Archives



Manunka Mission

The Manunka Mission was established by Mrs Janet Matthews in 1901 on the Murray River near Mannum. It operated as a Mission and a government ration station. A day school operated at the Mission and a dormitory was planned. In 1909 there were 40-50 Aboriginal people living at the Mission. Manunka Mission closed in 1916….

Finniss Springs Mission

The Finniss Springs Mission was established by the United Aborigines’ Mission (UAM) north west of Marree, in 1939. It operated as a Mission, a Mission school and a government ration station. A dormitory for Aboriginal children whose parents worked away from the Mission was operating by 1944. Approximately 75 people resided at the Mission in…

Point Pearce Aboriginal Station

The Point Pearce Aboriginal Station was the new name given to the Point Pearce Mission Station after the State Government took control in 1915. Situated 35 miles south of Wallaroo the Station was home to some Narungga people as well as other Aboriginal people from the closed Poonindie Mission. A school operated at the Station…

Point Pearce Mission Station

The Point Pearce Mission Station was established 35 miles south of Wallaroo in 1868. It was run by the Yorke Peninsula Aboriginal Mission committee to assist the Narungga people living on the outskirts of copper mining towns in the area. Moravian Missionary Julius Kuhn was the first superintendent. Initially 70 Narrungga people came to the…

Point McLeay Mission Station

The Point McLeay Mission Station was established at lake Alexandrina by the Aborigines’ Friends’ Association in 1859. Dormitories were set up at the Mission for orphan Aboriginal children. When Poonindie Mission closed in 1894 some families were transferred to Point McLeay. The State Government took control of the Mission in 1916 and the dormitories were…

Yalata Mission

The Yalata Mission was established in 1954 by the Lutheran Church on a government Aboriginal reserve 130 miles west of Ceduna. Aboriginal people from Maralinga and the Ooldea Mission had been brought to the area in 1952. The Mission operated a school and other facilities for the residents of the reserve. In 1974 the Yalata…

Swan Reach Mission

The Swan Reach Mission was established by the United Aborigines Mission [UAM] at Swan Reach in 1926. A rented cottage was used as the Mission House and a school opened at the Mission in early 1926 to provide Christian education to local Aboriginal children. The site at Swan Reach was prone to flooding and permanent…

Nepabunna Mission

The Nepabunna Mission was established by the United Aborigines’ Mission (UAM) in north-east South Australia in 1931. The Missionaries assisted with housing, schooling, health and other facilities at the Mission. A dormitory for Aboriginal children was constructed at Nepabunna early in the 1940s but was not used for several years. The State Government took control…

Ernabella Mission

The Ernabella Mission was established by the Presbyterian Church in the Musgrave Ranges of north-west South Australia in 1937. A school operated at the Mission. In 1970 the State Government took administrative control of the Mission and in 1972 this transferred to the Commonwealth Government. In 1974 the administration of Ernabella Mission passed to the…

Poonindie Mission

The Poonindie Mission was established at Poonindie by the Church of England in 1850. It was initially run as a training institution for young Aboriginal people from Adelaide schools. It later became a Christian community made up of Aboriginal people from various localities. The lease to Poonindie Mission was surrendered in 1894 and the majority…