Subiaco Orphanage Industrial School for Roman Catholic Boys, 1900, courtesy of Department for Child Protection and Family Support, Superintendent of Public Charities and Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, Report 1900, before p.23.
Details
Subiaco Boys' Orphanage for Roman Catholic boys was established by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth in 1872 and run by Benedictines (1872-1876) then the Sisters of Mercy (1876-1897), and the Christian Brothers (from 1897). In 1901 the orphanage moved to Manning and became known as Clontarf. The St Joseph's Girls' Orphanage was then established on the Subiaco site.
Subiaco Boys' Orphanage was established by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth, Matthew Gibney, on 13 February 1872 on the site of the Benedictine monastery in Subiaco. It was run by the Benedictines from 1872 to 1876. The 1897 annual report by the Superintendent of Relief and Inspector of Charitable Instutitions says it was then run by the Sisters of Charity but this is incorrect. It was run by the Sisters of Mercy. On 22 November 1897 the Christian Brothers took control of the orphanage. In 1874, the orphanage had been gazetted under the Industrial Schools Act.
The first entries in the surviving admission register date from 1888 and record the admission of two boys, aged two and three years.
In 1901, the boys' orphanage moved to a new site in Manning and continued as Clontarf. The Sisters of Mercy then brought the girls from the Roman Catholic Girls' Orphanage in Victoria Square to live on the site, which became known as the St Joseph's Girls' Orphanage.
Sources used to compile this entry: Report by the Superintendent of Relief and Inspector of Charitable Institutions for the year, Government Printer, Perth, 1897; Report by the Inspector of Charitable Institutions, Government Printer, Perth, 1898; Coldrey, Barry M., The Scheme: the Christian Brothers and Childcare in Western Australia, Argyle-Pacific Pub., O'Connor, W.A., 1993. pp.20-26.; Hetherington, Penelope, Paupers, Poor Relief and Poor Housing in Western Australia 1829 to 1910, UWA Publishiing, Crawley, Western Australia, 2009. pp.90-91..
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 30 August 2012, Last modified: 12 November 2018
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/wa/biogs/WE00793b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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