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Queensland - Organisation

Westbrook Youth Centre (1987 - 1993)

From
1987
To
1993
Categories
Farm School, Government-run, Home and Youth Training Centre

The Westbrook Youth Centre, run by the government, was situated at Westbrook, 15 kilometres south west of Toowoomba. It was previously called the Westbrook Training Centre and in 1993 the named changed to the Westbrook Youth Detention Centre.

Details

According to the 1999 report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, 'the 1990s reflected an unstable and volatile period for Westbrook', due to management instability as well as regular changes to the departmental structure within which juvenile detention was managed (p.139).

The report stated that in the early 1990s: 'There were … increasing concerns that the geographical isolation of
Westbrook caused problems for parents and relatives wanting to visit detainees, and made transportation to and from courts and other services in Brisbane difficult. The utility of providing tuition in farming skills for a detainee population that was predominantly urban was also being questioned.'

Westbrook Youth Centre was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) as an institution that housed Indigenous children removed from their families.

Location

1987 - 1993
Location - The Westbrook Youth Centre was situated at Althaus Road, Westbrook. Location: Westbrook

Timeline

 1871 - 1881 Reformatory School for Boys - Hulk Proserpine
       1881 - 1899 Reformatory School for Boys, Lytton
             1899 - 1900 Diamantina Reformatory School for Boys
                   1900 - 1919 Westbrook Reformatory for Boys
                         1919 - 1966 Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook
                               1966 - 1987 Westbrook Training Centre
                                     1987 - 1993 Westbrook Youth Centre
                                           1993 - 1994 Westbrook Youth Detention Centre
                                                 1994 - 2012 Darling Downs Correctional Centre

Related Archival Series

Related Glossary Terms

Related Organisations

Publications

Books

  • Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. pp.21-23. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • 'Westbrook/ History of the centre', Chronicle, 6 July 1994, p. 11. Details

Reports

  • Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, Queensland. Department of Families, Youth and Community Care, Brisbane, 1999. pp.139-140. Details

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, Queensland. Department of Families, Youth and Community Care, Brisbane, 1999. pp.139-140.; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. pp.21-23..

Prepared by: Lee Butterworth