Tufnell Home and Chapel, c. 1910, courtesy of Care Leavers Australasia Network.
Details
Tufnell Home, in Nundah was operated by the Society of the Sacred Advent and the Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane. The Tufnell Home formally opened 6 February 1901. It accommodated boys and girls from various backgrounds. The first family group units were officially opened in 1969. Funding ceased in 1990 and the home closed in 1993.
The Tufnell Home opened on 6 February 1901. Children from the adjacent Home of the Good Shepherd, Nundah were transferred to Tufnell Home.
With funds donated by Mrs Tufnell (the widow of Edward Wyndham Tufnell, the first bishop of Brisbane), a Chapel of the Good Shepherd was erected at Tufnell Home. In 1927 a boys' wing, laundry and recreation room were built. A new dining hall was erected next to the main house in 1932.
The foundation stone for the Toddler's Home was laid by the Archbishop of Brisbane on 23 June 1946.
In 1965 the Diocese of Brisbane began plans to surround the original home with new cottages and ancillary buildings then demolish the original house to form a central courtyard. This was accomplished and can be seen in the present layout of buildings.
Biala House was opened 25 June 1966 and Elonera and Carinya Houses opened in 1968. Attunga and Yallambee Houses were opened on 22 April 1972.
In 1988 the Tufnell Child Care Centre opened in the old Toddler's Home. In 1993 the last children in care moved off the campus and Tufnell Children's Home operations closed.
In 1996 Anglicare relocated their administrative offices from the Cathedral buildings in the city to the refurbished former dining hall and kitchen building at Tufnell.
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.; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. p.91..
Prepared by: Rosemary Francis
Created: 28 June 2011, Last modified: 27 March 2018