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Organisation Waitara Foundling Home (1898 - 1927)
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Front of Home [Waitara and Our Lady of Mercy], 1950s - 1960s, courtesy of Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation.
Details
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- From
- 1898
- To
- 1927
- Categories
- Adoption Agency, Babies' Home, Care Provider, Catholic, Children's Home, Lying-in Home and Orphanage
- Alternative Names
- Home for Foundlings
- Waitara
- Waitara Home
- Waitara Orphanage
Summary
The Waitara Foundling Home was established at Waitara in 1897 by the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation. It was the first Catholic institution of its kind in Australia and mothers and babies were referred from hospitals throughout the eastern states of Australia. The policy was for mothers to, whenever possible, remain with their children until they were weaned.
In 1928 the Waitara Foundling Home was renamed Our Lady of Mercy Home, in recognition of the fact that many of the children in the home were not orphaned.
Details
The Waitara Foundling Home was first established in an old cottage on Leek's Orchard. In 1902, a two-storey brick home for mothers and babies was built, providing accommodation for mothers and their babies from hospitals and private homes throughout the eastern states of Australia. In 1925 a pre-school kindergarten was opened within the Home, for the children in residential care.
Location
- 1898 - 1977
- Waitara Foundling Home situated at Waitara. Location: Waitara
Related Entries
Timeline
1898 - 1927 Waitara Foundling Home
c. 1928 - 1977 Our Lady of Mercy Home, Waitara
1977 - 2001 Mercy Family Centre, Waitara
Run By
Publications
Reports
- Looking Back: A foundling home at Waitara, Mercy Family Centre Annual Report, Mercy Family Centre, 1984, 4-8 pp. Details
Online Resources
- Thinee, Kristy and Bradford, Tracy, Connecting Kin: Guide to Records, A guide to help people separated from their families search for their records [completed in 1998], New South Wales Department of Community Services, Sydney, New South Wales, 1998, http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/DOCSWR/_assets/main/documents/connectkin_guide.pdf. Details
Gallery
- Title
- Waitara Old Chapel
- Type
- Image
- Date
- 1950s - 1960s
- Source
- Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation
- Title
- Front of Home [Waitara and Our Lady of Mercy]
- Type
- Image
- Date
- 1950s - 1960s
- Source
- Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation
- Title
- Young mother entering Home [Waitara]
- Type
- Image
- Date
- 1950s - 1960s
- Source
- Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation
- Title
- "Looking Back: A foundling home at Waitara"
- Type
- Document
- Date
- 1984
- Source
- Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation
Sources used to compile this entry: Looking Back: A foundling home at Waitara, Mercy Family Centre Annual Report, Mercy Family Centre, 1984, 4-8 pp; Email correspondence with Sr Miriam Grech, Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney Congregation, 17 October 2012.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry
Created: 8 March 2011, Last modified: 4 November 2012
Last updated: 26 April 2013
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/nsw/biogs/NE00183b.htm
First published by the Find and Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Australia License