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Northcote Farm School

The Northcote Farm School was established at Glenmore, near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, in 1937. It was the only institution in Victoria to have been constructed specifically for child migrants. From 1937 to 1958, the Northcote Farm School received a total of 273 child migrants. From 1962, it changed its function and began to also accept…

Allambie Reception Centre

The Allambie Reception Centre opened in Burwood in 1961, on the former site of Kildonan Children’s Home. It was the Victorian Government’s main reception centre for children. Allambie could accommodate up to 90 children including (from 1964) babies and toddlers and by the 1970s its capacity had grown to 228 children. Allambie closed in 1990….

Bimberi Youth Justice Centre

The Bimberi Youth Justice Centre, Mitchell, was established in 2008 to replace the Quamby Youth Detention Centre as the ACT’s youth custodial facility. It accommodates youth aged 10 to 18 years. Bimberi is the first youth custodial facility to be designed, built and operated under human rights legislation.

Marlow Cottage

Marlow Cottage, Kaleen, was established in 1986 under the Children’s Services Act 1986. It was originally known as Kaleen Youth Shelter and was run by the Welfare Branch, and later the Housing and Community Services Bureau of the ACT Government. In November 1995, it transitioned to a non-government provider and has since operated under the…

Quamby Youth Detention Centre

The Quamby Youth Detention Centre in Symonston opened in 1962. It was a government-run facility, housing youth on short term remand, and (in the absence of any other facility) some children unable to live at home. Most ACT children who were sent to institutions in New South Wales initially spent some time in Quamby. In…

Kalgoorlie Child Welfare Cottage

The Kalgoorlie Child Welfare Cottage was established in the 1930s by the Child Welfare Department. It provided temporary care to children from the Kalgoorlie area awaiting transport to other child welfare or juvenile justice institutions, children on remand awaiting court appearances, and children, sometimes accompanied by their mothers, experiencing family emergencies. The Cottage was under…

Heavitree Gap Gaol

The Heavitree Gap Gaol was Central Australia’s first prison. It opened in a small wooden police hut at Heavitree Gap near Alice Springs in 1904. Two teenage boys were among the first prisoners to be committed to the Gaol. The Gaol closed in 1909 and was replaced by the purpose-built Stuart Town Gaol. The Heavitree…

Alice Springs Gaol

The Alice Springs Gaol was the new name given to the Stuart Town Gaol in 1933 when the town of Stuart was officially renamed Alice Springs. Run by the government the Gaol housed male and female, adult and juvenile prisoners. In 1938 the Alice Springs Gaol was closed. It was replaced by HM Gaol and…

Stuart Town Gaol

The Stuart Town Gaol was opened by the government in Alice Springs, then called Stuart, in 1909. It housed male and female, adult and juvenile prisoners. The Stuart Town Gaol became known as the Alice Springs Gaol in 1933 when the town of Stuart was officially renamed Alice Springs. The South Australian Government began building…

Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp

The Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp was established by the government in May 1986. It was a low security bush work camp for males aged 14 -18 who had been in lots of trouble with the law and was intended as an alternative to prison time. Residents and staff built the camp. By 1991 the…