Archives



Wirraminna Hostel

Wirraminna Hostel was a family group home for Aboriginal boys opened by Aboriginal Hostels Limited at Essendon in 1973. Wirraminna was run by a married couple who acted as house parents to the boys who lived there. Typically there were five or six boys in residence at Wirraminna, although the hostel was reported to have…

Family Group Homes run by Charlton Youth Services

Charlton Youth Services ran several Family Group Homes in the Sydney area from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. These were a half-way house at Summerhill (open 1976 to 1983), a half-way house for girls at Five Dock (open 1978 to 1984), and a Group Home for Boys at Canterbury (open March to November…

Kingsleigh Group Home – St Ives

Kingsleigh Group Home was a family group home opened by the Church of England Homes at St Ives in 1975. It closed in February 1977, and the children living there were returned to their parents. From 1978 the Kingsleigh name was re-used for another family group home operated by the Church of England Homes at…

Gilead Boys’ Home

Gilead Boys’ Home was established in Narrogin around 1973 to accommodate Aboriginal boys in a family atmosphere. In the mid-1970s Gilead was used as a single-family foster placement by the Department for Community Welfare, accommodating boys and girls. It was run by the Gilead Boys Home (Inc), with house parents living with the children. It…

Mosley Family Group Home

Mosley Family Group Home, run by the government, replaced Mosley Receiving Home in about 1981. It was in New Town. The Home provided temporary accommodation to children who were wards of state or supervised in other ways by the Social Welfare Department and its successors. Mosley closed in 1991. A married woman managed Mosley Family…

Chelmer Children’s Home

The Chelmer Children’s Home, situated at 7 Laurel Avenue, Chelmer was operated by the Presbyterian Church. In 1968 it was described as a family group home. In November 1969, it opened as a special care centre for disabled babies and toddlers, with a family group wing. The house later became a private residence and has…

Nicklin Cottage Family Group Home

Nicklin Cottage Family Group Home, in Aspley, opened in 1960. It was run by the Methodist Church until 1977 when management of the home was transferred to the Uniting Church. Nicklin Cottage Family Group Home was licensed under the State Children Act 1911 on 27 October 1960 and then the Children’s Services Act 1965 on…

Zuill Home

Zuill Home was a family group home set up by the United Protestant Association at Grafton in 1984. Little is known about this home. It closed around 1993.

George Green Home

George Green Home was a family group home set up by the United Protestant Association in 1982 at Grafton. It is thought to have closed around 1993.

Cornwell Group Home

Cornwell Group Home was a family group home established at North Epping in 1968, and moved to Blacktown in 1979. It was run by Church of England Homes as a temporary family group home for children. It closed in June 2000. In 1984, in its newsletter Care, Church of England Homes described the purpose of…