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Methodist Church of Western Australia

Wesleyan Methodists arrived in Western Australia in 1829 and were involved in out of home care from the early days of colonial settlement. In 1900 an independent Methodist Conference was established in Western Australia. In 1915 the ‘Central Methodist Mission’ was established to manage metropolitan charity work on behalf of the Methodist Conference. In 1977,…

Methodist Hostel for Boys, Albany

The Methodist Hostel for Boys was established in 1946 by the Home Missions Department of the Methodist Church as a hostel for boys going to high school in Albany. It was known as ‘Norman House’ after Mr John Norman who was a member of the Methodist Conference in recognition of what was described as his…

Mogumber Training Centre

The Mogumber Training Centre was an administrative unit in the Methodist, and then Uniting Church. It ran a number of ‘cottages’ and programs that had been run from Mogumber before the facility at Moore River closed in 1974. The Mogumber Training Centre became part of Sister Kate’s Child and Family Care Services in 1980. The…

NCH Action for Children, United Kingdom

NCH Action for Children was established as a charity in 1869 by Thomas Bowman Stephenson to stop children having to go into workhouses. In 1908 the organisation became known as the National Children’s Home and in 1937, 1939 and 1950 it was involved in child migration to Australia. Since 2008 the organisation has been known…

Mofflyn

Mofflyn (or Mofflyn House) was the new name given in 1959 to the Methodist Children’s Home. It housed children in four cottages (Wesley, Guild, Dowerin and Meckering). In 1984, the Mofflyn campus was closed but the Uniting Church continued to be involved in out of home care through Mofflyn Child and Family Services. Mofflyn (which…

Yokine Cottage

Yokine Cottage opened in 1972 when Mogumber was being replaced by a number of small homes in Perth suburbs. It is likely that Yokine accommodated Aboriginal school children until at least 1984. Yokine Cottage closed at the end of 1988. Yokine Cottage began as a suburban branch of Mogumber in 1970, in a house at…

Werribee Farm School

Werribee Farm School, near Wundowie, was established by the Methodist Church in 1928 to train boys aged 10 to14 years in farm work. By 1953, girls were admitted to Werribee (then called ‘Allandale’) with their brothers. The property was sold in 1962. Werribee Farm School, near Wundowie, was established by the Methodist Church in November…

Warminda Hostel

Warminda was established in 1968 as a hostel for Aboriginal girls of working age but by 1975 was admitting girls and boys aged from 5-16 years. It was run by Methodist and Uniting Church agencies. In 1984, the Uniting Church ceased their residential program at Warminda, and it became a government-run community support hostel, keeping…

Nollamara Cottage

Nollamara Cottage was established around 1973 as a temporary Home for children transferred from Mogumber to Perth for schooling and other reasons, such as access to medical treatment in Perth. It was run by Mogumber until 1974, then the Mogumber Training Centre until 1980 and then Sister Kate’s Child and Family Care Services. Nollamara Cottage…

Mogumber

Mogumber was run by the Methodist Overseas Mission from 1951 on the site of the Moore River Native Settlement. Aboriginal children and young people of all ages were placed there by parents, child welfare authorities or the Children’s Court. In the 1970s, some children were moved from Mogumber to houses in Perth. In 1974, Mogumber…