Carrolup was established in 1915 as a government-run ‘native settlement’. The first Superintendent was from the Australian Aborigines Mission (AAM), which also provided volunteer staff. Aboriginal children were sent to Carrolup from different parts of the State. When Carrolup closed in June 1922, all residents were sent to the Moore River Native Settlement. Carrolup was…
Dulhi Gunyah Orphanage was run by the Western Australian State Council of the Australian Aborigines Mission from 1909 to 1918. It was a children’s Home rather than an Orphanage and was set up to admit Aboriginal girls under the age of 14 years and boys under eight even if they weren’t orphans. The children came…
Run by The Salvation Army, the Boulder Rescue Home provided an alternative to gaol or an industrial school for girls and young women who were charged by the Police or Children’s Courts from 1904 to around 1914. Children charged with neglect, vulnerable young women and people committed for offences all seem to have been taken…
The Salvation Army Girls’ Home, Kalgoorlie ran from 1904 to at least 1924 and possibly to 1930. Non-aboriginal girls were also admitted in later years. Newspaper accounts suggest that the purpose of the Home was to train the girls for domestic service. When the Home closed, the girls were transferred to the Salvation Army Girls’…
The Victoria Hospital for Infectious Diseases began as ‘little more than a tent outpost’ in response to an outbreak of smallpox in 1893. It was located in the Perth suburb of Subiaco (later known as Shenton Park). Children with infectious diseases were regularly admitted during the early life of the hospital. In 1938, ‘after many…
A Home for Girls was run by the Orphanage Committee of the Anglican Diocese of Perth from 1883. Funds were raised and a small cottage was built near the Swan Boys’ Home. The Home was for girls of all ages whose backgrounds disqualified them for admission to the Perth Girls’ Orphanage in the eyes of…
‘The Rocks’ was a hostel run by the Country Women’s Association (CWA) for girls attending Albany High School. It opened in September 1950 with 30 girls from the region. In 1969 control of the CWA Hostels passed to the government.
The Seaforth Salvation Army Boys’ Reformatory was run by the Salvation Army on a large site in Gosnells from 1920 until it closed in 1955. The reformatory was co-located with the Seaforth Boys’ Home (1920-1955), the Seaforth Salvation Army Girls’ Home (1920-1942) and the Seaforth Todders’ Home (1945-1949). Since 1955, the Seaforth site has been…
St Margaret’s Hostel for ‘unmarried mothers and their babies’ was run by the Sisters of Mercy from 1918 as an extension of St Vincent’s Foundling Home in Subiaco. It is probable that babies from St Margaret’s were adopted, fostered or lived at St Vincent’s Foundling Home until they were old enough to be moved to…
St Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage for Girls was established in Perth by the Sisters of Mercy in 1868, for girls from the Poor House. Children who were destitute were accommodated, along with orphans. In 1901, the Home moved to Subiaco and became the St Joseph’s Girls’ Orphanage. An orphanage for Catholic girls was first established in…