St Mary’s Mission was a boarding school managed by the Benedictine Community of New Norcia for Aboriginal boys. From at least the early 1960s state wards were placed at St Mary’s. A report from 1971 stated that the school catered for “160-170 primary and secondary school children”. St Mary’s Mission was closed in 1974. In…
Roelands Native Mission Farm was established in 1938 and was run by a council of management with Protestant church associations. It began as a farm for Aboriginal families but by 1941 admitted only Aboriginal children. At first, children under 8 were placed at Roelands, but older children were later placed there. There were 85 boys…
The Pallottine Mission, Tardun, run by The Pallottines, opened a boarding school in 1948, before establishing a hostel in 1960 to accommodate boys and girls in dormitories who went to school at the mission. In the 1960s the hostel was completely rebuilt to provide cottage-style care with house parents. In 1995, the Pallottine Mission, Tardun…
Norseman Mission was a ‘children’s mission’ established in 1935 by members of the Churches of Christ and then run from 1942 by the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board Inc. Its purpose was to provide accommodation, education and vocational training for children and young people aged 2-15 years. The number of children at the…
Mowanjum was established near Derby in 1956 when the Presbyterian church moved residents of Wotjulum mission to a new site in Yampi Sound near Derby. Until 1963, children at Mowanjum were under the guardianship of the Commissioner of Native Welfare. In 1971 it housed 65 school-age children. Mowanjum became a self-governing community in 1972, and…
Mount Margaret Mission, south of Laverton, was established in 1921 by R. Schenk, with assistance from the Australian Aborigines Mission. Around 1928, the Schenks established a dormitory system at the Mission, where Aboriginal children were housed separately from their parents. It was called the Graham Homes. By 1942 several hundred Aboriginal families, including children, lived…
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…
Marribank, near Katanning, was run by the Baptist Union as an Aboriginal mission from November 1952, when it continued the Marribank Farm Training School. Marribank accepted children who were wards of the state and private admissions. By the 1970s, Marribank was reported as operating with a community development model and by the 1980s was offering…
Lombadina, on the Dampier Peninsula, was a Mission established by the Catholic Diocese of Broome and run by the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines) from 1909. It accommodated Aboriginal babies, children and young people. The Sisters of St John of God ran the Mission school from around 1917 to the 1970s. In 1941 there…
Kurrawang Mission, near Kalgoorlie, was established as a ‘native reserve’ in 1952 by the Gospel Brethren (later known as Christian Brethren). Until 1963, the head of the government departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare was the guardian of children at the Home. By 1968, there were 66 children, some who were wards of the State. Its…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
