Archives



Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage

Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage for Roman Catholic boys was established by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth in 1872 and run by Benedictines (1872-1876) then the Sisters of Mercy (1876-1897), and the Christian Brothers (from 1897). In 1901 the orphanage moved to Manning and became known as Clontarf. The St Joseph’s Girls’ Orphanage was then established…

Father Hudson’s Society, United Kingdom

Father Hudson’s Society was one of the British Children’s Homes which sent child migrants to Australia. It was established in 1902 as the ‘Birmingham Diocesan Rescue Society for the Protection of Homeless and Friendless Catholic Children’ in Coleshill, Birmingham but was soon known as Father Hudson’s Society after its founder, Father George Vincent Hudson. In…

NCH Action for Children, United Kingdom

NCH Action for Children was established as a charity in 1869 by Thomas Bowman Stephenson to stop children having to go into workhouses. In 1908 the organisation became known as the National Children’s Home and in 1937, 1939 and 1950 it was involved in child migration to Australia. Since 2008 the organisation has been known…

Family Care Society

The Family Care Society was one of the agencies that gave evidence to the Inquiry into the Welfare of Former British Child Migrants in 1998. At that time, it was a voluntary adoption agency in Northern Ireland, ‘working with the sending agencies in getting information, in tracing families and providing counselling and arranging for reunion…

The Children’s Society, United Kingdom

The Children’s Society was established in Britain in 1881 as ‘The Waifs and Strays Society’. From 1925 to 1961 they were involved in sending a total of around 400 children from their Homes in Britain to Australia. Children from The Children’s Society homes emigrated under schemes operated by The Fairbridge Society, The Church of England…

Catholic Child Welfare Council, United Kingdom

The Catholic Child Welfare Council was founded in 1929 in Britain. When it appeared before the British Parliament’s Inquiry into the Welfare of Former British Child Migrants it was the peak agency for Catholic welfare agencies. In 1994, the CCWC created a Child Migrant Sub-Committee to collate the records and develop a database of children…

Mercy Community Services (Inc)

Mercy Community Services (Inc) was established by the Sisters of Mercy (Perth) in 1997 to carry on the services of the Catherine McAuley Family Centre. In 2002, the ownership of Mercy Community Services Inc was transferred to MercyCare Ltd which is legally and operationally separate from the Sisters of Mercy.

Kenwick Farm

Kenwick Farm was established in 1947 and was a farm property for senior boys from Sister Kate’s Children’s Home in Queen’s Park. It was located in Kenwick along the Canning River, not far from Sister Kate’s. Its stated purpose was to train boys in farm work for two years after they left school aged 14….

Memorial Cottage, Roleystone

Memorial Cottage was the name given to the Sister Kate’s Children’s Cottage home during its wartime evacuation to Roleystone in the Darling Ranges outside Perth. This cottage was purchased with funds donated from England in memory of Archdeacon Lefroy, hence the name ‘Memorial Cottage’. After a couple of years, the children and staff moved back…

Greenbushes Hostel

Greenbushes Hostel was the name given to the Sister Kate’s Children’s Cottage Home during its wartime evacuation to Greenbushes in southern Western Australia. Some children and staff relocated to the de-licensed Duke of York Hotel at Greenbushes on 29 February 1942. By 1944, some of the children and staff had returned to Queen’s Park but…