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Victoria - Organisation

Allambie Reception Centre (1961 - 1990)

  • Former site of Kildonan and Allambie, Deakin University, Burwood campus

    Former site of Kildonan and Allambie, Deakin University, Burwood campus, 2016, courtesy of Michael Jones.
    Details

From
1961
To
1990
Categories
Government-run, Home and Reception Centre

The Allambie Reception Centre opened in Burwood in 1961, on the former site of Kildonan Children's Home. It was the Victorian Government's main reception centre for children. Allambie could accommodate up to 90 children including (from 1964) babies and toddlers and by the 1970s its capacity had grown to 228 children. Allambie closed in 1990.

Details

Allambie, a government-run reception centre for Victorian children, opened in Burwood in 1961, on the former site of Kildonan Children's Home at 70 Elgar Road, Burwood.

Allambie became the Department's main 'reception, treatment, classification and transit centre'. It was established to alleviate overcrowding at Turana, Royal Park.

Children who were State Wards also came to Allambie following a breakdown in home release, foster care or a children's home placement.

When it opened, Allambie could accommodate up to 90 children in four separate sections. Until the nursery opened at Allambie in 1964, it did not receive babies and toddlers (who were accommodated in the old nursery at Turana).

The Education Department operated a school in the grounds of Allambie although some children attended schools in the community.

A child's placement was decided upon by the Placement Committee, which met once a week. In 1962, the Committee comprised representatives of the Department (including the Director of Family Welfare) and Allambie staff (including the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, and Medical Officer).

According to Jenkinson, in the 1970s, Allambie consisted of three large sections: Waratah, Kurrajong and Mimosa: these accommodated groups of mixed age and sex which enabled sibling groups to be placed together. At Allambie, the Nursery section accommodated babies. 'Tecoma' accommodated up to 10 school-age boys and 'Heath/Cassia' accommodated 22 adolescent girls.

However, it would seem that siblings were not always kept together at Allambie. One former resident, who was at Allambie in 1974, made contact with the Find & Connect web resource to point out that she was separated from her younger brother.

I would like to say that it is not correct at my time in Allambie in 1974 that siblings were accommodated together. There may have been three sections, l can't remember if there was or not but l do remember how upset l was that l could not see my younger brother. I was 6/7 and my brother was 4 and l clearly remember trying to see him in the play area for younger children, an area l was not allowed in because l was too old. I also remember the staff having no understanding of how upset l was about this when l got caught in the playground because it was the only way l could see him. l was not there for very long, l remember the school there and that it was very overcrowded, so much so that children slept on mattresses on the floor.

Another former Allambie resident recalled sneaking out at night so that she could see her two younger brothers. In a comment on a post in the Inside blog, she wrote, "When we did get to play together we were on leads all the time … I hated that place."

Overcrowding was a major problem at Allambie in the 1970s. A letter to the Age in December 1970 mentioned "the sorry conditions at Allambie":

Though Allambie is called a reception centre only, it is fast becoming a permanent holding place for children, though not planned or geared to that role. The staff has to cope not only with numbers beyond their abilities and facilities, but with many children - eg the mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed - who should be having special care for their individual problems.

In 1972, Allambie had a capacity of 228 children, but this was often exceeded. By the mid 1970s the number of children placed at Allambie reached an all-time high. On several occasions, over 300 children were in residence.

Overcrowding decreased as alternative reception and care programs were implemented by the Department. During the 1970s, changes in the structure of state-run facilities, including regionalisation of services, reduced the need for large-scale centralised reception centre like Allambie.

By the early 1980s, Allambie accommodated about 100 children. A review in 1985 recommended the closure of Allambie, and the redirection of funding to regional reception centres. The nursery at Allambie closed in 1986. Allambie Reception Centre closed in June 1990.

Allambie Reception Centre was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) as an institution that housed Indigenous children removed from their families.

