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Drysdale River Mission

The Drysdale River Mission was established by the Benedictines of New Norcia on 15 August 1908 in the Kimberleys in Western Australia. In 1937, the main ‘mission station’ was moved to Kalumburu, which had been an outstation of Drysdale River. In 1926 it was reported that there were between 50 and 60 Indigenous people living…

New Norcia Mission

New Norcia Mission is the collective name for St Mary’s Mission (1848-1974) for boys and St Joseph’s Native School and Orphanage (1861-1974) for girls. These institutions were run by Benedictine monks and nuns until they closed in 1974. New Norcia Mission was the collective name for the St Mary’s Mission (from 1848) and the St…

Carrolup

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…

Sunday Island Mission

Sunday Island Mission was established in 1899 as a private mission by Sydney Hadley. It was run by the Australian Aborigines’ Mission (1923-1929) and the United Aborigines Mission from 1929 to 1934 when it relocated to Wotjulum (1934-1937) before returning to Sunday Island. From 1905, children at Sunday Island were under the guardianship of the…

St Joseph’s Native School and Orphanage, New Norcia

St Joseph’s Native School and Orphanage, New Norcia, dates from 1861 when it established by the Benedictine Fathers. From 1904 until it closed in 1974, it was run by the Benedictine Missionary Sisters. Aboriginal girls and young women lived and went to school there. Tilbrook (1983) reports that sisters ‘Elizabeth and Helen (or Ellen) Tainan…

Wongutha Mission Training Farm

Wongutha Mission Training Farm, near Esperance, was established in 1954 by RW (Rod) Schenk. It was for Aboriginal boys aged over 14 and, by the 1960s, girls. There was training in farming and Christian leadership. Wongutha was run by a local board of management. In 1990, the Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School Inc (CAPS) from Coolgardie…

Wirrumanu

Wirrumanu, which was also known as Balgo Mission, was a Catholic mission south of Halls Creek that was run by the Pallottines (Society of the Catholic Apostolates) from 1939, with assistance from the Sisters of St John of God from 1956. Boys and girls aged 4 to 18 years were accommodated in dormitories and went…

Wiluna Mission

Wiluna Mission was established by the Western Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church as a ‘native institution’ in October 1955 for young children and pensioners. After Grade 3, children were transferred to Karalundi. Wiluna closed in 1975. Wiluna Mission was established by the Western Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church as a ‘native…

Warburton Mission

Warburton Mission, 579 kilometres north-east of Laverton, was established in 1933 as an outstation of Mount Margaret Mission until it became a separate facility in 1937. Aboriginal children either lived at the mission with families or were sent there for schooling. The head of the government departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare was the guardian of…

Wandering Mission

Wandering Mission was established by the Catholic Archbishop of Perth in 1944, as a day school with a dormitory for Aboriginal girls, run by the Pallottines (Society of the Catholic Apostolates). Boys were admitted from 1951. Children aged 4-15 years were accommodated at Wandering, at the request of parents or government authorities. The head of…