The St Mary’s Hostel was a hostel providing accommodation for up to 20 young women working in the Geelong area. It was initially run by The Legion of Mary, and from 1964 came under the administration of the Sisters of the Holy Angels. The hostel was located in a building called “Hawthorne” at 39 Skene…
The Catholic Family Welfare Bureau – Archdiocese of Melbourne was previously known as the Catholic Social Service Bureau. It was a Catholic social work organisation that administered applications for children to be admitted to Catholic children’s Homes in Victoria. It also counselled single mothers and arranged foster care placements and adoptions. The Catholic Family Welfare…
St Joseph’s Industrial School was established in 1865 by the Sisters of Mercy, Geelong Congregation. St Joseph’s opened in the grounds of the Convent of Mercy, Geelong and accommodated around 20 to 30 girls. The school was for girls from 8 to 16 years old to finish their education and receive training in domestic service…
The Sisters of Mercy, Geelong Congregation, a Catholic religious order of women from Ireland, was established in 1859. The Sisters provided care for girls at St Augustine’s Boys’ Orphanage before opening Our Lady’s Orphanage and St Joseph’s Industrial School for girls. In 1907 the Sisters of Mercy started to consolidate the number of congregations across…
Straight View Farm Reformatory School was established in Harcourt, Victoria in 1895. It accommodated Roman Catholic boys from the ages of 11 to 17. It closed in 1919. The Straight View Farm Reformatory School was a private reformatory established to accommodate Roman Catholic boys at Harcourt. The School was privately run by Mr McMahon (the…
The Friendly Brothers Society (1845-c.1880) was a lay Catholic association which played a leading role in providing for vulnerable children in Melbourne and Geelong. During the 1840s and 1850s members of the society arranged private boarding placements for children in need. From the late 1850s Catholic orphanages emerged as the Church’s preferred means of providing…
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…
St Paul’s School for the Blind opened in 1957 in Kew and was run by the Villa Maria Society. It admitted some wards of state, and operated two residential units in Kew and Alphington. For most of its history St Paul’s School was located at 6 Studley Park Road, Kew (also described as 13 Fernhurst…
St Vincent de Paul Child and Family Services came into being in 1992. It was formerly known as St Vincent de Paul’s Children’s Home. St Vincent de Paul Child and Family Services came under the control of MacKillop Family Services in 1997.
St Anthony’s Home was the new name given in 1943 to St Anthony’s Children’s Home, in Kew. It was run the Sisters of St Joseph, and accommodated boys aged between 3 and 6. In 1976, the Home closed and services were transferred to St Anthony’s Family Service, in Footscray. In November 1955, St Anthony’s Home…
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