The Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices was a Senate Committee Inquiry that began in 2011. The Inquiry resulted from the efforts over many years of mothers who were separated from their children by adoption. The Senate Committee invited interested individuals and organisations to make submissions. It reported in February 2012. The…
The 1905 Youthful Offenders, Destitute and Neglected Children’s Amendment Act 1905 also known by its full title “An Act to amend ‘The Youthful Offenders, Destitute and Neglected Children Act 1896′”(Act no.5 Edw. VII No.39) set up the first Tasmanian court for children. The act stipulated that their cases be heard away from the police office,…
The Mental Deficiency Act 1920 established the State Psychological Clinic which diagnosed mental deficiency, now known as intellectual disability. The Act also established the Mental Deficiency Board which oversaw the management of children and adults classified as mentally deficient by the Clinic. The Act was influenced by the eugenics movement and based on similar legislation…
Kennerley Children’s Home, in Glenorchy, replaced Kennerley Boys’ Home in 1969. It was run by a volunteer board. The Home provided cottage accommodation to small groups of children and young people. In 2018, it is still operating. Kennerley Boys’ Home had been set up in 1869 by a Deed of Gift from Alfred Kennerley. The…
The Cascades House of Correction opened in the former Female Factory at Cascades, South Hobart, in 1856. It housed the children of the prisoners living there as well as children who were orphaned or neglected and waiting for transferral to Queen’s Asylum or the boarding-out system. Between 1869 and 1876, the Boys’ Reformatory was also…
Cascades Probation Station, run by the government, opened in 1842. It was in Koonya. Between 1848 and 1855, the Station received boys who had been transported to Tasmania. It closed in 1855. The Convict Department sent boys to the Cascades Probation Station after Point Puer closed. They felled and sawed timber there.
Glendel Children’s Home, run by the Christian Brethren, became an approved children’s Home in 1979. It took up to 10 children, some or all of whom were wards of state. The Home seems to have closed in the early 1990s. Glendel Children’s Home was originally in West Barrack Street, Deloraine. It was run and owned…
Hope Cottage opened in 1887. It was a rescue home and lying-in home for single mothers giving birth to their first babies. It was established by Grace Soltau, the first president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. In 1892, management was handed over to the Church of England. Hope Cottage closed in 1896. The work…
Glen Dhu Babies’ Home, run by the Children’s Protection Society, opened in about 1907. It accommodated the babies of single mothers. The Home closed in 1911. Glen Dhu had a high infant mortality rate with 19 babies dying there in 1909. At the inquest of one of them, the Medical Superintendent of Launceston General Hospital…
The New Town Charitable Institution, run by the government, opened in 1879. From 1896, the Boys’ Training School and the offices of the Neglected Children’s Department were at the Institution. In 1912, it became the New Town Infirmary. The New Town Charitable Institution was housed in the former buildings of the Queen’s Orphan School after…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
