The Darwin Youth Refuge, also known as Murkwood House, opened at Myilly Point in 1978. It was managed by the Young Women’s Christian Association, YWCA, with funding from the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments. It provided short term emergency accommodation for up to 14 teenagers who were homeless or affected by family crises. The Refuge…
Umbakumba Mission was the new name given to the Umbakumba Settlement on Groote Eylandt when it was taken over by the Church Missionary Society in 1958. Many residents of the Settlement were temporarily moved to the Groote Eylandt Mission at Angurugu during the changeover. Dormitories for Aboriginal girls and boys were run at the Mission…
The Bagot Aboriginal Reserve was established in 1938. All the residents of the Kahlin Compound were moved to this new reserve in 1939. The Retta Dixon Home was located at Bagot Aboriginal Reserve. In the late 1970s the Bagot Aboriginal Reserve was handed over to Aboriginal custodians and became known as the Bagot Aboriginal Community….
The Darwin Correctional Centre at Berrimah in Darwin opened in 1979 to replace the Fannie Bay Gaol. It housed minimum and maximum security prisoners, sentenced and on remand. It had separate sections for young people and women. The number of young people accommodated decreased during the 1980s to 1990s. In 2013 Berrimah was scheduled to…
The Plymouth Brethren Mission was established in Darwin in 1910 by missionary Alexander Barry. It aimed to provide care and spiritual training for Aboriginal children. In 1911 the mission applied for a lease of government land to further its work. This request was rejected and the mission closed in 1912. The Plymouth Brethren Mission was…
Her Majesty’s Gaol and Labour Prison, Alice Springs, opened in November 1938. Male and female prisoners were held in separate cell blocks. Until 1964 male prisoners were segregated by race. Records show that some young offenders were also detained. In 1996 all prisoners were transferred to the Alice Springs Correctional Centre at Owen Springs. Builders…
The Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre which opened in 1991 was the first purpose built institution for young offenders in the Northern Territory. It provided secure accommodation for up to 25 boys and girls, aged between 10 and 16 or 17. The Centre replaced Giles House and Malak House, and took in young offenders from…
The Chapman Road Remand Home at Rapid Creek operated as a temporary facility for children on remand from 1976-77. A cottage, formerly part of Somerville Cottage Homes, was leased to the government for the purpose. The Remand Home, which took in mostly girls, closed in 1979. It was replaced by the Malak House Remand and…
Mud Island Lazaret was established by the NT Government on Mud Island, off Port Darwin in 1889 to quarantine people suffering from leprosy. Between 1920 and 1927 an average of 10 to 12 people, mainly Aboriginal and Chinese, were resident on the island. It is unclear whether this number included any children. However, in 1927…
The Convent School, Darwin, was the first Catholic School established in Darwin. It opened on Cavanagh Street in 1908 in a galvanised iron structure built on the same grounds as the convent building which was called St Joseph’s. The Convent School was run by Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. From 1909, as…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
