Archives



Roland Boys’ Home

Roland Boys’ Home, run by the Anglican Church, opened in Sheffield in 1951. It accommodated orphans and state wards from the age of six. The Home closed in the early 1990s. Roland Boys’ Home opened officially on 9 June 1951 at 69 High Street, Sheffield opposite the park and 200 yards from the state school…

Boys’ Training School

The Boys’ Training School opened in South Hobart in 1884. It was a government institution for young male offenders. In 1896, it moved to the New Town Charitable Institution. In 1922, it moved again, this time to Deloraine where, in 1926, it became the Ashley Home for Boys. The Boys’ Training School was established under…

Queen’s Orphan Asylum

The Queen’s Orphan Asylum opened as the King’s Orphan Asylum in New Town in 1833. It was the first purpose built institution for orphaned, destitute and neglected children in Van Diemen’s Land, later Tasmania. It closed in 1879. The Orphan School was the first purpose built institution for accommodating children in Van Diemen’s Land. Before…

Omaru Receiving Home

Omaru Receiving Home, run by the government, was established in the early twentieth century. It was in Launceston. The Home provided temporary accommodation for children who were wards of the state or supervised in other ways by successive child welfare departments. It closed in about 1965 and the building was used for Omaru Hostel. Omaru…

Laroona Family Group Home

Laroona Family Group Home, run by the government, opened in Battery Point in 1983. It provided temporary accommodation for children who were wards of the state or supervised in other ways by the Department of Community Welfare and its successors. The Home closed in about 2009. Laroona Family Group Home was in Battery Point, an…

Malmesbury Receiving Home

Malmesbury Receiving Home, run by the government, opened in West Hobart in the early 1960s in the building of the former Malmesbury Girls’ Home. It provided temporary accommodation for children who were wards of the state or supervised in other ways by the Social Welfare Department. In the early 1980s, Malmesbury Receiving Home became a…

Gilburn Receiving Home

Gilburn Receiving Home, run by the government, opened in Wynyard in 1959. It provided temporary accommodation for up to eight children who were wards of the state or supervised in other ways by the Social Services Department and its successor, the Social Welfare Department. In the early 1980s, it became Gilburn Family Group Home. Gilburn…

Casablanca Receiving Home

Casablanca Receiving Home, run by the government, opened c.1968. It was in Launceston. The Home provided temporary accommodation for children who were wards of state or supervised in other ways by the Social Welfare Department. In the early 1980s, it became Casablanca Family Group Home. A married woman, known as a Receiving Home Keeper, managed…

Abermere Hostel

Abermere Hostel, run by the government, opened in Mount Stuart in May 1965. It seems to have begun as a hostel for up to six older boys who had started work but were still wards of state. Later, it apparently became a receiving and then a family group home. Abermere closed in 1975. Abermere Hostel…

Rochebank Hostel

Rochebank Hostel, run by the government, opened in 1950 in the Glebe, apparently to accommodate children under the Domestic Service Assistance Scheme. After 1972, it also received teenage girls who were wards of state or supervised in other ways by the Social Services Department and its successors. Rochebank became a Family Group Home in the…