The Padbury Boys’ Farm School was run by the Anglican Orphanages Committee as part of Swan Homes from 1946 to 1955, on land owned by the Anglican church in Stoneville. Boys were sent there to gain training and experience in farm work.
The Padbury Boys’ Farm School at Stoneville was part of the Swan Homes complex, established in 1946 to provide agricultural training to boys from Swan Homes. It was named in honour of two benefactors of Swan Homes: Mr Walter Padbury and his nephew, Matthew Padbury. Boys old enough to be ‘trainees’ were at first accepted to Padbury, but after 1948 ‘schoolboys’ were also sent there. Boys cleared the land, erected buildings, worked on the farm, and helped put out bush-fires in the community.
School-age boys attended the Mt Helena Area School.
In 1955, the Padbury Boys’ Farm School was closed, for financial reasons.
The Padbury Boys’ Farm School was mentioned in the Lost Innocents Report (2001) as an institution involved in the migration of children to Australia.
From
1946
To
1955
1946 - 1955
Padbury Boys' Farm School was situated on 360 acres of land at off Stoneville Road, Stoneville, Western Australia (Building Demolished)
