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Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania) Limited was formed in July 2017 and is the community services organisation of the Uniting Church of Australia in Victoria and Tasmania. At its establishment Uniting brought together 24 founding agencies, including 21 UnitingCare agencies and Wesley Mission Victoria. The Uniting Heritage Service is for people (and their family members) who were in out of home care or adopted by the former Presbyterian, Methodist or Uniting Churches. It provides supported access to records and family searching services. From its establishment Uniting continued to provide care and support to children, young people and their families through programs such as foster care, kinship care, adoption and permanent care, and residential care. Other community service programs operated by Uniting since it was formed include aged and carer services, housing and homelessness, early learning centres, alcohol and other drug services, and asylum seeker support. The Uniting Heritag

Please contact Christopher Wade, Manager Uniting Heritage Service: Postal address: Locked Bag 8, A’Beckett Street PO, Melbourne VIC 8006 Phone: 0402 969 621 Email: heritageservice@vt.uniting.org Website: https://www.unitingvictas.org.au/services/family-services/heritage-service/

State Records of South Australia hold a large quantity of records created by the various departments responsible for child welfare that contain information about adoptions in South Australia. These include Adoption files, adoption index cards, envelopes containing details of relinquishing parents, and a short register of children available for adoption. The records date from 1915 up to the current day, and include details about children who were placed for adoption, and their biological and adoptive parents. Access Conditions Access to these records is permanently restricted to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information Team. Records Adoption files – State Children’s Department and successors,

The records of the Strathmont Centre held by the State Records of South Australia include registers of residents, inpatient record cards, admission registers for the Strathmont Special School, and employee history cards. These records include basic details about people who were admitted to the Strathmont Centre, including biographical and medical information, however the records about each individual are generally quite brief. These records include some information about patients who were transferred to other hospitals and centres, including the Ru Rua Nursing Home, Hillcrest Hospital, and Glenside Hospital. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for up to 100 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To arrange access to these records please contact the Department of Human Services Freedom of Information team. Records The following records from the Strathmont Centre c

The Registers of Patients contain information about people admitted to Ru Rua Nursing Home between 1974 and 1989. Information recorded in the registers includes patient registration number, date of admission, name, sex, date of birth, birthplace, marital status, previous address, information about pensions and medical benefits, previous admissions, referrals, medical information, religion, name and contact details for next of kin, date of discharge/transfer/death, and other remarks. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 60 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To arrange access to these records please contact the Department of Human Services Freedom of Information team.

These admission registers contain information about children admitted to the Mareeba Babies’ Hospital and the Mareeba Children’s Annex to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital between 1920 and 1972. Information recorded in the registers includes the patient’s registration number, name, sex, date of birth, date of admission, condition on admission, disease, classification number, date of dischage/transfer/death, result of treatment, place of transfer (if transferred), number of days spent in hospital, names and contact details of parents, and name of treating doctors. From 1972 to 1976 the register was no longer used for child admissions, and instead recorded admissions of elderly patients to the geriatric ward of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To arrange access to these records please contact the

These records were created by the Northcote Mental Hospital, later known as the Hillcrest Hospital. They contain information about patients, staff, and administrative matters at the Hospitals. The collection is held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain personal details of people admitted to the Hospitals, including children and young people. Records about patients include admission and discharge registers, medical exam notes and case files, records about medications, property owned by patients, visitors, and patient deaths. The collection also includes administrative records from the hospital, such as annual statistics, general information pamphlets about the hospital and what patients could expect, and a newsletter written by patients and staff. Access Conditions Access to many of these records is restricted for up to 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To

This collection contains an Admission Register and School Council Records from the Minda Special School created by Minda Inc. The records contain basic details about children enrolled at the school, as well as administrative records about the management of the school. Access Conditions Access to these registers is restricted in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these registers have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department of Education Information Release Unit. To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records Admission Registers, 1979-1997 (GRS/5383) contain details about children enrolled at Minda Special School, including their name, address, date of birth, and information about their parents/guardians. These records have rest

