From the mid 1950s the State Government of Victoria, via its various departments governing child welfare, operated a large number of family group homes under its Family Group Home Program. These Family Group Homes were located in inner and outer suburban Melbourne as well as in more regional locations across the state. The opening and…
The Murdoch Holiday Home was a holiday home run by Burnside Presbyterian Homes for Children. It opened at Murdoch Street, Huskisson on 6 November 1954. It was a holiday home for children living at other Burnside homes. Children from each of the Burnside homes spent two weeks at the Huskisson home every year. It was…
Woorabinda, 170 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton, Queensland, was gazetted as an Aboriginal Reserve in 1927; the reserve status remained in place until 1986. Additionally, in 1951 Woorabinda was gazetted as an Industrial School institution for the maintenance of State Children under the Children Services Act. Consequently the Woorabinda dormitories housed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander…
Kurnell Gardens was run by the State Children’s Relief Department as a remand home for children from Broken Hill who had been charged with offences by the police and were awaiting court appointments or being sent to other institutions. It was officially opened in December 1937, however it had been running since November 1936 when…
The Derby Leprosarium had opened by December 1936, replacing an earlier ‘lazaret’ that had been attached to the Derby hospital. With approximately 1200 inmates over its 50 years, it was the largest institution for people with leprosy in Australia (Robson, 2016). Children lived at Derby Leprosarium and some babies were born there. It closed in…
Moreland Hall was a reformatory and female rescue home for young women and girls operated by the Wesley Central Mission from 1936 to 1946. It was a continuation of The South Yarra Home, with residents and staff being transferred to Moreland on the closure of The South Yarra Home in 1936. Residents at Moreland Hall…
Tuggerah Welfare Farm was established by the Salvation Army around 1954 as a training farm for young men between 15 and 25 years old. In 1959 there were two boys at the farm under the age of 16. Many (though not all) of the residents of the farm were sent there by the Courts following…
The Theresian Holiday Home, also known as Liseux, was opened at Padstow Park in 1938. It was run by the Theresian Club, an organisation of Catholic women closely associated with the Sisters of Charity. The Home provided short holidays in a bushland setting for disadvantaged children from Sydney. Children between the ages of three and…
Broughton Lodge was a hostel run by the Church of England for girls from the country attending school in Geraldton. Broughton Lodge opened in 1942, initially taking in non-Aboriginal girls from rural areas, and from 1953 taking in Aboriginal girls only. In addition to their school work girls at the hostel received domestic training. Aboriginal…
The Clifden Farm and Try Boys Home was a farm training Home for boys at Wedderburn opened by The Try Society in 1923. It had previously been the privately run Clifden Children’s Home. The home had capacity for approximately 25 boys. In 1929 the Clifden Home moved to St. Andrew’s (also referred to as Diamond…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
