Baptcare (formerly known as Baptist Community Care) traces its origins back to 1945, when the Victorian Baptist Women’s Association’s fundraising efforts led to the establishment of Strathalan Community, an aged care facility in Macleod. Baptist Community Care became Baptcare in 2006. Baptist Community Care ran Abercare Family Services, which was a temporary care program operating…
The Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV) was formed in 1862, and is the umbrella organisation for over 200 Baptist churches in Victoria. In 1945, the Baptist Union of Victoria purchased a farm and homestead called Strathalan located in north-east Melbourne, where work was begun providing social services among the elderly. The Baptist Union of Victoria…
The Antonian Institute for Children, Richmond, was established in 1959 to cater for children from families of Italian origin, including state wards. The Home’s name was changed to the Antonian Children’s Home in 1966. The Antonian Institute for Children was established at 311 Church Street, Richmond in 1959. In January 1960, the Antonian Institute for…
The Daughters of Divine Zeal are an international Italian order of Catholic nuns. The Sisters arrived in Richmond, Victoria in 1959 to the parish of St Ignatius, to do apostolic work with Melbourne’s Italian migrants. They ran the Antonian Children’s Home in Richmond from 1959 until it closed in 1979. In 1980 it was converted…
The Allenby Lodge Young Women’s Hostel, at 410 Burwood Road, Glenferrie (Hawthorn) was established by the Salvation Army in 1919. It catered for young women from the Army’s Homes at Camberwell and Kew who were unable to return home, or to secure appropriate board and lodging. According to O’Hanlon, Allenby Lodge was designed ‘to provide…
The Alexandra Babies’ Home was established in around 1909. It housed up to 36 children aged under five years of age. From 1964, it was known as the Alexandra Toddlers’ Home. It closed in 1973. The Babies’ Home accommodated boys and girls under 5 years of age. The Home had a capacity of 36 children,…
The Ballarat Female Refuge was established in 1867 by a group of protestant women, with the objective of reforming ‘prostitutes’. It became a shelter for single mothers. It was the first such institution on Australia’s goldfields. In 1921, the Refuge became part of the Ballarat Town and City Mission Rescue and Children’s Home. Initially, the…
Harrison House in Hawthorn was established in 1960. Run by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, it provided hostel-style residential accommodation for wards of state, boys on probation from the courts or institutions, and boys coming to Melbourne to find work from Kilmany Park in Gippsland. In its early years, it was known as Arthur Harrison…
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne came into being in 1847. Until 1981 the Anglican Church was known as the Church of England. Many institutions for children in Victoria had close links with the Church of England, including the Melbourne Orphan Asylum which had its roots in the St James Visiting Society, formed in 1845. From…
The Copelen Street Family Centre was established in 1974 in South Yarra. It included a children’s care centre, offered family counselling, and provided foster care. By the late 1980s the South Yarra property was sold and in 1991, the Centre was renamed Copelen Child and Family Services. The Copelen Street Family Centre grew out of…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
