The Health and Home Affairs Department, within the State Children’s Department, was established in 1935 to provide care, management and control of orphaned, abandoned and convicted children and their property. Previously, it was known as the Home Secretary’s Office, State Children Department. The Department ran Toowoomba Mental Hospital and Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook. Responsibility for State children passed to the Labour and Industry Department in 1963.
Administrative Structure:
The State was divided into 3 Districts: the Southern District (Southern Queensland from Bundaberg to the NSW Border) with a head office in Brisbane; Central District (Mackay to Miriam Vale on the Coast and West along the Central Line) with a district office at Rockhampton; Northern District (North Queensland from the north and West of Townsville) with a district office at Townsville. Each office had inspectors and administrative staff.