Warminda was a government-run community support hostel for children aged 6-17 years, located in Welshpool. It replaced Andrew House and was located in a building that was previously a Uniting Church Home for children (also called Warminda). In 1993, Warminda was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and became the Warminda Bail Hostel.
In 1984, Warminda became part of the Department for Community Welfare’s ‘Community Support Hostel’ network with the purpose of providing ‘skilled care’ for children with professional staff employed at the hostel, working rotating shifts rather than living-in as houseparents. Many of the children and young people placed in Warminda (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) would have been involved in the juvenile justice system, but it is possible that other children were also placed there.
In 2015, Allan Keith Huggins, a former counsellor at Warminda, was convicted of abusing seven boys at Warminda in the early 1990s.
By 1987, it is possible that Warminda was no longer functioning as a residential facility. The Department for Community Services’ Hostels Education Activities Resources Team was headquartered at Warminda from 1987, and in July 1993 the premises were transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
Warminda was used by the Ministry of Justice as a hostel for young people who were awaiting court appearances.
From
1984
To
1993?
1984 - 1993?
Warminda was located at 4 Welshpool Road, Welshpool, Western Australia (Building Still standing)
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