The Salvation Army, Australian Territory was established in 1880 when the first members of the church came to Australia. From 1880 until 1907, the Salvation Army Australasian Territory comprised the church’s operations in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. In 1907, the Australian Territory was separated from New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. In 1921, the…
Infant Life Protection was a program that emerged in response to rising concerns about ‘baby farming’ in the late nineteenth century – this was the practice of infants, usually born to single mothers, being placed in private homes to be nursed and boarded, for a fee. There was a very high mortality rate for ex-nuptial…
Mental deficiency is a term that was commonly used to describe intellectual or developmental disability in the first half of the twentieth century. It was regarded as a disease, and the popular belief was that people who were diagnosed as ‘mentally defective’ needed to be segregated from the community, to receive special ‘care’ and treatment….
In 1951, a British Home Office official named John Moss inspected and reported on Australian and New Zealand institutions where British child migrants were living. Moss spent July-December 1951 travelling around Australia and to New Zealand, inspecting institutions and making recommendations. His report, known as the Moss Report, was submitted to the British government in…
Salvation Army Australia, Records of Homes in the former Southern Territory is a collection of records relating to former residents of Salvation Army institutions in South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The Salvation Army in these states was known as the Southern Territory from 1921 until 2018. Care Leavers who apply for access to…
The Community of the Holy Name is a religious order founded in Melbourne, in 1888. The founder of the order, Emma Caroline Silcock (also known as Sister Esther), led the work of the Mission to the Streets and Lanes in Melbourne, and the two organisations had a close association. The order was not formally established…
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an international convention, setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of…
An orphan is a child whose mother or father or both has died. Historically, in the context of institutional ‘care’, the term ‘orphan’ did not necessarily mean a child whose parents had died. It was most often used to describe a child whose parent/s were (or were judged to be) unable, for many different reasons,…
The Wattle Day Appeal was an annual fundraising event, used to raise funds for children’s institutions and other charitable organisations. The annual Wattle Day Appeal began in 1910, with Wattle Day events held in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Over the next few years, Wattle Day events were also held in Queensland and…
The Aborigines Welfare Ordinance 1954 (Act no. 8/1954) was Commonwealth legislation, established to ‘provide for the welfare and control of Aborigines, particularly those at the Wreck Bay reserve’ (Jervis Bay Territory). The 1954 Ordinance followed the lines of the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Acts, 1909-1943 and was approved by the Aborigines Welfare Board of…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
