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The Brookside Private Reformatory for Protestant Girls was established in 1887 by Mrs Elizabeth Rowe. It was located in the town of Cape Clear, near Scarsdale. Many girls ended up in Brookside after unsuccessful boarding out or foster care placements. It closed in 1903. The Brookside Private Reformatory for Protestant Girls was established on 29 December 1887. In a visit to Brookside in 1890 reported on in the Age, the author ‘Mem’ describes Mrs Rowe as “a lady who has made it her life work to assist in the rescue of young girls whose surroundings have, almost inevitably in most cases, brought them into trouble” (Farm life for reformatory girls, 1890). Brookside was a private, or ‘assisted’, reformatory, made possible by the Juvenile Offenders Act 1887, which was assented to only weeks before the opening of Brookside. The government paid 5 shillings a week towards the maintenance of girls in the reformatory. (The go

Katukutu was established in 1958, as an independently-managed hostel in Mount Lawley to accommodate young Aboriginal men coming to Perth to work from rural Western Australia. In 1961, Katukutu moved nearby into premises that had been Alvan House and by 1966 was run by the Baptist Union. It became a government-run facility by 1974, possibly also accommodating students, and operated until at least 1982. In government records, Katukutu is named and spelled various ways including Kath Kutu, Katukuta Hostel and Katakuta Hostel. Katukutu was established in 1958 by Mr and Mrs Robert and Betty McKeich, as an Aboriginal education and employment hostel, to accommodate young Aboriginal men from the country who came to Perth for training, work or study. Its name means, ‘To the top’. At that time, Katukutu was supported by a committee formed from members of the Dalkeith Baptist Church and some people from other denominations. Beginning in rented premises in Almondbury Street, Mount Lawley, Katuk

This document contains extracts from and covers of several Kildonan Annual Reports. It includes most of the 1957 Kildonan Annual Report.

This is an image of the first Family Group Home opened by Kildonan Homes for Children at their main site, 80 Elgar Road Burwood. It shows a small weatherboard cottage with a tin roof surrounded by lawn and small trees. This photograph was published in Kildonan’s annual report for either 1958 or 1959.

Kildonan Residential Units came into being in around 1958, when Kildonan set up its first family group home next-door to the Kildonan children’s Home in Burwood. The Burwood Home was sold in 1960, and seven more family group homes were purchased in the eastern suburbs. In 1989, Richmond Community Care Inc. Took over the management three of Kildonan’s residential units. Kildonan Residential Units came into being around 1958, when a property adjoining the Children’s Home in Burwood was purchased to be used as Kildonan’s first family group home, on an experimental basis. Subsequently, several homes in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne were purchased as Kildonan moved away from ‘institutional’ care towards the family group home model. At various times, Kildonan family group homes were located at Blackburn, Box Hill, Burwood, East Malvern, Syndal, North Balwyn, Canterbury, Hawthorn, Richmond, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Epping, Thomastown, Eltham, Hurstbridge, and Wattle Park. In 1989,

This is an image of the former site of the Molloy House hostel when it was located in Brunswick East.

Molloy House was established by the St John’s Homes for Boys and Girls in 1968. It was a hostel, run in conjunction with the Church of England Boys’ Society. Molloy House was a ‘halfway house’ for young people on Children’s Court probation. Molloy House was in Canterbury until 1979 and then moved to Brunswick for around another 3 years. A statement by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as part of Case Study 52: Institutional review of Anglican Church authorities contains some information about Molloy House. The statement says that income from the farming at Burton Hall, Tatura (whose Farm Training Scheme had closed in 1967) went to support ‘a Hostel for Probation Boys established at Maling Road Canterbury. This establishment later became known as “Molloy House” and was in association with the St John’s Home for Boys and Girls. The aim of these hostels was to assist, train and rehabilitate youths b

