Some people may find content on this website distressing. Read more
Victoria - Organisation

Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission (1895 - 1924)

  • Latrobe St Ragged Boys' Home

    Latrobe St Ragged Boys' Home, 1906, courtesy of Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN).
    Details

From
1895
To
1924
Categories
Care Provider, Children's Home, City Mission and Home
Alternative Names
  • Latrobe St Ragged Boys' Home (Also known as)
  • Latrobe Street Ragged School and Mission (Also known as)
  • Latrobe Street Ragged School Mission and Boys' Home (Also known as)
  • Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home (Also known as)

Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was established in 1895 as residential accommodation for homeless boys in Melbourne. It also continued the work of the Latrobe St School and Mission, where girls could attend classes. This work was carried out in a separate building and was often referred to by this name for some years afterwards. By December 1922 the Home was mainly a receiving depot but continued to house around ten boys who were apprentices in the city. On 9 September 1924 the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home was closed and the service was transferred to Minton Boys Home in Frankston.

Details

In 1895 the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was established. It operated out of two separate buildings. The Boys' Home being newly built to provide accommodation to homeless boys, while the Mission provided food and classes to both boys and girls.

The Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was referred to as many different names during its operation. The name Latrobe Street Ragged School Mission and Boys' Home or simply Ragged Boys' Home and Mission all referred to the same institution.

In 1899, there was an average of 30 boys living in the Home. The Spectator reported in the same year that over 1000 boys had received the benefits of the institution since 1895 and that the Mission provided the following services:

Free teas and gospel meetings on Monday, juvenile choir on Tuesday, sewing classes and Dorcas Society for the girls on Wednesday, boys' gymnasium and athletic clubs on Thursday, Boys' Brigade on Friday, with separate gymnastic and dumbbell classes for girls under a lady teacher; these are rounded off with Sunday School Gospel meetings, lantern services, slum and police court visiting, prayer meetings and macramé classes.

From 1901, boys were sent to Seaside Home, Frankston on the weekends and in school holidays. From 1904 boys began to be transferred to the Frankston Home to live there permanently.

The Boys' Home became well known for giving an annual Town Hall Concert and Demonstration as a fundraising activity. Girls who attended the Mission for classes were also included in the program. Another annual event was the picnic that occurred in November, where the children were taken by either train or caravan to Mordialloc or Sandringham. Up to 1500 children would attend.

From the mid 1910's, the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission, was more commonly known as just the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home with boys being sent to the Model School in Melbourne for education. In 1912 after much fundraising the new building for the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was opened on the corner of La Trobe and Exhibition streets.

By the late 1910's attention was being focused on the Seaside House, Frankston and by 1922 the Home was mainly used as a receiving depot and a home to a few boys who were apprentices in the city. On 9 September 1924 the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was closed and the building sold in the November to the Irish National Foresters' Benefit Society.

Location

1895 - 1912
Location - The Mission of the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was located at 145 Latrobe (La Trobe) Street, Melbourne.. Location: Melbourne
1900 - 1912
Location - The Mission of the Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was also located at 159-161 Latrobe (La Trobe) Street, Melbourne.
1912 - 1924
Location - The Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission was located at 12-14 Latrobe (La Trobe) street, on the corner of Exhibition Street, Melbourne. Location: Melbourne

Timeline

 1865 - 1895 Latrobe St Ragged School and Mission
       1895 - 1924 Melbourne Ragged Boys' Home and Mission
             1924 - 1943 Minton Boys Home
                   1943 - 1961 The Menzies Home for Boys
                         1961 - 2000 The Menzies Home for Children
                               2000 - Menzies Inc.

Related Archival Collections

Publications

Books

  • Davies, Shirley, 'One Thousand White Onions': a history of caring for children since 1865, Menzies Inc., Frankston, 2005. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • Duff, G.B., 'Social work of the Church: child rescue agencies of Melbourne', The Spectator, 23 June 1899. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Waiting for the Christmas Feast at the Ragged Boys Home and Mission, Latrobe Street, Melbourne
Title
Waiting for the Christmas Feast at the Ragged Boys Home and Mission, Latrobe Street, Melbourne
Type
Image
Publisher
Menzies Inc.

Details

Matron and her charges at the Melbourne Ragged Boys Home
Title
Matron and her charges at the Melbourne Ragged Boys Home
Type
Image
Date
1895?
Publisher
Menzies Inc.

Details

The Ragged School Children's Picnic
Title
The Ragged School Children's Picnic
Type
Image
Date
c. 1899
Source
Sleight, S. (2010). 'For the Sake of Effect': Youth on Display and the Politics of Performance. History Australia, 6(3), 71.1-71.22

Details

Latrobe St Ragged Boys' Home
Title
Latrobe St Ragged Boys' Home
Type
Image
Date
1906
Source
Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN)

Details

Ragged Boys' Home and Mission letterhead
Title
Ragged Boys' Home and Mission letterhead
Type
Image
Date
1906
Source
Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN)

Details

Melbourne Ragged Boys Home Cnr Latrobe Str and Exhibition St, Melbourne. Opened 1912
Title
Melbourne Ragged Boys Home Cnr Latrobe Str and Exhibition St, Melbourne. Opened 1912
Type
Image
Date
1912?
Publisher
Menzies Inc.

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Davies, Shirley, 'One Thousand White Onions': a history of caring for children since 1865, Menzies Inc., Frankston, 2005; Duff, G.B., 'Social work of the Church: child rescue agencies of Melbourne', The Spectator, 23 June 1899.

Prepared by: Nicola Laurent