Location

1961 - 1990
Address - Allambie Reception Centre was located at 70 Elgar Road, Burwood. Location: Burwood

Related Events

Related Glossary Terms

Related Organisations

Publications

Books

  • Hamilton-Byrne, Sarah, Unseen, unheard, unknown, Penguin, Ringwood, 1995. Details
  • Spivey, Margaret, Defying the gatekeeper: one girl's true story of resistance and rebellion, In this memoir, the author describes her experiences as a ward of the state in Victoria, in a number of institutions in the 1950s and 1960s., Jo Jo Publishing, Melbourne, 2010. Details
  • Willich, Ray, Shadows of childhood, Widescope, Camberwell, Vic, 1978. Details
  • Willich, Ray, The troubled ones: sexually and emotionally abused children, Hill of Content, Melbourne, 1979. Details

Journal Articles

  • Bialestock, D., 'Neglected babies: a study of 289 babies admitted consecutively to a reception centre', Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 2, 1966, pp. 1129-1133. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • 'Allambie Reception Centre at 70 Elgar Road, Burwood', The Age, 12 July 1990. Details

Reports

  • Annual report: Social Welfare Department, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1961-1978. 1962, p.13. 1973, p.22. Details
  • Community Services Victoria, Statewide Services Redevelopment Team, Discussion paper on the redevelopment of services for children and young people in Allambie, Baltara and Winlaton, Community Services Victoria, 1986. Details
  • RBA Architects and Conservation Consultants Pty Ltd, Amendment C157, City of Whitehorse, Proposed HO249, Former Kildonan Children's Home, Elgar Road, Burwood, Expert witness statement - heritage, City of Whitehorse, 16 March 2015. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Allambie Children's Home, Burwood
Title
Allambie Children's Home, Burwood
Type
Image
Date
1960
Publisher
Victorian Government

Details

Allambie Reception Centre
Title
Allambie Reception Centre
Type
Image
Date
c. 1964
Publisher
Government Printer

Details

Kindergarten in new nursery wing of Allambie Reception Centre
Title
Kindergarten in new nursery wing of Allambie Reception Centre
Type
Image
Date
c. 1970

Details

New nursery wing at
Title
New nursery wing at "Allambie" Reception Centre
Type
Image
Date
c. 1970

Details

Children's skill course -
Title
Children's skill course - "Allambie" Reception Centre
Type
Image
Date
c. 1971

Details

Scene from
Title
Scene from "Allambie" kindergarten
Type
Image
Date
c. 1973

Details

Scene from
Title
Scene from "Allambie" kindergarten
Type
Image
Date
c. 1973

Details

Title
"Allambie" reception centre for children
Type
Image
Date
c. 1974

Details

Grade 3 of Allambie school
Title
Grade 3 of Allambie school
Type
Image
Date
c. 1975

Details

Grade 4 of Allambie school
Title
Grade 4 of Allambie school
Type
Image
Date
c. 1975

Details

Typing is one of the school subjects for the older girls at Allambie
Title
Typing is one of the school subjects for the older girls at Allambie
Type
Image
Date
c. 1975

Details

Enjoying privacy and quiet in Allambie's unit for adolescent girls
Title
Enjoying privacy and quiet in Allambie's unit for adolescent girls
Type
Image
Date
c. 1975

Details

New activities centre, Allambie
Title
New activities centre, Allambie
Type
Image
Date
c. 1976

Details

Former site of Kildonan and Allambie, Deakin University, Burwood campus
Title
Former site of Kildonan and Allambie, Deakin University, Burwood campus
Type
Image
Date
2016
Source
Michael Jones

Details

Allambie - Deakin University, 149 Elgar Road Burwood
Title
Allambie - Deakin University, 149 Elgar Road Burwood
Type
Image
Date
2017

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Annual report: Social Welfare Department, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1961-1978. 1962, p.13. 1973, p.22.; 'Forgotten because you're not seen', in Inside: Life in Children's Homes exhibition blog, 28 March 2011, https://web.archive.org/web/20180306141823/http://nma.gov.au/blogs/inside/2011/03/28/i-think-you-become-forgotten-because-youre-not-seen/; Clunies-Ross, Janet, Closing of day nurseries a disaster, The Age, 10 December 1970, 5 pp, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bdhUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t5ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3592,2109640&hl=en; James Jenkinson Consulting, Guide to out-of-home care services 1940-2000 - Volume One: Agency Descriptions, Department of Human Services, Unpublished, November 2001, https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/DHS.3004.011.0367.pdf; Swain, Shurlee, 'Royal Park Depot', in eMelbourne: the city past and present, Encyclopedia of Melbourne online, The University of Melbourne, 2008, http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01283b.htm; Email from Teresa to Find & Connect web resource, received 9 July 2014.

Prepared by: Cate O'Neill