St Mary's Church of England Home at Toowong, courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia.
Details
St Mary's Home, Toowong, was established in 1919. It was a Home for unmarried mothers and their babies operated by the Committee of St Mary's Church of England Home. St Mary's Home, Taringa amalgamated with the Brisbane Female Refuge and relocated to Bent Street, Toowong in 1919. It operated under the name St Mary's Home, Toowong. The Home closed in 1991.
St Mary's Home, Toowong was licensed under The lnfant Life Protection Act until 1959. It was licensed again on 11 February 1975. Funding ceased in 1981/82 but the home continued to operate.
According to an article published in The Courier-Mail in 1944, St Mary's Home, Toowong, women typically stayed at St Mary's Home for approximately four months after giving birth. The majority of the women who stayed at St Mary's were between the ages of 17 and 19. Most of the babies born to women at the home were put up for adoption.
Beatrice Wood was in charge of St Mary's Home, Taringa, in 1907. Miss E. Taylor was matron of St Mary's Home Toowong from 1924 to 1944. Ivy McGregor was matron of St Mary's Home Toowong in 1951 and 1952.
Reverend Canon Campbell was Chaplain to the St Mary's Home and Refuge, Toowong, in 1929.
St Mary's Home, Toowong, was mentioned in the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices Report (2012) as an institution that was involved in forced adoption.
1919-1991: St Mary's Home, Toowong was situated at Bent Street, Toowong, Queensland
1894 - 1898 Church of England Rescue Home
1898 - 1919 St Mary's Home, Taringa
1919 - 1991 St Mary's Home, Toowong
Sources used to compile this entry: Boyce, James, For the Record: Background information on the work of the Anglican Church with Aboriginal Children and Directory of Anglican Agencies providing residential care to children from 1830 to 1980, Anglicare Australia, Melbourne, 2003, 46 pp. p.29.; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. pp.77-79.; Social Work Staff, Faculty of Education, University of Queensland, Directory of Social Services Queensland, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 1958, http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv/UQ:241555/HV474_Q44D57_1958.pdf; Sinnamon, Myles (21 June 2016). 'Ivy Estate, Toowong, Brisbane, 1884 (Map of the Week)', State Library of Queensland Blogs. Retrieved from https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/ivy-estate-toowong-brisbane-1884-map-week (accessed October 2019).
Prepared by: Lee Butterworth
Created: 23 June 2011, Last modified: 22 March 2022
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/qld/biogs/QE00154b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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