This small collection of records were created by the Boys Probationary School, Mount Barker, which was later known as the Salvation Army Boys’ Home, Mount Barker, or Eden Park Boys Home. It includes nine Admission Registers which contain details of the boys admitted to the Homes, and two School Journals, which contain information recorded by the head teacher about daily occurrences at the school. Access Conditions The Admission Registers in this series are restricted for 100 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these registers have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department of Education Information Release Unit. Admission registers over 100 years old, and all School Journals are open and can be accessed by any member of the public.  To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records

These admission registers were created by the Umeewarra Mission School, which was the school located at the Umeewarra Mission, also known as Davenport Reserve, near Port Augusta. The registers record details about children that attended the school, including their name, date of birth, gender, religion, parents names and occupations, residence, previous school, grades, date of leaving school, and other remarks. Children are listed in the registers by their date of enrolment. The registers also include an alphabetical index to students. Access Conditions These registers are open and can be accessed by any member of the public. For access to these registers please contact State Records of South Australia.

These records were created by the Home for Incurables, later known as the Julia Farr Centre, Julia Farr Services, and Highgate Park. They contain information about patients, staff, and administrative matters at the Homes. The collection is held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain personal details of people admitted to the Home for Incurables, Julia Farr, and Highgate Park, including children and young people. Records about patients include admission and discharge registers, case books, records about the movement of patients between wards/facilities, and records about medications prescribed to patients. The collection also includes administrative records from the hospital, which also include some references to individual patients, such as staff reports about occurrences at the Homes, correspondence, visitor books, meeting minutes, and annual reports. These records were transferred to State Records of South Australia in 2020, following the closure of Highgate Park

These records were created by Enfield Receiving House, later known as Enfield Hospital, and contain information about patients, staff, and administrative matters at Enfield. The collection is held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain personal details of people admitted to Enfield Hospital, including children and young people. Records about patients include admission and discharge registers, case files, records about prescribed medications, records about the movement of patients between wards/facilities, and daily information about occurrences on hospital wards. The collection also includes administrative records from the hospital such as staff reports/diaries, and meeting minutes. Some records dating from 1979 onwards also relate to patients admitted to Hillcrest Hospital, which came under the same board of management as Enfield in 1979. Access Conditions Access to records in this collection is restricted for up to 100 years in order to protect personal p

These are records created by Morialta Protestant Children’s Home that are held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain information about children living at the Home, and include children’s files, photographs, adoption forms, annual reports, a film made about the Home, visitor’s books, and administrative records such as reports, meeting minutes and regulations. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Some of these records are still restricted, while others over 100 years old are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team. To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records The following records in this collection contain infor

Vaccinations and infectious diseases log – Seaforth Home is a register used to record medical information about residents of the Seaforth Convalescent Home and Seaforth Home at Somerton Park between 1941 and 1973. It includes information about vaccinations received and infectious diseases contracted by the residents. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team. Records One side of each page is a register of vaccinations given, including vaccinations for polio, triple antigen, influenza, CDT (combined diphtheria and tetanus), and gamma globulin injections. The other side of the page is a register of infectious diseases contracted by residents. Information captured in the register includes dat

These indexes to correspondence received by the Destitute Poor Department, Destitute Person’s Department and the Children’s Welfare and Public Relief Department are held by State Records of South Australia.The indexes include name of writer, number of file, date of letter, date of receipt of letter and subject of letter i.e.. “W. Holmes, 137, 7/3/1900, 9/3/1900, Maintenance of E.M. Howell’s child; Remittance on account of”. The indexes contain some references to destitute people who have NOT been admitted to the Destitute Asylum, the so called ‘town cases’. As the Town Cases Registers are now missing, and as much of Destitute Board correspondence prior to 1921 is also missing, these indexes may be the only trace left of such people. These volumes do not index the State Children’s Department files, but there are many references to the maintenance of children, and to letters from the State Children’s Department regarding children. Access Conditions Access to the records in thi

