Mt Lawley Reception Home, 1975, courtesy of Department for Child Protection and Family Support, Department for Community Welfare, Western Australia , Annual Report 1975, p.44.
Details
Mt Lawley Reception Home was the new name given in 1973 to the government-run Child Welfare Reception Home. It gave temporary accommodation to children and young people who were: awaiting placement with foster parents or institutions; staying in Perth for medical or dental treatment; and referred from, or awaiting appearances at, the Children's Court. In 1980 Mt Lawley Reception Home became the Walcott Centre.
The Mt Lawley Reception Home was run by the Department for Community Welfare. It had a number of functions. It was a temporary place for children coming into the child welfare system and who went on to placement in an institution or foster home. Children from the country who had no family in Perth might also stay there while they had medical or dental treatment in Perth. The Reception Home also took children who had been referred from the Children's Court, or who were awaiting a court appearance.
Mt Lawley Reception Home continued to be referred to by its previous name, Child Welfare Reception Home (or acronyms such as CWRH) in departmental files throughout the period 1974 to 1979.
In 1980, the Mt Lawley Reception Home became the Walcott Centre.
1893 - 1907 Government Industrial School
1907 - 1935 Government Receiving Depot
1935 - 1952 Government Receiving Home
1953 - 1972 Child Welfare Reception Home
1973 - 1980 Mt Lawley Reception Home
1980 - 1984 Walcott Centre
Sources used to compile this entry: Information Services, Department for Community Development, Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920, Government of Western Australia, 2004, https://signposts.communities.wa.gov.au//pdf/pdf.aspx; State Records Office of Western Australia, Wards - Director's Approval to Transfer from one Institution to Another and Amend Training, Reference Code AU WA S1099- cons2607 A0191 V4.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 19 March 2012, Last modified: 27 September 2018
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/wa/biogs/WE00609b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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