'Sobraon' Training Ship (1892 - 1911)

Military Drill Aboard the NSS Sobaron, 1890s, courtesy of State Archives NSW.
Details

From

1892

To

1911

Categories

Government-run, Home, Juvenile Justice Centre and Reformatory

Alternative Names

N.S.S. Sobraon

The Sobraon Training Ship replaced the Nautical School Ship Vernon as a reformatory in 1892. It was three times the size of the Vernon and housed more than 200 boys at a time. After the Neglected Children's and Juvenile Offenders' Act of 1905 introduced probation, numbers declined on the Sobraon. Boys were either discharged to parents or guardians, apprenticed out or sent to the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys or the Brush Farm Reformatory. In 1911 the Sobraon was abandoned.

The Sobraon was sold to the Australian Navy, renamed HMAS Tingira and used as a training vessel until 1927.

Location

1892 - 1911: Location - Sobraon was moored off Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. Location: Cockatoo Island

Related Legislation

Destitute Children Act 1866 (1866 - 1901)
Boys were committed to the Sobraon under the Destitute Children Act.

Date: 1892 - 1905
Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905 (1905 - 1923)
Boys were committed to the Sobraon under the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act.

Date: 1905 - 1911
Reformatory Schools Act 1866 (1869 - 1901)
Boys were committed to the Sobraon under the Reformatory Schools Act.

Date: 1892 - 1905

Related Organisations

Brush Farm Reformatory (1908 - 1912)
The 'Sobraon' Training Ship was used until 1911 when the remaining boys were sent to the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys and the Brush Farm Reformatory.
Mittagong Farm Home for Boys (1906 - 1947)
The 'Sobraon' Training Ship was used until 1911 when the remaining boys were sent to the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys and the Brush Farm Reformatory.

Publications

Books

Rubie, Valerie, Sent to the Mountain: A History of Mount Penang Juvenile Justice Centre, Closure Committee of Mount Penang Juvenile Justice Centre, Gosford, 2003, 236 pp. Details

Online Resources

'Nautical School-ship "Sobraon"', in State Records Authority of New South Wales website, State of New South Wales through the State Records Authority of NSW 2016, https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/agency/411. Details
History of Mt Penang Parklands, Central Coast Regional Development Corporation (NSW Government), https://web.archive.org/web/20151027022741/http://www.ccrdc.nsw.gov.au:80/MtPenangParklands/History.aspx. Details
'School Student Records Guide', in Museums of History NSW website, Museums of History NSW, https://mhnsw.au/guides/school-student-records-guide/. Details
'Child Care and Protection Guide', in Museums of History NSW website, Museums of History NSW, https://mhnsw.au/guides/child-care-and-protection-guide/. Details
Crawford, John, 'Children of the Perishing Class', in History of the Children's Court, Lawlink, Lawlink NSW, 2009, http://www.childrenscourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Children%20of%20the%20perishing%20class.pdf. Details
Crawford, John, 'Establishment of the Children's Court', in History of the Children's Court, Lawlink, Lawlink NSW, 2012, http://www.childrenscourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Establishment%20of%20the%20Children%27s%20Court%20-%20Then%20and%20100%20years%20on.pdf. Details
Dunn, Mark, 'Vernon nautical training ship', in Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/vernon_nautical_training_ship. Details
Quinn, Peter E, Unenlightened efficiency: the administration of the juvenile correction system in New South Wales 1905-1988, University of Sydney, History, 27 March 2006, http://hdl.handle.net/2123/623. Details

Photos

Title: Military Drill Aboard the NSS Sobaron
Type: Image
Date: 1890s
Source: State Archives NSW

Details

Title: Dinner aboard the NSS Sobraon in the early 1890s
Type: Image
Date: 1890s
Source: State Archives NSW

Details

Title: Sobraon boys
Type: Image
Date: 1892 - 1911
Source: State Library of New South Wales

Details

Prepared by: Naomi Parry

Created: 20 February 2012, Last modified: 30 August 2017

'Sobraon' Training Ship (1892 - 1911)