Darlington Cottage, a government-run facility, was established at first to house up to ten school-age boys from Hillston in a group home setting. When Hillston closed in 1983, Darlington Cottage became Darlington Hostel. According to government reports (Signposts 2004, pp.183-184), Darlington Cottage was a large house, able to accommodate up to 10 boys at one…
Cooinda, in Mt Lawley, was established in 1966 by Methodist Homes for Children at the request of the Department of Native Welfare to accommodate Aboriginal schoolgirls attending high school in Perth. After 1977 it was run by the agencies of the Uniting Church and in 1987 it was transferred to the Department for Community Services….
Koolingar-Mia Group Home was established in 1978 in Collie. It provided accommodation for up to 6 children of all ages and emergency accommodation for an additional 2 children. It closed in 1992. Government reports Signposts 2004, pp.169-171) show that the Koolingar-Mia Group Home was established as an initiative of the Collie Welfare Council, a local…
Charles Perkins Hostel in Halls Creek began in 1962 as a government-run hostel for school-age children, on the site of the old Australian Inland Mission. By 1995, its role had changed to child protection placements. Around 2000, its name was changed to the Yurag-Man-Gu Taam-Purru Placement and Support Centre. Charles Perkins Hostel in Halls Creek,…
The Carnarvon Group Home was established in Carnarvon in 1997 by the Department for Family and Children’s Services to provide short term accommodation for children at risk. In 2014, the Carnavon Group Home provided residential care on a family model and was run by Parkerville Children and Youth Care (Inc).
Canowindra, in the southern Bunbury suburb of Gelorup, was established as a government-run group home around 1974. The home accommodated children from the local area so that they could maintain family and other social relationships while they were unable to live at home. The age and needs of these children varied over the time of…
Bulungurr Hostel, in Wyndham, was developed by the Department for Community Welfare in 1973 as an emergency hostel for Aboriginal families on the site of the old ‘Native Hospital’. A kindergarten and youth training programs were run from the centre for some years. It is not known whether any children were accommodated at Bulungurr. The…
The Bridgewater Care and Assessment Centre opened in 1969 as a government-run residential facility in Applecross, for children and young people aged 3-18 years. Bridgewater admitted children who were wards and private children. At first, Bridgewater provided pre-placement assessments and short-term accommodation, later offering therapeutic, family reunification and pre-adoption programs. Local children attended the kindergarten…
Bridgetown Group Home (also known as ‘Mullina’) was a government-run facility established in 1976 to accommodate Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children from the local area in a family-type home. It is possible that Bridgetown had closed by 1980.
Millen Street Hostel, Boulder, began around 1970 as the Boulder Boys’ Employment Hostel with supported accommodation for teenage Aboriginal boys of working age. It was run by the Australian Aborigines Evangelical Mission (AAEM) on behalf of the Department of Native Welfare, and by the Department for Community Welfare from around 1974. Throughout the 1980s and…