The Sir Harry Smith, was a hulk (ship) anchored off Fishermans Bend, near Hobson’s Bay. From 1865, it housed mostly older boys sentenced under the Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act of 1864. The Sir Harry Smith was anchored off Fishermans Bend in the River Yarra before it flowed into Hobson’s Bay. It was one of…
Olinda Farm Reformatory was established by Max and Louisa Brown in 1893. It was a training farm for up to six boys in South Wandin (now known as Silvan), near Lilydale. It was in operation for less than a decade and closed in around 1900. Olinda Farm Reformatory was a training farm for up to…
The Excelsior Boys’ Home, in North Brighton, was established by William Groom in 1886. Initially, the Home provided temporary accommodation for boys until they could be placed in suitable situations (generally in the country). In 1893 it was proclaimed as a private reformatory under the Juvenile Offenders Act 1887. The Home closed in around 1915….
The Heathfield Homes Reformatory School for Protestant Boys, Apollo Bay, was opened on the 4 July 1905 at Apollo Bay and run under the auspices of the Church of England. Boys sent to the Reformatory were trained in farm work. The School closed on 29 October 1915. The Heathfield Reformatory was opened on 4 July…
The Princes Bridge Industrial School came into being in 1864, following the passage of the Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act. An announcement in the Government Gazette of 12 August 1864 stated that the two sections of the Immigrants’ Home already housing children were established as industrial schools. (The Immigrants’ Aid Society had been accommodating hundreds…
The Brookside Private Reformatory for Protestant Girls was established in 1887 by Mrs Elizabeth Rowe. One of the first privately-run reformatories in Victoria, Brookside was located in the town of Cape Clear, near Scarsdale. It closed in 1903. The Brookside Private Reformatory for Protestant Girls was established on 29 December 1887. In a visit to…
The Government Reformatory for Girls in Coburg was established in 1875. The first reformatory for girls in the colony of Victoria was at Sunbury, established in 1865. The new premises in Coburg were “in immediate contiguity” to Pentridge Prison, in what was later known as G Division. The girls’ reformatory operated there from 1875 until…
In 1873 the Boys’ Reformatory run by the Victorian government moved from the reformatories on board the Sir Harry Smith and the Deborah. The new institution at Coburg was known as the Jika Reformatory for Boys. It was located within the grounds of Pentridge prison. The Royal Commission on Penal and Prison Discipline had stated in…
The Heidelberg Boys’ Home was established by the Salvation Army in 1893. It closed in 1895. The Heidelberg Boys’ Home was established by the Salvation Army in 1893. It was situated on a small property in Heidelberg. It was proclaimed a reformatory under the Juvenile Offenders Act 1887 and was for Protestant boys. In January 1893 the…
The Convent of the Good Shepherd, Oakleigh, was established in 1883. It was also known as the Private Reformatory for Roman Catholic Girls. The Convent first received girls and women from about 14 years, but in later years it accommodated girls from the age of 11. The Convent of the Good Shepherd was demolished in…