Castledare Special School was established in 1929 in Wilson, Perth by the Christian Brothers. Its purpose was to provide a specialised institution for up to 30 boys (including non-Catholics) with cognitive disabilities. Admissions were low so the special school was closed at the start of 1934. Later in 1934, a mainstream residential Catholic primary school…
The Graceville Centre was the new name given in 1974 to what had been known since 1903 as Graceville. A Salvation Army Rescue Home, Graceville had replaced Cornelie Home at Highgate. By1974 the Graceville Centre in Highgate was a complex of buildings accommodating: mothers and children temporarily; women aged 16-25 for alcohol rehabilitation; and, young…
The Women’s Home in Fremantle was established by the government as a continuation of the Female Home (Women’s Home, Poor House) in Perth. Children and women who were intellectually disabled, destitute or pregnant and destitute, were moved from Perth into the buildings that had previously been the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum. It seems that very few…
The Female Home, or Poor House, began in 1851, and was then named the ‘Servants’ Home’. From 1854, destitute or orphaned children under 10 years of age were admitted. It was established by the Ladies’ Friendly Society, but by the mid 1850’s was run under the supervision of the Governor via officers of the Colonial…
Mount Henry Hospital in the Perth suburb of Manning was used as a residential facility to accommodate young people with disabilities in a nursing home environment in 1997. The government-run hospital closed in mid-1998.
Pyrton was a government-run Home for children diagnosed with profound intellectual disabilities. It opened in 1966 in Eden Hill (Lockridge) with children transferred from Claremont Hospital. Pyrton provided long-term accommodation and short-term respite ‘care’. From 1973, young people could be employed in an onsite Training Centre. No children were admitted to Pyrton after the 1980s….
The Union Street Hostel was established by the Slow Learning Children’s Group in 1959 in Subiaco. It was used for short-term accommodation for young women with special needs. In 1960 the property was set up as a ‘training centre’ and in 1961 became the Phoebe Holmes Hostel.
Devonleigh, in Peppermint Grove, previously a hospital, was used by Mental Health Services (MHS) to accommodate children with intellectual disabilities from 1979 until its closure in 1987. Mental Health Services took control of Devonleigh Hospital in November 1979, and it is likely that the first residents moved into Devonleigh in 1980. The former Devonleigh Maternity…
Nulsen Haven was a home for children with intellectual disabilities. It was run by the Mentally Incurable Children’s Association (MICA) in the Perth suburb of Redcliffe from 1956. In May 1975 a new dormitory was opened at Nulsen Haven. In 1986, MICA became the Nulsen Haven Association Inc (known as ‘Nulsen’). By 1992, the Home…
Hawkevale was started by the Slow Learning Children’s Group (SLCG) on a property in Maida Vale in 1957. It was a ‘farm village’ for adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities, and offered accommodation, employment and recreation. Hawkevale was replaced by a new facility in High Wycombe in 1970. Hawkevale was named after the Premier, Mr…
Dec 17, 2025
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