over the running…

Cooinda

Cooinda, in Mt Lawley, was established in 1966 by Methodist Homes for Children at the request of the Department of Native Welfare to accommodate Aboriginal schoolgirls attending high school in Perth. After 1977 it was run by the agencies of the Uniting Church and in 1987 it was transferred to the Department for Community Services….