Please contact the State Records Research Centre:
Postal Address: GPO Box 464, Adelaide SA 5001
Phone: 08 7322 7077
Quote this number to access your records: State Records of South Australia Series ID, GRS/3822
These records are held by State Records of South Australia (1919 - current).
The archival series the Nominal List of Orphan and Deserted Children Taken Out of the Destitute Asylum is a record of the children who left the Destitue Asylum between 1855 and 1861. The series provides the child’s register number (given upon arrival), date of leaving, name, age, with whom they were placed, residence, by whom recommended, the date of their return to the Destitute Asylum and any remarks. The remarks section shows when children were adopted stating; ‘I hereby agree to take from the Destitute Asylum ……. To adopt as my own child, to supply him/her with good and sufficient food and clothing and to give him/her a decent education.’ The volume is in chronological order by date the child left the Destitute Asylum.
A Research Centre Members card, obtainable at the Archives, is required to research records held at State Records.
Although some very early records relating to children in care in South Australia are open for access, most records relating to children are subject to a 100 year restriction, particularly those which contain personal information about individuals. Written permission must be obtained from the government agency which created the record in order to access restricted material. To obtain permission a Freedom of Information (FOI) request form must be submitted to the relevant government department. State Records staff will be able to assist you with this.