Roelands Village was run by the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board Inc from 1975, as cottage homes for school-age Aboriginal children from all around the State. Children and young people at Roelands included those placed privately by parents and those who were state wards. Roelands closed in 1984.
Children and young people from Roelands Village went to primary schools in Roelands, Brunswick and Bunbury; and high schools in Bunbury and Harvey. During the school holidays, children who could not go home to family accompanied missionaries to the Roelands Campsite, on Caves Road between Busselton and Dunsborough. Weekend camps were also held there. This campsite was part of the Roelands assets. Eventually, the campsite was released by the Shire of Busselton to a local Aboriginal consortium.
Churches of Christ historians have advised that there were some young men living and working at Roelands Village who were known as ‘working boys’. Some of these young people may have been at Roelands before the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board (Inc) took over. Their placement at Roelands Village was organised by government authorities.
Government records sometimes refer to children being placed at “Roelands Mission” even after its ownership and name changed in 1975.
In 2013, the Roelands Village site was undergoing renovation, to re-open as a place of healing.
From
1975
To
1984
Alternative Names
Roelands Mission
1975 - 1984
Roelands Village was located on freehold land along Seven Hills Road in Roelands, Western Australia (Building Still standing)