Millbrook Rise Hospital, run by the government, opened in New Norfolk in 1934. It was a psychiatric hospital which took some adolescents in the 1960s. In 1968, the Royal Derwent Hospital took Millbrook Rise over. Initially, the main purpose of Millbrook Rise Hospital was to treat World War One veterans and their families but it also took private patients. Patients were treated for mental illness, alcoholism, and intellectual disability. Millbrook Rise Psychopathic Hospital opened in Burnett Street across the road from Lachlan Park Hospital in 1934. The Tasmanian Veterans Trust paid for its establishment with funds given to it by the Red Cross after World War One. Under the Psychopathic Hospital Management Act of 1933, the State government took over the management of the Hospital. The Act also provided for the Hospital to give priority to ex-servicemen and their families. The Millbrook Home Board managed the Hospital. It included several members of the Tasmanian Veteran

Bethany Babies’ Home was originally the Geelong Female Refuge when it was established in 1868. From 1928, the Refuge became known as Bethany Babies’ Home. It accommodated pregnant women, babies and toddlers; it operated a maternity hospital and also adopted babies out. In 1977, it ceased to operating as a Home and adoption agency and became Bethany Community Support. From 1977, all records relating to individuals, placements and adoptions at Bethany Babies’ Home were transferred to the Victorian government. In 1928, the Geelong Refuge began to operate primarily as a babies’ home. It was at this point that it became known as Bethany Babies’ Home. As well as caring for babies and toddlers, Bethany operated as a maternity hospital and accommodated pregnant women. It also operated as a mothercraft training school. Bethany also became an adoption agency with the passing of the Adoption Act 1928. In March 1928, a news article stated that “Som

The Government Reformatory for Girls in Coburg was established in 1875. The first reformatory for girls in the colony of Victoria was at Sunbury, established in 1865. The new premises in Coburg were “in immediate contiguity” to Pentridge Prison, in what was later known as G Division. The girls’ reformatory operated there from 1875 until 1895 when it closed. At this time it was also known as the Jika Reformatory for Girls. The girls’ proximity to prisoners, not to the mention to the city, caused the government to consider relocating the reformatory to more appropriate surroundings. The Secretary of the Department reported in 1891 of how the next “desirable site” for the reformatory would be distant from the prison, the city, and also inaccessible to the girls’ relatives and former associates, “whose visits almost invariably have been found to have an evil influence and very unsettling effect on the girls”. An article from May

The Geelong Female Refuge was established in 1868 at Kildare, initially to house and reform ‘fallen’ women who had nowhere to live. By 1893 the Refuge accepted pregnant unmarried women who were prepared to have their babies at the refuge and remain for a further 12 months with their baby. By 1928 it had evolved into the Bethany Babies’ Home. The objects of the Institution were: To provide a refuge for females who have fallen into vice, and who are desirous to return to the paths of virtue;  To reclaim them from their evil courses, and fit them to become useful members of society and To assist in procuring them situations, or otherwise providing for them on leaving the institution. The Refuge was to be conducted on Protestant principles, and “applicants shall be admissible without reference to c

Bethany Community Support, a child and family welfare agency, was formed in 1977. Formerly, Bethany operated as an adoption agency and babies home, and was known as the Bethany Babies’ Home. Bethany Community Support was an independent, voluntary organisation with no political or religious affiliations. In April 2023, Bethany merged with Barwon Child Youth & Family (BCYF) to form a new organisation, Meli. In 1977, when Bethany ceased operations as an adoption agency and babies’ home, all records pertaining to individuals, placements and adoptions were transferred to the Victorian government. Department of Human Services. These records can be accessed through the Victorian Adoption Information Service. In December 2008 Bethany opened its new offices in Grovedale at Shop 10, 147 Marshalltown Rd. A number of programs are located there including Innovations Casework, Housing, Community Kitchens, Homework Clubs and Saver Plus. Bethany Community Support retained some historical

