Government Reformatory for Boys Rottnest, 1900, courtesy of Department for Child Protection and Family Support, Superintendent of Public Charities and Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, Report 1900, p.27.
Details
The Rottnest Island Reformatory was a government-run institution, established in 1881 as an alternative to sending boys younger than 16 to gaol. It closed in 1902 and boys were sent to the Salvation Army Reformatory School in Collie.
The Rottnest Island Reformatory opened in 1881 as an alternative to sending boys 'of European descent' who had been convicted of crimes to Perth or Fremantle gaol. In 1882, the reformatory came under the Industrial Schools Act 1874 which governed both orphanages and industrial schools. However, it was not until 1897 that the reformatory was made the responsibility of the Superintendent of Poor Relief and Inspector of Charitable Institutions. When the reformatory closed in 1902, the remaining boys were sent to the Salvation Army Reformatory School for Protestant Boys at Collie.
Sources used to compile this entry: Report by the Superintendent of Relief and Inspector of Charitable Institutions for the year, Government Printer, Perth, 1897; 'News in Brief [Rottnest Island Reformatory]', The Daily News, The Daily News, 18 April 1898, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82080506; Report by the Inspector of Charitable Institutions, Government Printer, Perth, 1898; 'Progressive Measures at Rottnest', Western Mail, Charles Harper, J.W. Hackett, James Gibey, for the Western mail office, Perth, 8 March 1902, p. 9, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37797966; 'The Early Days [Rottnest Reformatory]', The West Australian, The West Australian, 5 June 1931, p. 20, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32524538; Hetherington, Penelope, Reformatories, Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia, Gregory, Jenny and Jan Gothard [editors], University of Western Australia Press, Crawley, W.A., 2009, 750-751 pp, https://uwa.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/view/delivery/61UWA_INST/12334498990002101. p.750..
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 3 September 2012, Last modified: 4 June 2014
Last updated: 17 October 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/wa/biogs/WE00802b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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