St John’s by the Sea, in Beach Road, Sandringham, was a cottage-style Home for 20 boys. It was run by St John’s Home for Boys. It opened in 1951, was still open in 1954, and possibly closed in 1958.
The residents of St John’s by the Sea included child migrants from Britain.
The Home was St John’s first ‘cottage-style’ accommodation. An article published in 1951 stated that the new Home ‘will afford an opportunity of experimenting with a cottage unit’ (The Argus 9 June 1951, p.17). (By the mid 1950s, St John’s opened more cottage units in Canterbury.)
The first superintendent at Sandringham was Mr CPL Charteris, who was assisted by his wife as matron.
According to the Finding Records website, St John’s by the Sea was in a house rented from the Ministering Children’s League. ‘Although this cottage accommodated 20 boys, it was a significant change from existing congregate care arrangements operating in most children’s homes at the time’.
It accommodated some state wards, but the majority of boys were not wards. Boys at St John’s by the Sea attended the local school.
According to the annual report of the Hospitals and Charities Commission, for the year ended 31 March 1953, St John’s by the Sea housed 7 boys aged between 4 and 9 years old, 4 boys aged between 10 and 12, 9 boys aged 12 to 14, and 5 boys aged between 14 and 17.
From
1951
To
1958?
Alternative Names
St John's Home for Boys by the Sea
1951 - 1958?
St John's by the Sea was located at 184 Beach Road, Sandringham, Victoria (Building Demolished)