Find & Connect is for people who spent time in an orphanage or children’s home in Australia between 1920 and 1990. Our support services can help you find family, access records, or with any issues that stem from being in care as a child. We are independent of any past providers, and do not hold any records ourselves. We are not affiliated with any record-holders or other organisations related to historical child welfare. We can help you: access personalised support and counselling obtain personal records where possible, trace your history and help you understand why you were placed into care connect with other services and s

The Geelong Industrial School received its first children in September 1865. The School was located on Ryrie Street, Geelong, in a portion of the immigration barracks at the eastern end of town. In 1869, the school opened a second site in the old Geelong Gaol at Myers Street in order to reduce overcrowding at the Ryrie street site, however Myers St was deemed unsuitable and closed around 1873. The Geelong Industrial School housed children including those who, for health reasons, were moved from Melbourne’s industrial schools. Initially, it was mainly used as a convalescent depot – frail children in the city’s industrial schools were often transferred to Geelong, where the atmosphere was thought to be healthier. The Argus described its first residents, who had been transferred from the Princes Bridge Industrial School, as a “deplorable lot of sickly-looking children” (The Argus, 25 August 1866). It housed boys under the age of 6 and

‘Withnell House’ is a digital copy of a history paper, prepared by The Salvation Army Historical Society, that is held in the Withnell House child home closed [File, Salvation Army] file at the Salvation Army Heritage Museum WA.

‘Cornelie Home, Lincoln Street’ is a digital copy of an entry in Southern Soup-Soap-Salvation, a compendium of Salvation Army Social Services in the Australian Southern Territory (p.43). It has some historical information about Cornelie.

‘Hopetoun Maternity Hospital, Harvest Road, North Fremantle’ is a digital copy of an entry in Southern Soup-Soap-Salvation, a compendium of Salvation Army Social Services in the Australian Southern Territory (p.74). It has some historical information about the Hopetoun Maternity Hospital, which became known as Hillcrest.

Find & Connect Support Services will be taking a short break over Christmas, check here for their opening times & who to contact if you need some help.

In December 2024, the Find & Connect web resource was informed that the Nursing History Research Unit no longer exists. We are currently trying to clarify the whereabouts of its collection. Please contact us if you have any further information. Please contact the Nursing History Research Unit: Address: Room C1.02, 1st Floor, Sydney Nursing School (M02), University of Sydney, 88 Mallett Street, Camperdown NSW 2020 Phone: (02) 9351 0696 Email: lynette.russell@sydney.edu.au

In December 2024, the Find & Connect web resource was informed that the Nursing History Research Unit no longer exists. We are currently trying to clarify the whereabouts of its collection. If you have any further information, please contact us. The Nursing History Research Unit, Sydney Nursing School at the University of Sydney is a group of researchers into the history of nursing and nurse education in Australia. The Unit supports a research archive that contains a range of reports and documents relevant to nursing history and the history of the education of nurses. The collection consists of papers relevant to the various departments of nursing, midwifery and health science that have been operated by the University of Sydney and private collections. The Nursing History Research Unit also holds The Home of Hope registers 1903-1905. The Nursing History Research Unit is open on Tuesdays and access can be arranged at other times.

The Admissions Register of the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen Women (South Sydney Women’s Hospital) are three volumes of registers. According to Professor Lynette Russell, archivist of the Nursing History Research Unit, these were retrieved from a rubbish pile at Rozelle Hospital and donated to the Nursing History Research Unit. Professor Russell believes all other records of the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen Women have been destroyed. The registers contain limited information about the women who lived at the Home of Hope. Quantity: 3 volumes. Register Number 63 for 1903 and Register Number 55 for 1904-1905. Access Conditions These records were previously held at the Nursing History Research Unit at the University of Sydney. In December 2024, the Find & Connect web resource was advised that this Unit no longer exists. We are currently trying to clarify the whereabouts of these records. Please get in touch if you can provide any further information.

Major events and legislation in the history of child welfare in Australia