Royal Park, training school and benevolent home for homeless children 1874-5, 2000
Details
The Royal Park Industrial School opened in Parkville in 1875. It accommodated girls until around 1880 when the girls were transferred to the Industrial School at Geelong, and boys from Sunbury's Industrial School came to Royal Park. At about this time the Industrial School became known as the Royal Park Depot.
The Royal Park Industrial School opened in 1875, in Parkville. It accommodated only girls until around 1880. At this time, anticipating the end of the industrial school system, the government transferred girls from Royal Park to the Industrial School at Geelong. At the same time, boys from Sunbury's Industrial School came to Royal Park, to await boarding-out placements.
In 1879, departmental reports referred to the 'Melbourne Industrial School and Receiving House'. The Receiving House, situated on Flemington Road, was a predecessor to what became known as the Royal Park Depot. In the early 1880s, the Boys' and Girls' Depots were still being referred to as 'industrial schools'. This term had stopped being used by 1887 (when new terminology came into use with the passage of the Neglected Children's Act).
Children were housed at Royal Park before the formal establishment of the Industrial School. Due to overcrowding, children were housed at the former Royal Park Asylum in 1867. Children were later moved out of Royal Park when a small-pox epidemic necessitated that the buildings be used as a hospital.
1875 - c. 1887 Royal Park Industrial School
c. 1880 - 1955 Royal Park Depot
1955 - 1993 Turana
1993 - Melbourne Youth Justice Centre
Sources used to compile this entry: Industrial and Reformatory Schools. Report of the Inspector/Secretary, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1869 - 1886; 'RMH Royal Park Campus - a brief history 1853-2005', 2005, https://www.thermh.org.au/about/about-the-rmh/our-history-and-archives/history-of-rmh-royal-park; Brogden, Joan, Neglected or criminal? The Sunbury Industrial School - Sunbury and beyond, vol. 2, The Author, 1997.
Prepared by: Cate O'Neill
Created: 25 November 2009, Last modified: 21 December 2017
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/vic/biogs/E000514b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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