This series contains a volume that records details about patients admitted to the Northfield Consumptive Home, later the Morris Hospital. Information varies between patients, but generally includes name, date of admission, admission number, patient’s address, next of kin, age, religion, place of birth, length of residence in South Australia, occupation, doctor, duration of illness, where transferred from, and date of discharge or death. Access Conditions These records are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records There is an alphabetical index at the front of the volume. Patient admission numbers are preceded by the letter ‘B’ for cancer patients and the letter ‘C’ for tuberculosis patients. These patients were admitted separately, and their details were later compiled into this register.

This series consists of registers of patients admitted to the Northfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, later the Northfield Wards of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. It includes basic information about people who were patients at the hospital, including name, date of admission and discharge, sex, age, occupation, marital status, contact details for family/friends, doctor, and destination on discharge. Some entries in the register note the diagnosis given to patients. The registers cover the dates 1932-1938 and 1951-1959. The location of the registers recording patients between 1938 and 1951 is not known. Access Conditions This series is open and can be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records of South Australia.

This series of Case Cards comprises a record of cases dealt with by the Women Police Branch. The date range of the cards runs from 1960 to 1973. Women Police during the period dealt primarily with the moral and social welfare of women and children, such as domestic issues or missing persons, with criminal offences being handled by the regular police force. The cards include basic personal details about the woman or child in question, alongside details of the incident, observations made by police, general information, and sometimes a photograph. These cards contain information about children who were placed at Glandore Children’s Home/Glandore Boys’ Home, and may contain information about children placed in other out-of-home care settings. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 75 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please

This series of Case Cards comprises a record of cases dealt with by the Women Police Branch. The date range of the cards runs from 1940 to 1974. Women Police during the period dealt primarily with the moral and social welfare of women and children, such as domestic issues or missing persons, with criminal offences being handled by the regular police force. The cards include basic personal details about the woman or child in question, alongside details of the incident, observations made by police, general information, and sometimes a photograph. These cards may include information about children who were placed in out-of-home care. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 75 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the South Australian Police, Freedom of Information Unit. To arrange access to open records please co

This series contains the Observation Log of Seaforth Home for 1968 to 1973, which is titled “Wet Bed Book”. It includes notes about daily checks conducted on the beds of children in the morning and evening. Entries include the name of children, with ticks or crosses against their name to indicate if their bed was wet or dry. Entries for children have been divided into two groups – toddlers and schoolgirls – reflecting the different dormitories for the age groups. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team.

Records of McBride Maternity Hospital, formerly Adelaide Maternity Home is a collection of records that date from 1893 to 1982 created by staff at the Adelaide Maternity Hospital, McBride Maternity Hospital and McBride Hospital. The records are held at the State Records of South Australia and include admission and discharge registers, clinical registers, patient information, case books and day books for mothers and infants. Access Conditions These records are closed to public access due to the Adoption Act 1988. To access these records you must complete a Freedom of Information (FOI) request form and submit it to the Department for Child Protection. You can contact the FOI team for assistance with your application. There is no fee to apply. If you do not want to approach the Department yourself, someone else (like a worker from a support service) can apply on your behalf. Records Records of McBride Maternity Hospital, formerly Adelaide Maternity Home, is a c

This Admission book contains details about young people admitted to the girls unit and the co-educational unit of the South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre. Details recorded include name, date of birth, address, charge/reason for admission, details of release and release date. Entries are made in chronological order, and date from 1985 to 1993. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team.

