Rabbit Island Mental Hospital was a government run institution established in around 1917. It was previously known as the Rabbit Island Hospital for the Insane. It was run by the Inspector General of Mental Hospitals. In 1936 it became known as the Peat and Milson Islands Mental Hospital. Rabbit Island Mental Hospital was an institution…
Yooralla was established in Balwyn in 1945. It was a hostel and school for children with a disability. It accommodated some Victorian wards of state. Yooralla also ran a respite care home and two family group homes. The Balwyn site and facilities were sold in 1993. Yooralla purchased a property on the corner of Belmore…
The Princess Elizabeth Kindergarten for the Deaf, in Elgar Road Burwood, opened in 1950. It was the first residential and daily pre-school centre for deaf children in Australia. It was run by the board of the Victorian School for Deaf Children. From 1957 to 1971 the State Education Department were responsible for the teaching staff…
Travancore was established in 1933 in Flemington. It was a school and residential centre that housed and educated ‘mentally defective’ children up to the age of 14. Since 2009, the Travancore School delivers a number of programs to link the mental health and education sectors. Travancore was established in 1933, by the newly-formed Department of…
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…
Marillac House in Brighton East was run by the Daughters of Charity from 1943. It included a school, and accommodated mostly girls aged 10 to 16, and some boys in its early years, with intellectual disabilities, or learning and social problems. In 2009, Marillac House continues to provide programs and services to people with a…
The St John of God Training Centre was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1953. It housed around 100 boys aged 7 to 16 deemed to have mild intellectual disabilities, including State wards. It was the Brothers’ first institution in the state of Victoria. An article published by the support group Broken…
The Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, which was known as The Victorian Asylum and School for the Blind until 1891, opened in Melbourne in 1866. Its aim was to provide accommodation, school and occupational training for up to 120 blind and vision impaired children and adults. It was initially located in a rented house…
The Handicapped Persons’ Association Group Home was opened in Darwin by the Handicapped Persons Association (HPA) of the Northern Territory in 1985. It accommodated up to seven people. In 1991 the HPA established the Darwin Accommodation Service. It is possible that the Handicapped Persons Association Group Home closed at this time.
The Mentally Retarded Person’s Association Hostel opened in Darwin in 1968. Run by the Mentally Retarded Person’s Association it provided accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities. The Association also ran a pre-school and provided supported employment and training. The Mentally Retarded Persons Association Hostel closed in 1974.
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