Government reports (Signposts 2004, pp.287-288) show that Laverton Hostel was originally established by the Department for Community Welfare in 1984 as an Aboriginal education hostel for children from outlying areas who had to come into Laverton to go to school. It was possibly known as 'Raeside' at first. By 1986, the hostel was also providing emergency accommodation for young children in the town, mostly pre-schoolers.
Demand for the hostel's services, which had become increasingly involved with 'care and protection' issues rather than student boarding, fell in the 1990s. Authorities reported (Signposts p.288) that even though petrol sniffing and other serious issues challenged children in the Goldfields area, during the 1993-1994 year, the Laverton Hostel 'had 49 admissions (ranging in age from 0-6 to 18+ years, with only one non-Aboriginal admission), but its average occupancy was 1.5 children and there were 57 days with only one resident and a further 163 days with only one resident. Laverton township was also undergoing considerable change with the closure of nickel mines'.
Laverton Hostel was transferred to the Ministry of Justice in 1994, for use as a bail hostel.
Last updated:
21 October 2022
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/wa/WE00128
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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