This series comprises correspondence files of the Colonial Surgeon’s office and its successors, including the Hospitals Department. The correspondence contains little information about patients, however it does include correspondence relating to the lunatic asylums and mental hostpials, and it may include correspondence related to Estcourt House and Mareeba Babies Hospital. The correspondence mostly relates to staffing matters, payment authorisations, and administrative issues. There is little information about hospital or asylum patients in these files, other than reports on exceptional incidents and attempts to recover payments. Unit 1 of this series directly relates to the Colonial Lunatic Asylum and the Adelaide Lunatic Asylum. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Those records over 100 years old are open and can be accessed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records h

State Records of South Australia holds records that contain information about Aboriginal people in South Australia, including children who were removed from their families by the state (also known as the Stolen Generations), and about Aboriginal missions, stations and reserves, and government policies impacting Aboriginal people. The records were kept by the State departments responsible for the oversight of Aboriginal people in South Australia. Some of the records directly relate to individual children who were removed from their families, whereas other more administrative records can provide contextual information about the systematic removal of Aboriginal children from their families and the mechanisms of control the State imposed on Aboriginal people. State Records also hold Client Files about Aboriginal families and children that were created or maintained by the Social Welfare Departments – more information about those files

State Records of South Australia hold a large collection of records created by the Destitute Board, which include records about children and unmarried mothers admitted to the Destitute Asylum and Lying-in Home, as well as records about the Industrial and Reformatory Schools at Brighton and Magill. The records include admissions registers to the Destitute Asylum and Lying-in Home, lists of “orphan and deserted children”, registers of children boarded out from the asylum, register of infants born at the asylum, registers of licensed foster mothers and the children fostered to them, account books showing maintenance payments for children, registers of children transferred to other institutions, and registers of children apprenticed, adopted, or sent out to work, plus more administrative and contextual records such as correspondence files, committee meeting minutes, and annual reports. Access Conditions Records created by the Destitute Board that relate to children admitted to t

State Records of South Australia holds records that contain information about foster mothers and maternity homes. The records were kept by the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. The records contain details about women who were licensed to be foster mothers for children in State care, details about children who were placed in the care of these women, reports on conditions in foster homes, details of unmarried women who gave birth in maternity homes, details about children born outside of marriage, and reports on conditions at maternity homes. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Many of these records are still restricted, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Inform

State Records of South Australia holds many records that contain information about children in the child welfare system. The records were kept by the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. The records contain details about children placed under state care, including when their wardship commenced, the child’s placements in institutions and in foster care/boarding out/apprenticeships, details about children who died while in state care, details of children born out of wedlock, details of a child’s release from state care, details about payments made to private carers, and reports on children. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Many of these records are still restricted, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Dep

Education – Register of Prosecutions is a register that records details of the prosecutions of parents for the non-attendance at school of children of school age (either through truancy or non-enrolment). In the ‘Remarks’ section it includes notes on committing children to institutions, such as the Edwardstown Industrial School, Glandore Industrial School and Glandore Children’s Home, and the length of sentence for children committed to institutions. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department of Education Information Release Unit. Records This register begins with an index (two columns) on tabbed letter pages giving surname, Christian name, and prosecution numbers of parents of the child/children in question. The indexed names appear under year dates.

State Records of South Australia holds the administrative records created and kept by the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. The records contain references to children who were in State care, adoption requests, photographs of some children and children’s institutions, and discussions of policy matters relating to child welfare and institutional care. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Many of these records are still restricted, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team. To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records Annual Reports o

State Records of South Australia holds the minutes of council and committee meetings that were created and kept by the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. These minutes include notes on discussion of individual cases, including notes on the conduct and education of State wards, allegations of neglect of State wards, transfers of children, absconding, petitions from parents to have their children released from State control, approvals for foster parents, and a small number of references to adoption cases. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Many of these records are still restricted, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. Some records that discuss adoption cases are restricted in perpetuity. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Ch

State Records of South Australia holds many records of correspondence written to or by the Social Welfare Departments and its predecessors. The records were kept by the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. The records include details about children, including references to children being committed to State care, foster and institutional placements or transfers, maintenance payments for children, appeals from parents for the return of their children, medical treatment of children, and correspondence with non-government children’s Homes. Some later (c.1970s) files from the Department for Aboriginal Affairs are also included in this collection. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Many of these records are still restricted, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To reque

