The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania was established in 1842. After its arrival in Tasmania, the Church of England was either closely involved in or ran institutions for children and single mothers. In 1981, the Church of England became known as the Anglican Church of Australia. The Church of England in Australia was established in 1788…
The St Vincent de Paul Society Home for Boys at Waterton Hall opened in 1978. It offered homeless boys accommodation, the opportunity to finish their schooling, and if they were over school age, training in farming. The Home closed in the 1990s. Waterton Hall was originally the site of a small Catholic girls’ school which…
Colony 47 was founded in 1973 as a community centre for young people. It ran Aspect House and continues to run Mara House. In 2014, it also offers young people support in finding accommodation and advice about careers and training. Colony 47 was founded by a group led by the Reverend Jon Colville, who wanted…
A Wardship Review Committee was first established in 1977. There was one for each state ward. Their purpose was to advise the Director of the Social Welfare Department about placements. Guardianship Review Committees came to an end in the 1990s. A Wardship Review Committee consisted of the Regional Welfare Officer and the Child Welfare Supervisor…
Mara House opened in Hobart in 1985. Community Hostels originally ran it. Until 1997, Mara was an approved children’s Home. In 2018, Mara accommodates young women aged 13 to 18. It is run by Colony 47. Mara House was funded by the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program which also began in 1985. This Home was an…
The North-West Regional Resource Unit replaced the Lucinda Resource Centre. The new Unit opened on the same site, the former Weeroona Girls’ Training Centre at Latrobe. In 1988, it moved to new offices in Burnie. The Centre closed during the 1990s. The Unit undertook a range of activities designed to support families so that their…
The Bevis Marks Independent Living Unit opened in South Hobart in 1988. It was a pilot project run by the Department for Community Welfare’s Southern Regional Resource Centre for teenage boys it described as ‘disturbed’. The independent living unit provided support for young people to prepare them for leaving out of home care and taught…
The Review of Tasmanian Adoption Legislation finished in October 1986. It received 33 submissions. Most of them argued in favour of giving people who had been adopted better access to their birth and adoption records. The submissions also favoured introducing a more open form of adoption. The findings of the Review were the basis of…
The Southern Regional Resource Centre opened in January 1985. Unlike the other resource centres, it did not run many activities. Instead, since the southern region already had a wide range of community groups, it linked welfare workers to those. The Centre closed in the 1990s. In 1985, staff at the Centre found camping programs for…
Woodlands Family Group Home, run by the government, opened in about 1985. It was located on Hearps Road, Ulverstone. Woodlands provided temporary accommodation to children who were wards of state or supervised in other ways by the Department of Community Welfare and its successors. Woodlands closed around 2000. A married woman managed Woodlands Family Group…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
