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New South Wales - Organisation

King Edward Home (c. 1930 - c. 1985)

  • King Edward Home

    King Edward Home, 1930? - 1975?, courtesy of Care Leavers Australaisa Network (CLAN).
    Details

From
c. 1930
To
c. 1985
Categories
Children's Home, Government-run, Home and Receiving Home
Alternative Names
  • Newcastle Home for Girls

King Edward Home was established at Newcastle by the Child Welfare Department around 1930. It was a home for 28 girls aged from babyhood to 18 years. Some of the girls went on to Lynwood Hall, and some entered foster care. King Edward Home closed some time after 1985.

Details

King Edward Home was established by the Child Welfare Department (later known as the Department of Community Services). It was probably established in the period between the two World Wars.

Donald McLean, who reviewed the home in 1955, said that it was for 'girls who have not proved amenable to foster placement or have traits which make them unsuitable for foster placement.' His take on the home was very positive, but made it clear that the home was for girls who were deprived and, sometimes, disturbed by their lives thus far, and that many suffered yearnings for their natural family. McLean noted that many of the girls achieved at high school while others went on to Lynwood Hall, and some entered foster care successfully.

We have not been able to pinpoint the closure date of King Edward Home. A former resident of the Home contacted the Find & Connect web resource in May 2014 to advise that she had, at age twelve, lived at the Home from January to December 1974 and that it ran for at least a year after that, with house parents in charge. Another former resident contact Find & Connect web resource in March 2019 to advise that she had lived at the Home from 1982 until 1985.

Location

c. 1930 - c. 1985
Address - King Edward Home was situated at 313 Darby Street Newcastle. Location: Newcastle

Publications

Books

  • McLean, Donald, Children In Need: An account of the administration and functions of the Child Welfare Department, New South Wales, Australia: with an examination of the principles involved in helping deprived and wayward children, Government Printer, Sydney, 1955, 173 pp. p. 48. Details

Reports

Online Resources

Photos

King Edward Home
Title
King Edward Home
Type
Image
Date
1930? - 1975?
Source
Care Leavers Australaisa Network (CLAN)

Details

Child Welfare Home for Girls, Newcastle - the home
Title
Child Welfare Home for Girls, Newcastle - the home
Type
Image
Date
1938
Source
State Archives NSW

Details

Dining room: Newcastle Girls Home
Title
Dining room: Newcastle Girls Home
Type
Image
Date
1938
Source
State Archives NSW

Details

Music room, Newcastle Girls Home
Title
Music room, Newcastle Girls Home
Type
Image
Date
1938
Source
State Archives NSW

Details

Dormitory: Newcastle Home for Girls
Title
Dormitory: Newcastle Home for Girls
Type
Image
Date
July 1938
Source
State Library of New South Wales

Details

Children at lunch, King Edward Home
Title
Children at lunch, King Edward Home
Type
Image
Date
c. 1960
Publisher
New South Wales government

Details

Title
"King Edward" - a home for school-aged girls at Newcastle who are shown here in the lounge of the home
Type
Image
Date
c. 1966
Publisher
New South Wales government

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Report of the Department of Youth and Community Services for the year ended 30 June, New South Wales government, 1976-1988. Also available at https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/main; Child Welfare Department, Annual Report: Child Welfare Department of New South Wales, New South Wales government, 1923-1970. Also available at https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/main; Dormitory: Newcastle Home for Girls [Image], Date: July 1938; McLean, Donald, Children In Need: An account of the administration and functions of the Child Welfare Department, New South Wales, Australia: with an examination of the principles involved in helping deprived and wayward children, Government Printer, Sydney, 1955, 173 pp. p. 48.; 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, https://clan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/connectkin_guide.pdf; Email correspondence with former residents of King Edward Home - May 2014; March 2019.

Prepared by: Naomi Parry