![[Old Friary]](../objects/thumbs/tn_QD0000298 the friary St Christophers.png)
[Old Friary], c. 2015, courtesy of Weekend Notes website.
Details
The Friary, in Brookfield, was operated by the Anglican Society of St Francis. Located on the former site of St Christopher's Lodge, it was the first Australian friary of the Society of St Francis. The Friary provided residential care for young people on probation and for people with mental health issues. It was established in 1966 and licensed on 1 April 1980. The licence was cancelled prior to closure of the institution on 28 August 1981.
According to a timeline in the collection of Kenmore & District Historical Society, compiled by Jane Scragg, the Friary was a 'halfway house', providing temporary shelter for men after their discharge from prison. It would seem that some young men under the age of 18 were accommodated at the Friary.
After the Friary closed in 1981, the property lay idle for a time, until it became the Brookfield Centre for Christian Spirituality, in the late 1980s.
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.30.; Br William SSF, 'Golden Jubilee', Franciscan Angles: Australian Newsletter of the Society of St Francis, Eastertide 2005, 2005; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. p.88.; Jane Scragg, 'A history of St Christopher's, St Clare's and The Friary (in the making)', n.d., Courtesy Kenmore & District Historical Society.
Prepared by: Lee Butterworth
Created: 23 June 2011, Last modified: 19 May 2016
Last updated: 18 January 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/qld/biogs/QE00167b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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