A Leprosarium was an institution or hospital specifically for people suffering from the disease, leprosy. As leprosy was incurable and infectious, lepers were generally placed in confined and/or isolated places. Institutions for people with leprosy were also called lazarets. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
Probationary Schools were institutions for children considered to be exhibiting troublesome behaviour that was not serious enough to warrant placement in a reformatory. The schools provided what was referred to at the time as disciplinary training. There were 2 probationary schools in South Australia from 1900 until 1945, both run by the Salvation Army, the…
A Convalescent Home was a place where children were sent to rest and recover from illnesses, or after a stay in hospital. Sometimes the term was used to describe a home for women suffering from sexually transmitted infections (such institutions were also known as Lock Hospitals or Contagious Diseases Hospitals). Click here to see the…
A depot (or receiving depot) was a type of institution for children. In the nineteenth century and twentieth century, a receiving depot was an institution for the temporary admission of children, from which they would be admitted into a placement in a children’s Home or foster care. Depots also provided short-term accommodation between placements. From…
The Board of Management was a group of appointed or elected persons responsible for overseeing the administration of a non-government children’s Home or other institution. Boards had varying levels of responsibility and might have overseen such aspects as financial management, staffing, applications for admission, health, education, rules and regulations and general maintenance of the institution….
Children’s Home is a term commonly used during the period from the 1920s to the 1970s to describe children’s institutions, including orphanages. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
A Holiday Home was an institution designed to provide short-term accommodation for children in need. Some children from other institutions were sent to spend holiday periods at Holiday Homes while staff were on leave. Children were also sent from institutions for temporary stays in private homes during holiday periods. The parents in these homes were…
Juvenile Justice Centre is a term adopted in around the 1990s to describe institutions providing custodial accommodation for remanded or sentenced young people. These places were also sometimes known as juvenile detention centres or youth detention centres. At times, young people have been accommodated in adult prisons. Click here to see the full Find &…
The term Kindergarten refers to an educational institution for pre-school aged children. Often these accommodated children on a daily basis, but some emergency kindergartens also provided short term residential accommodation. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
The term Adoption Agency refers to any organisation involved in the adoption of babies and children, whether this was mandated by legislation or not. The adoption of children was, and is, controlled by state laws and the states of Australia introduced their first adoption acts at different times, beginning with Western Australia in 1896. Prior…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
