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Queensland - Organisation

The Salvation Army Australia (Eastern Territory) (1885 - )

  • Apology by the General of the Salvation Army General Shaw Clifton, to care leavers of Salvation Army homes

    Apology by the General of the Salvation Army General Shaw Clifton, to care leavers of Salvation Army homes, 7 December 2013, courtesy of Care Leavers Australia Network, News Flash, 14 December 2010.
    Details

From
1885
Categories
Adoption Agency, Care Provider, Church, Community Service Organisation, Protestant, Records Access Service and Records Holder
Website
http://salvos.org.au/

The Salvation Army is a world-wide Christian Church with international headquarters in London. It delivers a range of social programs and services in Australia. In Queensland since 1885, the Salvation Army has established and run many institutions, programs and services for children. Queensland is part of the Salvation Army Australia's Eastern Territory.

Details

The Salvation Army came to Queensland in 1885. In 1898 it established the Industrial School for Boys at Riverview. This was the first of many institutions for children established and run by the Salvation Army in Queensland.

The Salvation Army's institutions for children were progressively closed down from the mid 1970s into the late 1980s

From the late 1990s, government inquiries including the Forde Inquiry in Queensland and the Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care heard criticism of the Salvation Army and its treatment of children in its Homes.

In the Forgotten Australians report, the Committee made the statement:

that the overwhelming majority of submissions to this inquiry from ex-residents of Salvation Army institutions in all States reported negative experiences in these institutions, often citing cases of extreme forms of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The Committee believes that there has been a notable reluctance by the Salvation Army to acknowledge past practices, in particular the nature and extent of abuse in its institutions.

The Salvation Army subsequently issued an apology to former residents of its children's homes:

From 1894 to the 1970s The Salvation Army operated children's homes around Australia. The Salvation Army deeply regrets that not all the children in its care received the love and protection they deserved. Some of the children experienced great fear living with rigid and harsh discipline. Some became victims of physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse. The Salvation Army acknowledges its failure with those children. The Salvation Army offers all persons who were hurt its unreserved apology.

In December 2010, the international leader of the Salvation Army issued an apology to former residents of its children's homes in Australia.

Provided 'Care' At

Related Contact Details

Publications

Books

  • Cleland, Sharon, Caring for the children : a history of institutional care provided by The Salvation Army for Australian children and youth (1893-1995), Salvation Army, Australian Eastern Territory, Sydney, August 2012. Details
  • Salvation Army.Eastern Territory, Call to worship: calls and convictions from Australia Eastern Territory's worship symposium, Salvation Army, Australian Eastern Territory, [Sydney], 2005, 60 pp. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Child migration - British youth migrants having their daily swim at the Salvation Army Training Farm for Boys at Riverview, Queensland. When they first arrived very few could swim. Now they all can.
Title
Child migration - British youth migrants having their daily swim at the Salvation Army Training Farm for Boys at Riverview, Queensland. When they first arrived very few could swim. Now they all can.
Type
Image
Date
1927
Source
National Archives of Australia

Details

Immigration - Child migration schemes - Salvation Army Training farm, Riverview, Queensland
Title
Immigration - Child migration schemes - Salvation Army Training farm, Riverview, Queensland
Type
Image
Date
1952
Source
National Archives of Australia

Details

Horton House
Title
Horton House
Type
Image
Date
November 2012
Creator
Butterworth, Lee
Source
Lee Butterworth

Details

Apology by the General of the Salvation Army General Shaw Clifton, to care leavers of Salvation Army homes
Title
Apology by the General of the Salvation Army General Shaw Clifton, to care leavers of Salvation Army homes
Type
Document
Date
7 December 2013
Source
Care Leavers Australia Network, News Flash, 14 December 2010

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Salvation Army.Eastern Territory, Call to worship: calls and convictions from Australia Eastern Territory's worship symposium, Salvation Army, Australian Eastern Territory, [Sydney], 2005, 60 pp.

Prepared by: Lee Butterworth