Want some help?
Does this page need updating?
Look for Similar
Other Find & Connect resources
Organisation Government Receiving Depot (1894 - 1935)
- From
- 1894
- To
- 1935
- Categories
- Care Provider, Children's Home, Government-run and Receiving Home
- Alternative Names
- Government Receiving Home for Children
Summary
[Taken from the Western Australian guide Signposts:]
The Government Receiving Depot was originally a temporary accommodation for children who were taken into the care of the Department as they awaited placement with foster parents or institutions. It also accommodated children who were awaiting medical or dental treatment in Perth, or who were scheduled for appearance at the Children's Court. Private admissions were also accommodated in the earlier days of its operation.
Although its name wasn't changed in the statistics of the Department until 1935, photographs published in the Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department in 1926 refer to the institution as the 'Government Receiving Home for Children'.
Details
A letter of appreciation of the The Daily News Orphans' Christmas Cheer Fund in 1915 gives an insight into life at the Receiving Depot. The letter shows that donations enabled the children to occasionally have extras that were not part of their daily experience:
[Matron] divided half the money amongst the elder children, who were taken by the assistant matron to the city on Christmas Eve to purchase their own presents. Toys and Christmas stockings were bought for the infants, and the balance expended in fruit and cordials for the Christmas dinner. Letter, 27 December 1915 published in The Daily News 2 December 1916, p.10
Events
- 1916
- The Government Receiving Depot was located on the corner of Marquis and Wellington Streets. Location: West Perth
Skip to
Related Entries
Timeline
1894 - 1935 Government Receiving Depot
1935 - 1952 Government Receiving Home
1953 - 1972 Child Welfare Reception Home
1973 - 1980 Mount Lawley Reception Home
1980 - 1993 Walcott Centre
Records managed by
Run By
Publications
Reports
- Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department for the Year Ended 30th June 1926, Child Welfare Department, Government of Western Australia, Perth, 30 June 1926. Details
- Department for Community Welfare, History of the Department 1829-1979, 1979. Details
- Western Australia. Child Welfare Department, Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department, Child Welfare Department, Perth [W.A.], 1929-1972. Details
- Western Australia. State Children's Department, Annual Report: State Children's Department, State Children's Department, [Perth, W.A.], 1917-1925. Details
Online Resources
- 'The Daily News [Christmas Cheer Fund]', The Daily News, 2 December 1916, p. 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81358001. Details
- 'Register of Heritage Places - Assessment Documentation [Mt Lawley Government Receiving Home]', in Heritage Places Database, Western Australia State Heritage Office, Government of Western Australia, 14 May 2002, http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/Public/Content/PdfLoader.aspx?id=69a5f511-3e6d-4883-a253-8ccedd13c1b2&type=assessment. Details
- Department for Community Development, State of Western Australia, 'Submission No. 55 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, July 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist.htm. Details
- Foster, Darren J, 'Submission No. 347 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, 3 April 2004, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist.htm. Details
- Information Services, Department for Community Development, Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920, Government of Western Australia, http://www.signposts.communitydevelopment.wa.gov.au/. Details
Sources used to compile this entry: 'The Daily News [Christmas Cheer Fund]', The Daily News, 2 December 1916, p. 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81358001; Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department for the Year Ended 30th June 1926, Child Welfare Department, Government of Western Australia, Perth, 30 June 1926; Department for Community Welfare, History of the Department 1829-1979, 1979; Information Services, Department for Community Development, Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920, Government of Western Australia, http://www.signposts.communitydevelopment.wa.gov.au/.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 19 March 2012, Last modified: 16 February 2013
Last updated: 22 March 2013
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/wa/biogs/WE00612b.htm
First published by the Find and Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Australia License