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New South Wales - Organisation
Benevolent Society of New South Wales (1813 - )
- From
- 1813
- Categories
- Non-denominational, Care Provider, Adoption Agency, Records Access Service
- Alternative Names
-
- The Benevolent
- New South Wales Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and Benevolence
- Location
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The Benevolent Society of New South Wales was established on 8 May 1813 and is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2013. It was founded to provide aid to the destitute, needy, sick and vulnerable aged people, women and children. For much of the nineteenth century it was effectively the social welfare arm of the New South Wales Government, as the government paid the society to provide residential care and deliver aid to the poor of Sydney and beyond.
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The first residential institution operated by the Benevolent Society was the Benevolent Asylum, opened in 1821 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, in Devonshire Street.
The Benevolent Asylum was located on the corner of Pitt and Devonshire Streets, Sydney on a site now occupied by Central Railway Station. The New South Wales Government resumed the site in 1901 when it began building the station. With the compensation the Society received it bought 'Flinton' in Paddington, then developed the Thomas Street Asylum in Ultimo.
When the Benevolent Society's adoption agency closed in the 1970s, adoption records were transferred to the predecessor of the Department of Family and Community Services.
The Benevolent Asylum records from 1857-1900 have been indexed and the index is available online. Please see the list of published resources to access this website.
- Series Title
- Benevolent Society adoption register [Dependent Children and Adoptions Branch, Department of Community Services] (1969 - 1975)
- Date Range
- 1969 - 1975
- Reference
-
14661
[State Records Authority of New South Wales Series Number]
- Contact
-
Please contact the Adoption Information Unit:
Postal address: Locked Bag 5000, Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: 1300 799 023 or (02) 9716 3005 (from overseas)
Email: Adoption.Information@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Website: https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/families/adoption/finding-info
DETAILS
- Collection Title
- Records relating to Adoption (1900? - )
- Date Range
- 1900 -
- Reference
-
-
- Contact
-
Please contact the Adoption Information Unit:
Postal address: Locked Bag 5000, Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: 1300 799 023 or (02) 9716 3005 (from overseas)
Email: Adoption.Information@dcj.nsw.gov.au
Website: https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/families/adoption/finding-info
DETAILS
- Collection Title
- Benevolent Society of New South Wales Collection, 1813-1996 (1813 - 1996)
- Date Range
- 1813 - 1996
- Reference
-
-
- Contact
-
Please contact the Benevolent Society:
Postal Address: PO Box 171, Paddington NSW 2021
Phone: (02) 8262 3400 or 1800 26 762
records@benevolent.org.au
Website: https://www.benevolent.org.au/
DETAILS
Benevolent Asylum
Liverpool Asylum
Living at Scarba Home for Children: A history of the Scarba Welfare House for Children (1917-1986)
in the context of child welfare practice in New South Wales