Please contact the Archivist at Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand Provincialate (Good Shepherd Archive): Postal address: PO Box 182, Abbotsford VIC 3067 Phone: 1800 812 702 Email: archives@goodshep.org.au – for Archives, Research, Legal and Redress enquiries heritage@goodshep.org.au – for Former Residents and their families Website: https://goodshep.org.au/services/the-good-shepherd-archive/

State Records of South Australia holds many records that contain information about South Australian families who had contact with the child welfare system, and relating to the paternity of South Australian children who were born outside of marriage (including for cases where this is not noted on a birth certificate).  They may contain some information about children who were placed in out of home care. The records were kept by the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team. Records Ledger cards – Family Maintenance Branch, 1928-1980 (GRS/6648)

The Malmsbury Youth Training Centre was established by the state government in 1965. In 2018, it was known as the Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct. Malmsbury was primarily for males aged 18 to 20 serving a Youth Justice Centre order. Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre closed in December 2023. During the mid 1970s the dormitory style accommodation at Malmsbury was converted to smaller units with bedroom accommodation. This increased the options for treatment available in the Centre. When the Langi Kal Kal youth training centre was closed in March 1993, Malmsbury became Victoria’s main Youth Training Centre for 17 to 20 year old offenders. In 1994 a major redevelopment of Malmsbury commenced. The redevelopment improved the centre’s safety, security and program capacity for 17 to 21 year old young male offenders. The new 75 bed centre at Malmsbury was opened in December 1997. The Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre closed in December 2023. Young people were moved to Parkville Youth Jus

If you, or your family member, was a ward of the state, it is likely that there are some government records about their time in ‘care’. For detailed information about accessing ward records, see Searching in Your State which explains the system in each jurisdiction. Wardship records were created and kept as administrative records, and generally relate to matters such as court appearances, police records, admissions and discharges from institutions or foster care placements and maintenance payments by parents. During most of the twentieth century, wardship records were very bureaucratic. People accessing their records can be shocked and

All Saints Hostel, Charleville was opened in 1918 as a boarding hostel for children in Western Queensland who were attending the State school at Charleville. It was initially run by a management committee, headed by a representative from St Paul’s Bush Brotherhood, until Sisters of the Sacred Advent took over its management in 1920 (Finn, Charleville Centenary Celebrations, 1947) . It took children of primary and high school age, though most of the children at All Saints Hostel were primary school children. The exact closing date for the hostel is not known, however it is thought to have closed by 1983. All Saints Hostel opened in a building called ‘Gowrie House’, and initially had accommodation for 20 children. The number of children boarding at the hostel quickly grew to 45, and in 1928 a separate hostel building to house the girls and boys under 8 years old was opened, while the original home was refurbished to be more suitable for the older boys. In 1940 a new hostel fo

This is a photograph of the All Saints Girls’ Hostel at Charleville that was published in the commemorative book Charleville Centenary Celebrations, November 1947. It shows several dozen girls and women lined up in front of a large two-storey Queenslander style building with an upper wrap-around verandah.

The New South Wales Government Departments for Child and Social Welfare created a collection of about 5000 photographs relating to out-of-home care and state wardship. This collection includes images of individual children who had been placed in government-run Homes and institutions. Some children appearing in photographs have been named, but many have not yet been identified. The collection includes photographs of child welfare institutions and their surroundings, showing buildings, farms, dormitories, kitchens, and school-rooms. It also includes photographs showing activities undertaken by children in institutions, such as classroom and trades education, farm and domestic work, creative activities such as artwork or theatrical performances, sports, and holidays. Some photographs include staff members and other adults. Access Conditions Access to some of these photographs, where individuals can be identified, is restricted in order to protect personal privacy. For access to

