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Franciscan Friars

The Franciscan Friars arrived in Victoria in 1839 and built two of the colony’s first churches. This Catholic Order, which dates back to Italy in 1209, has been working in Australia almost since the time of first European contact. In Victoria, the Franciscans ran the Morning Star Boys’ Home and Padua Hall.

Church of England Boys’ Society

The first branch of the Church of England Boys’ Society (CEBS) in Australia was established in around 1914 in Kew, Victoria. It was initially under the guidance of the Church of England Men’s Society. CEBS played a role in a number of children’s institutions in Victoria, sometimes delivering services in conjunction with St John’s Homes…

Committee of Management of the Ballarat District Orphan Asylum

The Ballarat District Orphan Asylum was run by a non-denominational Committee of Management, comprising a President, two Vice-Presidents, five Trustees, a Treasurer and a Committee of Management of sixteen members. Each year it would meet to present the annual report and balance sheet, and to hold elections for officers. A House Committee of five people…

George Street Children’s Home

The George Street Children’s Home was established in 1916 and run by the Ballarat Town and City Mission. In 1920 or 1921, the George Street Children’s Home amalgamated with the Canadian Rescue and Children’s Home to become the Ballarat Town and City Mission Rescue and Children’s Home.

Ballarat Town and City Mission Rescue and Children’s Home

The Ballarat Town and City Mission Rescue and Children’s Home was established around 1921. It provided accommodation for single mothers and their babies. The Alexandra Babies’ Home, also managed by the Mission, was on the same site. The organisation came into being when it took over the Canadian Rescue and Children’s Home, and the George…

Community of the Holy Name

The Community of the Holy Name is a religious order founded in Melbourne, in 1888. The founder of the order, Emma Caroline Silcock (also known as Sister Esther), led the work of the Mission to the Streets and Lanes in Melbourne, and the two organisations had a close association. The order was not formally established…

Peninsula Family Services

Peninsula Family Services was established in 1980 by the Mission of St James and St John. The Andrew Kerr Memorial Home had been closed in 1978, with its residents being moved to family group homes in the Mornington Peninsula region. Peninsula Family Services was first located above a coffee shop in Main Street, Mornington. In…

Seaside Garden Home for Boys

The Seaside Garden Home for Boys was established in around 1921 in Newhaven, on Phillip Island and run by non-denominational committee of management. Following the death, in 1933, of Rex Ronnie Simpson from a beating from Superintendent, William Baye, the Home was taken over by the Mission of St James and St John. In 1934,…

The Try Society

The Try Society came into being in the early 1880s, when William Mark Foster and William Groom formed a number of ‘Try Excelsior’ groups in different suburbs around Melbourne. The clubs established by the Try Boys’ Societies aimed to lead boys away from the path that led to ‘larrikinism’. The Try Society emerged as a…

Minton Boys Home

The Minton Boys Home was established in Olivers Hill, Frankston in 1924. It was previously known as the Seaside Home, Frankston and Melbourne Ragged Boys’ Home in Melbourne. The Minton Boys Home accommodated boys until the age of eighteen. In 1943, it was renamed The Menzies Home for Boys. The services provided by the Melbourne…