Records of Mogumber Methodist Mission, Methodist Church is a large collection of records held by the State Library of Western Australia that document the history of the Moore River Native Settement, Mogumber Mission, and Mogumber Training Centre. It includes records containing details about the people who lived at Mogumber, as well as administrative records.
Access Conditions
Some records in this collection are open to public access, while others are restricted for 100 years to protect personal privacy. For access to restricted records please contact the Uniting Church Synod of Western Australia Archives. For access to open records please contact the State Library of Western Australia.
Records
Records in the Mogumber Methodist Mission, Methodist Church collection that contain details about individuals include:
- Admission and Discharge records (dated 1951-1980)
- Child Endowment records (dated 1951-1980)
- Register of ‘inmates’ (dated 1918-1962)
- Register of Baptisms (dated 1954-1975)
- Certificate of Marriage Books and Marriage Registers (dated 1946-1976)
- Cemetery Burial Register (dated 1918-1964)
- Personal files, including case summaries of children, school report cards, etc. (dated 1948-1974)
- Records relating to education of children, including notes on their progress, graduations, report cards, incident reports, and correspondence about curriculum, transport of children, and extra-curricular activities. These records relate to children receiving education at the Mogumber Agriculture School as well as those sent from Mogumber to Perth to the Methodist Ladies College, Claremont, and Wesley College, South Perth (dated 1952-1973)
- Records relating to holidays, excursions, and camps for children, including placements with host families (dated 1953-1980)
- References provided for former students and employees of Mogumber (dated 1958-1980)
- Correspondence files, including correspondence with former students, staff members, the Department of Child Welfare, the Department of Education, and the Department for Community Welfare. Some of the correspondence mentions children who lived at Mogumber, including in relation to their admission and discharge of them to the mission or school, relating to adoptions, boarding out, and fostering arrangements for children from Mogumber, and correspondence regarding maintenance payments made for children. (dated 1951 – 1981)
- Mogumber Mission Hospital records, including patient details, case summaries, records of patient transport, maternity cases, immunisation cards, daily treatment books, drug register, and correspondence with other hospitals about patients and treatments. (dated 1944-1975)
- Members roll books (dated 1964-1968)
Other, administrative records in the Mogumber Methodist Mission, Methodist Church collection include:
- Minutes, reports, notes, and correspondence of the Mogumber management committees.
- Mogumber constitution, policy papers, by-laws, and rules and regulations.
- Auditor’s and Superintendent’s reports on Mogumber
- Employment files
- Financial records
- Property, building, land, and water records
- Correspondence about and reports on training of young people at Wongutha Mission Training Farm.
- Records relating to working parties and volunteers participating in projects at Mogumber, including taking children on school excursions and camps.
- Records relating to the management of the Mogumber farm
- Records relating to the establishment and management of hostels and cottages, including Ardross, Nollamara, Applecross, Mount Yokine, and Greenmount hostels.
- Records relating to the amalgamation of Sister Kate’s Children’s Home and Mogumber Training Centre.
- Issues of the Mogumber newsletter
- Papers and correspondence relating to Mogumber’s involvement with organisations such as the Aboriginal Advancement council of Western Australia, Aboriginal Hostels Council of Western Australia, Budjarra Aboriginal Community, Sister Kate’s Children’s Home, Mogumber Parents and Citizens Association, Methodist Homes for Children, Children’s Bureau of Australia, the Methodist Church, and the Methodist Overseas Mission.
- Publication by child-care agencies (e.g. Catherine McAuley Residential Child Care Centre, Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Methodist Child Care Agencies, Child and Family Welfare Council of Australia, and Children’s Welfare Association of Victoria)
- Publication ‘Mogumber – History’ by Chris Ridings
For more details about the records in this collection please see the State Library of Western Australia finding aid for these records.
