Archives



C.W.A Girls’ Hostel, Bunbury

The C.W.A. Girls’ Hostel was established by the Country Women’s Association in 1952 in Haig Crescent, Bunbury. It was also known as Heath House. The Holstel provided accommodation for girls attending Bunbury High School, replacing the Mary Clementina Hostel for Girls. Initially the hostel only had accommodation for 12 girls. In 1958, major renovations including…

Broken Rites

Broken Rites is an organisation formed in 1992 by victims of church-related sexual abuse. About 90 per cent of the men and women who have contacted Broken Rites Australia have been from a Catholic background. The organisation also supports victims from other denominations including the Anglican Church and the Uniting Church. Broken Rites does not…

Child Migrant Friendship Society

The Child Migrant Friendship Society (CMFS) was established around 1987 by a group of former residents of Catholic institutions, to advocate for people who had been sent as unaccompanied child migrants. Funding for CMFS operational expenses came from the Christian Brothers. CMFS operated in some form to at least 2001. In his submission to the…

Sisters of St Elizabeth of Hungary

The Sisters of St Elizabeth of Hungary was a British Anglican Order of nuns. They arrived in the Anglican Diocese of Bunbury in 1928 to help British group settlers in that district. Their convent was in Spencer Street. With a donation from a supporter, they built and ran the Mary Clementina Hostel for Girls who…

Sisters of the Church

The Sisters of the Church were an Anglican religious order of women who arrived in Australia, from England, in September 1892. The Sisters focused on religious education and out-of-home care establishing schools in Adelaide and Hobart and a school and orphanage in Sydney. Arriving in Perth in 1901, they established children’s homes, schools and a…

Mogumber Training Centre

The Mogumber Training Centre was an administrative unit in the Methodist, and then Uniting Church. It ran a number of ‘cottages’ and programs that had been run from Mogumber before the facility at Moore River closed in 1974. The Mogumber Training Centre became part of Sister Kate’s Child and Family Care Services in 1980. The…

Chief Secretary’s Department, State Government of Western Australia

The Chief Secretary’s Department of Western Australia was the new title given on 16 April 1924 to the Colonial Secretary’s Office. It was responsible for a number of varied functions including Harbour and Lights, Gaols, Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Astronomical Services and Racing. By 1980, the Department’s responsibilities were limited to Prisons,…

Australian Aborigines’ Mission

The Australian Aborigines’ Mission dates back to around 1894, in New South Wales. It was originally known as the La Perouse Aborigines’ Christian Endeavour Society, established in June 1894. The interdenominational Christian society was active in the Sydney beachside area of La Perouse, establishing a mission to work with the Aboriginal people, and opening its…

Children’s Protection Society

The Children’s Protection Society (the Society) was established in Perth in 1906 as the extent of ‘child cruelty and neglect’ became more visible to the public. At a time when neglected children were seen as criminals, the Society showed that children were victims. It was a volunteer service aimed mainly at ensuring that illegitimate children…

Metropolitan Charities Appeal Association [Western Australia]

The Metropolitan Charities Appeal Association was formed on 3 January 1918 at the instigation of the Ugly Men’s Association to avoid ‘the necessity for a score or more appeals for charities during the year’. It possibly was disbanded after July 1918.