The Churinga Special Residential School, located in Greensborough, was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1967. It housed 60 Catholic and Protestant boys (aged 7 to 16) and, in later years, some girls. It was an institution for children deemed to have an intellectual or developmental disability. From 1987, Churinga was registered as a Special School and ran a day-program. Churinga closed in 1990.
Churinga was purpose designed and built to provide a range of residential care, training and treatment programs for boys with intellectual disabilities. According to the guide, A piece of the story Churinga provided residential care to boys (aged 7 to 16) with a developmental disability.
There was capacity to accommodate 60 residents. Catholic and Protestant boys were accepted. A focus on the boy’s family was a key aspect of the program. Some girls were admitted as residents in the latter years of the service. A small day-centre program was also conducted until 1987 when Churinga became a registered Special School.
According to an article on the Broken Rites website, there were initially five Brothers working at Churinga.
The same article also makes the point that:
Many SJOG inmates, especially wards of state, had behavioural or learning difficulties and were not necessarily born with an intellectual disability, although they certainly became educationally disadvantaged through their incarceration at St John of God.
From
1967
To
1990
1967 - 1990
Churinga was located at 108-130 Diamond Creek Road, Greensborough, Victoria (Building Demolished)