The Sydney City Mission was a Christian city mission that was founded in 1862. Between 1916 and 1976, the Sydney City Mission operated a number of children’s homes: Cowley House at Cronulla (1916-76); Lawson Cottage at Lawson (1927-30), Stonehaven at Springwood (1929-49); Haddon Hall at Hazelbrook (1950-67); and Mt Gibraltar at Bowral (1930-74). In the…
The Young People’s Refuge opened as a crisis centre in Chippendale in 1975. It was linked with Stretch-A-Family. In 1991 it was based in Marrickville and offered 24-hour crisis accommodation to girls aged 13-17. In 2013 it has two refuges in inner-western Sydney and is linked to Detour House, a supported accommodation service that includes…
Our Children’s Home at Concord, also known as Ardill House, was established in 1918 at Davidson Avenue by the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children. It was a children’s home until 1982, when it was converted to administration for the Society, and then to a child care centre. Our Children’s Home, Concord, was one…
Stretch-A-Family Inc. was an adolescent fostering and residential care provider for children aged seven to 18. It was founded in 1976, as part of the Young People’s Refuge. In 1984 the two programs split and Stretch-A-Family set up its own supported accommodation program, On Track, in 1994. In 2020, Stretch-A-Family stopped providing residential care, and…
Our Babies Home was founded in Enmore in 1894 by George Edward Ardill’s Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children. It moved to Knox Street, Newtown in 1897 then to Albemarle Street, Camperdown in 1901. Our Babies Home closed in 1904 and the children moved to the Society’s new premises at Rockdale.
Camp Toukley, located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, was originally built as a holiday camp for children living at Lutanda Children’s Home. Operated by Lutanda Children’s Services it opened in 1954 on 27 acres of land. Over time its main purpose changed to running Christian holiday camps for groups of children, family…
The Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children was established in October 1887. The Society was founded by George Edward Ardill who was later to found the Sydney Rescue Work Society. It ran babies and children’s homes. In the 1970s the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children converted its children’s homes to child care…
Kemblawarra Child and Family Centre Inc. was opened in 1980 at Port Kembla as a 24-hour emergency care service for children aged from birth to 12 years of age. The emergency care function ceased to exist in 1991 but in 1998 the service provided day care and counselling. Kemblawarra Child and Family Centre Inc was…
Lutanda Children’s Home was established in Wentworth Falls in 1930 by Miss Florence Dalwood. After Dalwood’s death in 1949, Lutanda moved into a large purpose-built orphanage on Boundary Road in Pennant Hills which later housed around 50 to 60 children in separate buildings for boys and girls. Lutanda closed in 1984. The Lutanda Children’s Home…
The Sydney Foundling Hospital was the new name given to the Sydney Foundling Institution in October 1874. In 1875, the Hospital moved from Darlinghurst into new premises at Port View House, Stewart Street, Paddington. In 1876, with philanthropic help, the committee purchased “Gorton”, a large house on five acres on Henry St, Ashfield. In 1877,…