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Organisation West Winds Boys' Home (1967 - 1983)
- From
- 1967
- To
- 1983
- Categories
- Care Provider, Children's Home, Government-run, Intellectual Disability Institution and Stolen Generations
- Alternative Names
- Westwinds
- Westwinds Boys' Home
Summary
Please note that this page reproduces the original language used in the historical sources drawn upon to compile this entry. This language includes offensive and derogatory terms which are today considered unacceptable. We apologise for any offence caused by such language.
The West Winds Boys' Home accommodated boys from the age of 9. It was situated in Woodbridge, south of Hobart. After it opened in 1967, it became a home for boys who were assessed as 'intellectually or educationally retarded' but suitable to attend Woodbridge Area School. The Ombudsman's 'Listen to the children' report of 2004 mentions this Home.
Details
In 1963, the Social Welfare Department bought a property of 44 acres with a timber house on it at Woodbridge which they intended to develop as a home. As a temproary measure, they leased it to a couple who took in boys at the same rate as foster mothers. This became known as Woodbridge-West Winds Receiving Home. By 1970, the new buildings were apparently complete and the Receiving Home closed. The new West Winds Boys' Home took up to 20 boys aged between 5 and 15. They attended Woodbridge Area School.
The Government Medical Officer and a psychiatrist examined the boys when they first entered the home. A Clinical Psychologist then tested them. After that, the psychiatrist often prescribed medication. In 1970, 12 of the 20 boys were taking medication. The Superintendent in 1975 described Westwinds as a 'long-term treatment centre' with some of the boys living at the home for four or five years. Most stayed for two years.
Some boys went home for the holidays or stayed with friends. They learned craft work from instructors living locally who were employed on an hourly basis.
There was a Farm Hostel where boys who had left school learned farming, market gardening, and animal husbandry.
In a request to the Public Service Board in 1971 for 4 more staff at West Winds, GC Smith, the Director of the Social Welfare Department, said that they frequently worked over fourteen hours a day. There was often only one male officer on duty. He wrote: 'it is unreasonable to expect an officer to maintain a balanced attitude and an effective programme over such a long day'.
During the early 1980s, West Winds offered respite care under the Domestic Service Assistance Scheme.
West Winds closed in 1983 because the government wanted to reduce the number of children in residential care and redirect resources to alternative community based programs. The number of children at West Winds had declined.
The Report of the Stolen Generations Assessor of 2008 mentions West Winds Boys' Home.
Location
- 1967 - 1983
- West Winds was situated in Woodbridge. Location: Woodbridge
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Related Entries
Run by
Publications
Reports
- Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30th June 1965, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1965. Details
- Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30 June 1970, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1970. Details
- Department for Community Welfare: annual report for the year ended 30 June 1983, Department of Community Welfare, Hobart, 1983. Details
- Department for Community Welfare: annual report for the year ended 30 June 1984, Department for Community Welfare, Hobart, 1984. Details
- Ombudsman Tasmania, Listen to the children: Review of claims of abuse from adults in state care as children, Office of the Ombudsman, Tasmania, Hobart, November 2004. p.18. Details
Online Resources
- Report of the Stolen Generations Assessor, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tasmania, 2008, http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/53770/Stolen_Generations_Assessor_final_report.pdf. Details
Sources used to compile this entry: Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30th June 1965, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1965; Department of Social Welfare: report for the year ended 30 June 1970, Department of Social Welfare, Hobart, 1970; Department for Community Welfare: annual report for the year ended 30 June 1983, Department of Community Welfare, Hobart, 1983; Department for Community Welfare: annual report for the year ended 30 June 1984, Department for Community Welfare, Hobart, 1984; Report of the Stolen Generations Assessor, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tasmania, 2008, http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/53770/Stolen_Generations_Assessor_final_report.pdf; Ombudsman Tasmania, Listen to the children: Review of claims of abuse from adults in state care as children, Office of the Ombudsman, Tasmania, Hobart, November 2004. p.18..
Prepared by: Caroline Evans
Created: 12 January 2011, Last modified: 5 April 2013
Last updated: 14 May 2013
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/tas/biogs/TE00039b.htm
First published by the Find and Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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