St Mary’s Home, Rockhampton, was opened in 1907 at “The Range”, Jessie Street, as a Home for unmarried mothers and their babies. It was run by a committee of the Anglican Diocese of Rockhampton, although the home accepted women of any denomination. Initially women were expected to stay at the home for at least eight…
The Geelong Female Refuge was established in 1868 at Kildare, initially to house and reform ‘fallen’ women who had nowhere to live. By 1893 the Refuge accepted pregnant unmarried women who were prepared to have their babies at the refuge and remain for a further 12 months with their baby. By 1928 it had evolved…
St Joseph’s Nursery was established in 1959 and was situated in Gellibrand Street, Kew, close to the St Anthony’s Home. It provided temporary accommodation for children (who would previously have been housed at St Joseph’s in Carlton) and for some single mothers. The Nursery closed in 1976. St Joseph’s Nursery was established in 1959. It…
Bethany Babies’ Home was originally the Geelong Female Refuge when it was established in 1868. From 1928, the Refuge became known as Bethany Babies’ Home. It accommodated pregnant women, babies and toddlers; it operated a maternity hospital and also adopted babies out. In 1977, it ceased to operating as a Home and adoption agency and…
The Alexandra Babies’ Home was established in around 1909. It housed up to 36 children aged under five years of age. From 1964, it was known as the Alexandra Toddlers’ Home. It closed in 1973. The Babies’ Home accommodated boys and girls under 5 years of age. The Home had a capacity of 36 children,…
The Presbyterian Babies’ Home opened in 1928 in East Melbourne. In around 1933, the Home relocated to Camberwell. It housed babies and children up to the age of four. In 1977, it became the Canterbury Family Centre. The Argus newspaper reported on the opening of The Presbyterian Babies’ Home by Lady Stonehaven on 26 October…
St Joseph’s Babies’ and Family Service in Glenroy was established in 1985 when the Sisters of St Joseph merged the St Joseph’s Babies’ Home in Glenroy with the St Joseph’s Receiving Home in Carlton. The Babies’ and Family Service was located in a small residential unit that had previously been part of the St Joseph’s…
The Darling Babies’ Home was established by the Community of the Holy Name in 1927. It was run by the Mission to the Streets and Lanes for babies and young children up to the age of 5. The Home was closed in 1967. In 1927, the Mission to the Streets and Lanes launched an appeal…
The Arms of Jesus Babies’ Home, East Melbourne, was established in 1925 by the Mission of St James and St John. It housed babies up to the age of two. In 1933, the Babies Home was sold and the Freemason’s Hospital was erected on the site. The Mission purchased property in Balwyn, where the new…
The Methodist Babies’ Home in South Yarra was established in 1929. It organised the adoption of many babies in Victoria. In 1974, it became the Copelen Street Family Centre, offering foster care and preventive family services. The establishment of the Methodist Babies’ Home in 1929 coincided with the implementation of Victoria’s first adoption act (passed…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
