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Catholic Daughters Holiday Home

The Catholic Daughters Holiday Home, in Sandgate, was run by the Catholic Daughters of Australia. It began operating in 1930 to provide a seaside holiday for disadvantaged children. The Catholic Daughters rented homes each Christmas holiday period for this purpose, resulting in the Home moving each year. Plans to build their own holiday home in…

Jessie Street Family Group Home

Jessie Street Family Group Home, in Rockhampton, was operated by the the Sisters of Mercy. It was purchased in January 1978. Children from St Joseph’s Home, Neerkol, were transferred to the home. It was unoccupied from June 1984 and the approved bed numbers were reduced to nil in January 1985.

Ward Street Family Group Home

Ward Street Family Group Home, in Rockhampton, was operated by the Sisters of Mercy. It was purchased in June 1977 and opened 12 October 1977. Children from St Joseph’s Home, Neerkol, were transferred to the home. It closed early 1979.

Catholic Family Welfare Bureau (Archdiocese of Brisbane)

The Catholic Family Welfare Bureau in Queensland was formed in 1958 by Archbishop of Brisbane James Duhig. It grew out of an organisation called the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council. In 1984, the organisation became known as Centre Care (later updated again to Centacare in 1991). The Catholic Family Welfare Bureau grew out of a lay…

Franciscan Missionaries of Mary

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were first established in Australia in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1941, and worked primarily with Aboriginal people. In Queensland they took over the care of the Leprosarium on Fantome Island and the primary school on Palm Island, both Aboriginal settlements under Government control. They also ran the Xavier Home for Crippled…

St Brigid’s Industrial School

St Brigid’s Industrial School, in Rockhampton, was run by the Sisters of Mercy. Information about this institution is scarce but it originally operated as a boarding facility and industrial school for young girls from outlying areas of the Diocese. It then became a working girls’ hostel. St Brigid’s opened around 1874 and closed in 1985….

St Henry’s Roman Catholic Asylum

St Henry’s Roman Catholic Asylum, on Thursday Island, was an orphanage run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. It was part of the Sacred Heart Mission. The orphanage opened in 1889 and closed 1942 when the children were moved from Thursday Island to Cooyar…

Tarragindi Lodge

The Tarragindi Lodge, in Prior Street, Tarragindi, was operated by the De La Salle Brothers (in conjunction with BoysTown). It was a Group Home for boys from BoysTown as they entered the labour market. Tarragindi Lodge opened in 1974, and was previously Albion Lodge. The institution was licensed as an independent hostel on 1 March…

The Ark Transition Hostel

The Ark Transition Hostel, in Windsor, was operated by the Catholic Family Welfare Bureau. According to the 2001 publication Missing Pieces, it opened 2 September 1977 and closed 10 December 1982.

St Vincent’s Home for Children

St Vincent’s Home for Children, Queens Road, Nudgee, was operated by the Order of the Sisters of Mercy. Previously known as St Vincent’s Orphanage, the name changed to St Vincent’s Home for Children in 1935. From 1938 children under two years were admitted. The home closed as a residential facility in 1971. In 1938, children…