The Society for Providing Services for Neglected or Needy Children holds some records relating to Our Children’s Home (also known as Ardill House). Previously, these records were in the custody of Integricare. Access Conditions Please contact the Society for Providing Services for Neglected or Needy Children. Access to records is provided according to the Society’s Records Policy (August 2020). Records There is a register containing details about children admitted to and discharged from the Home (dates unknown), and a minute book (dates unknown). The minute book contains notes from monthly meetings of the committee that ran the Home, which sometimes include details about individual children. There are also some photographs in the collection. In 2020, the Society for Providing Services for Neglected or Needy Children took custody of this collect

The Boarding section of the Salesian School, formerly known as St John’s Boys Town, was run by the Salesians of Don Bosco and operated as a boys home within the bounds of the school. It was often still referred to as St John’s Boys Home. In the mid 1960s the School became known as Salesian College. The St John’s Boys Home section closed at the end of 1984. The Salesian College finished as a co-educational secondary school at the end of 1996. The Salesians of Don Bosco took over the running of St John’s Boys Town in 1942 and were granted permission by the Archbishop in 1954 to discard the name ‘Boys Town’ and to accept day-pupils for both technical and secondary studies. The home became known as ‘the boarding section of Salesian School’ although it was still often referred to as St John’s Boys Home. A new building was erected in 1954-55 so that the number of residents could be increased to 160. The Salesians were particular about the boys they would accommodate, preferring to take

Our Children’s Home, Liverpool was established by George Edward Ardill, of the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children, in 1887. It was a home for boys aged four to eight and girls aged four to fourteen. It held up to 40 children. In 1918 Ardill opened a new Our Children’s Home at Concord (Ardill House). Both homes were operated until 1936, when the Liverpool home was closed and children were transferred to the Concord Our Children’s Home. Ardill claimed that the children in the homes were found on the streets, needy and friendless, or the victims of vice, ill-treatment and neglect. Some must have been born in the Home of Hope and others came from Our Babies Home and Rockdale Babies Home. The land for the home was donated by Mr Frederick Kingston Olliver, and included a building known as Drummond cottage, which was used as the Children’s Home. In the home boys received training in farm labouring and girls were trained in domestic service. When children left the home Ar

This is a photograph of children outside the Manly Industrial School. It is a poor-quality image showing several dozen children in white dresses standing in front of a large two-storey stone building with a cross on each end of the roof, and several smaller buildings and possibly a garden pergola. This photograph is part of a collection of photographs from children’s Homes and Institutions held by the NSW Department of Community Justice. This photo is undated, the date included is an estimate.

Mittagong Cottage Homes were established from 1885 by the State Children’s Relief Board. They were houses that each held 20 children, ranging in age from infancy to adolescence. The first were in the Mittagong township but in 1896 they moved to the Southwood Estate on Bong Bong Road, where further cottages were added. The cottages had several different functions over time, including hospitals, disability and truancy institutions, convalescent homes, transit points between foster placements and the reformatory which was located on the same site as the cottages. More than 30,000 state children passed through the cottages. In 1976, when the Mittagong Training School closed, the entire complex of buildings and farming land was renamed Renwick, a complex of cottage homes for state wards of all ages. The first Mittagong Cottage Homes were for ‘delicate and invalid children’. A cottage in rented premises in Mittagong township was opened on 21 March 1885. Within a short period six ‘scattere

Renwick was established by Department of Community Services in 1976, using the buildings and land that had been occupied by the Mittagong Cottage Homes and Mittagong Training School for Boys. Renwick was a home for dependent children (state wards) of all ages and both sexes. It closed in 1994 and was sold to developers. The site has been subdivided and many of the cottages have since been demolished. Challoner Cottage was heritage listed in 2014. Renwick was formed from the buildings that had been Mittagong Cottage Homes (for state wards) and the Training Home (for convicted boys). The name Renwick honoured Sir Arthur Renwick, the first President of the State Children’s Relief Board, who had established the Mittagong Cottage Homes in the late 1880s. Renwick was a complex of cottages, solely for ‘dependent children’, as state wards were often described as in the 1970s. Each cottage home had house parents living in with the children. The 9 cottages were: Challoner – fo