Heathcote began in 1929 on Point Heathcote at Applecross. It was first known as the Heathcote Reception Home, and was a government hospital for people with ‘recent and recoverable’ mental illness. Heathcote sometimes housed Children and adolescents. It closed in 1994. The Royal Commission into Lunacy recommended in 1922 that a new hospital be built…
The ‘Royal Commission appointed to inquire into alleged cases of brutality at the Claremont Mental Hospital’ was appointed on 20 March 1950. It found children needed to be better segregated and recommended improvements to record-keeping, medical supervision and staffing. The Royal Commission was chaired by Mr Justice Adrian H. Curlewis of the Supreme Court of…
The Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly appointed to inquire into the condition of the Fremantle and Whitby Falls Lunatic Asylums found that the Fremantle Aslyum ‘was so unfitted for its purpose that its defects could not be remedied, and that there must be an entirely new building’. Whitby Falls was useful as a ‘labour…
The Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly to consider and report as to what is necessary to place the Asylum for the Insane on a satisfactory basis as to Accommodation and Maintenance was appointed in 1891. It found that the Fremantle Aslyum had inadequate staffing and buildings, was over-crowded and didn’t benefit the people who…
Fairholme was established in 1952 as a home for 32 children ‘of all ages’ with intellectual disabilities who were transferred from the Claremont Mental Hospital. Fairholme, with Earlsferry, made up the Nathaniel Harper Homes owned and run by the government of Western Australia. Fairholme continued to provide out of home care in the Guildford premises,…
Earlsferry was established as a Home for ten ‘mentally handicapped girls’ who were transferred from the Claremont Mental Hospital. Earlsferry, with Fairholme, made up the Nathaniel Harper Homes owned and run by the government of Western Australia. In 1988, ownership passed to the Authority for Intellectually Handicapped Persons. In April 1989, when Earlsferry was damaged…
The Bureau for Disability Services (‘the Bureau’) was established in 1991, reporting to the Minister for Community Services and Disability Services. The Bureau oversaw the provision of State funding for services provided by non-government organisations to people with physical disabilities. It also had a broad policy and development role such as providing the framework for…
The Commonwealth Disability Services Act 1986 (Act no. 129 of 1986) commenced on 5 June 1997. It rose from the Handicapped Persons Review in 1985. The Act reshaped the way disability services were funded but initially there was some concern and confusion about the obligations arising from State and federal funding sources. In 1991 the…
The Health Department and its previous agencies have had an indirect role in out of home care for over a century. The ‘Infant Life Protection’ provisions in the Health Act 1898 were important in protecting children until the State Children Act 1907 took over that function. It has been the government department responsible for the…
The Division for the Intellectually Handicapped (DIH) was part of Mental Health Services until 1984 and then part of the Health Department. It established and ran hostels for children, young people and adults with intellectual disabilities. The DIH was replaced by the Authority for Intellectually Handicapped Persons in 1986.
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
