Archives



Pakenham Boys’ Home

The Pakenham Boys’ Home was run by the Salvation Army between 1895-1897 on Army Road, Pakenham. The first boys at the Pakenham Boys’ Home were moved there from the Salvation Army’s Heidelberg Boys’ Home, which closed in 1895. In 1897 the decision was made to transfer the Boys’ Home to The Basin, where it became…

Riddells Creek Girls’ Home

The Riddells Creek Girls’ Home was established by the Salvation Army in 1900. It was reported the Adelaide Advertiser in 1902 that girls living at the Home included girls ‘recruited’ from the ‘Chinese opium dens’ and other ‘vile resorts’ in the slums of Melbourne. The newspaper described the Home as ‘spotlessly clean’, and stated it combined…

Spring House – Young Women’s Hostel

Spring House was established by the Salvation Army in 1921. It was located on the corner of Spring and Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne. According to O’Hanlon, Spring House was one of a series of hostels built by the Salvation Army in state capital cities during the interwar period. Spring House closed in 1984. O’Hanlon writes that…

The Salvation Army Westcare

The Salvation Army Westcare came into being in around 1980. With support from the Department of Community Welfare Services (DCWS), Westcare established residential units for children and young people in the western region of Melbourne. The Salvation Army Westcare ran residential care units for young people until 2018 when the Department of Health and Human…

Melbourne Orphanage

The Melbourne Orphanage was established in 1926. It was formerly the Melbourne Orphan Asylum. It was located in Brighton where it accommodated boys and girls aged between 3 and 16. By the 1950s, some children were housed in group homes in Glen Waverley. In 1965, it became the Melbourne Family Care Organisation. The Melbourne Orphanage…

Catherine Booth Girls’ Home

The Catherine Booth Girls’ Home was established by the Salvation Army in 1915 in ‘Blackhall’ mansion, East Kew. The Home accommodated girls aged between 4 and 16. The Catherine Booth Girls’ Home closed in 1976. The Catherine Booth Girls’ Home was situated at 26 Sackville Street, East Kew, in a mansion known as Blackhall. Catherine…

Glenroy Girls’ Home

The Glenroy Girls’ Home was established by Salvation Army in 1902, with the first girls in residence coming from the recently closed Brunswick Girls’ Home. The home had capacity for 60 girls between the ages of four and eighteen. It was situated in a leased property known as “Ashleigh”, in Widford Street, Glenroy. Girls at…

The Harbour

The Harbour, in West Brunswick, was established by the Salvation Army in 1898. It operated as a maternity home and home for young women aged 14 to 18. It closed in 1994. The Harbour was situated in Cohuna Street, West Brunswick. According to the DHHS guide ‘Finding Records’, the commercial laundry that operated at the…

The Haven

The Haven, North Fitzroy, was established by the Salvation Army in 1897. It had various functions over the years, including a maternity home, foundling hospital, babies’ and toddlers’ home, day care centre and hostel for girls with intellectual disabilities. It closed in 1988. The Haven was situated at 73-75 Alfred Crescent, North Fitzroy. It was…

Box Hill Boys’ Home

The Box Hill Boys’ Home was established by the Salvation Army in 1913. The Home first accommodated 45 younger boys, but in later years it housed a wider range of ages of boys in different ‘sections’. The Home closed in 1984. The Box Hill Boys’ Home was located at 310 Elgar Road, Box Hill. It…