Please contact the Archives, Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Darwin:
Postal Address: GPO Box 476, Darwin NT 0801
Phone: (08) 8942 6000
Email: archives@darwin.catholic.org.au
Website: https://darwin.catholic.org.au/
Quote this number to access your records: Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Darwin Reference Number, Series 001
These records are part of Garden Point Collection (1941 - current).
The Garden Point Admission Register consists of one volume kept by the Catholic Mission at Garden Point on Melville Island, between 1942 and 1967. The register records names and additional details about children admitted to the mission. Details include the date of admission, child’s name, names and backgrounds of parents, dates and places of birth, baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation, and further comments. This admission register is held by the archives of the Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Darwin.
Because of the potentially private and personal content of records in this Archival Series, it is only open only to family relations and people who experienced ‘care’ through the Garden Point Mission upon request. To protect the privacy of individuals you may also need to provide proof of identity before accessing records that may contain personal or private information.
You may be directed to a digital copy of records in this Archival Collection due to the condition of the original records. Some records deteriorate due to age and may be no longer in one piece (they may literally fall apart), become faded, or suffer from mould or water damage etc. In these instances the original record may no longer be legible. Digital copies are used not only to prevent damage to the fragile original records by reducing the amount of handling, but also to present records in readable format.
For access to these records, please contact the archives of the Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Darwin. People who lived at the Garden Point Mission or at other missions or institutions run by the Catholic Church in the Northern Territory may be able to amend records about them.
From 1964, many remarks in the Admission register refer to the Welfare Branch of the Northern Territory. This marks the period of transition during which the administration of Garden Point Mission was handed over to the Welfare Branch. The Welfare Branch took on full responsibility for the former mission from 1 January 1968.
The original register is extremely fragile, and it has now been digitised to prevent further deterioration through continuous usage. In addition, the entries have been transcribed into an Excel spread sheet, which will facilitate searching.