Worimi Shelter was established at Broadmeadow, near Newcastle, by the Child Welfare Department in July 1966, replacing the former Newcastle Shelter. It was for the reception of children awaiting court hearings or on remand. At the time of its opening Worimi had capacity for 13 boys and girls up to the age of 18 years. Renovations and expansions saw its capacity expand to provide accommodation 23 children by 1977, and 44 by 1979. In 1979 the name of the shelter was changed to Worimi Remand Centre, and from 1985 it was known as the Worimi Youth Centre. Children typically stayed at the centre for only a few days at a time, so no formal education programs were run there, with the focus placed more on recreation activities or community service work. During the 1970s an average of 700 children passed through the centre per year, however by the 1980s this had declined to approximate 350 children per year. Worimi Remand Centre was officially closed on 3 July 2000.
Sources used to compile this entry: Annual Report: Department of Youth and Community Services, Government Printer, Sydney, 1980/81-1986/87; Atkinson, Lynn, 'An overview of juvenile detention in Australia', in National Conference on Juvenile Detention: Proceedings of a conference held 10-13 August 1993, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, January 1994, https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/proceedings25.pdf; 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; Lawlink, 'The Children's Court of New South Wales: Timeline of Major Events 1905-2011', in History of the Children's Court, Lawlink, Lawlink NSW, 2012, http://www.childrenscourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/History%20-%20Timeline%20of%20major%20events.pdf; 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; "Worimi" - opened on 30th June, 1966 at Newcastle [Image], Date: c. 1966.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry and Liam Hogan
Created: 23 March 2011, Last modified: 19 July 2023