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St Vincent de Paul Orphanage

St Vincent de Paul Orphanage was established by the Catholic Church in 1866 in Gilberton. In 1867 it took in Catholic children from the Grace Darling Hotel. The Orphanage moved to Adelaide in 1868, to Mitcham in 1872, Burnside in 1875 and Millswood in 1888. The Orphanage was run by the Orphanage Board from 1866…

St Stanislaus House

St Stanislaus House was opened in 1956 in Royal Park. Also known as the Polish Orphanage, it was run by the Resurrection Sisters and accommodated orphans, children from broken homes and children whose mothers were out at work or were ill. Some children were of primary school age and attended local Catholic schools. Staffing shortages…

St Joseph’s Refuge

St Joseph’s Refuge was established in Adelaide by the Catholic Church in 1868. Run by the Sisters of St Joseph, it provided refuge for unmarried mothers and children to the age of three years. Older children went to St Joseph’s Orphanage, Largs Bay. The refuge moved to Mitcham, Norwood and then Fullarton in 1901. In…

St Joseph’s Orphanage Largs Bay

St Joseph’s Orphanage at Largs Bay, formerly St Joseph’s Sanatorium, opened in 1907. Run by the Sisters of St Joseph it took in infants and school age children. From 1941 it accommodated only boys aged 3 to 12. Girls were sent to St Vincent de Paul Orphanage, Goodwood and older boys to St John’s Boystown,…

St John the Baptist Home for Boys

St John the Baptist Home for Boys was established in 1898 in Brooklyn Park. Run by the Brothers of St John the Baptist and under the control of the government, it took in Catholic boys from the Boys’ Reformatory, Magill. In 1941 the Home became a private Catholic reformatory known as St John’s Boys Town….

Sacred Heart Orphanage

The Sacred Heart Orphanage was established in 1940 at Crystal Brook. Run by the Good Samaritan Sisters, it originally catered for children in need whose fathers had been killed during World War II. In the 1970s the orphanage accommodated children between 4 and 15 years of age. The institution closed as an orphanage in 1979….

Convent of the Good Shepherd “The Pines”

The Convent of the Good Shepherd was established in 1942 in a large home called ‘The Pines’ in Plympton. It was run by the Order of the Good Shepherd Sisters as a home for teenage girls. The first children admitted came from the Catholic Girls’ Home at Parkside when it closed in 1943. In 1974…

Catholic Girls’ Reformatory, Kapunda

The Catholic Girls’ Reformatory at Kapunda was established in 1897 to house Catholic girls from the Girls’ Reformatory at Edwardstown. It was run by the Sisters of St Joseph. The Reformatory was closed in 1909 and the remaining girls were transferred to the Redruth Girls’ Reformatory at Burra. During the 1870s and early 1880s Sister…

Catholic Girls’ Home Parkside

The Catholic Girls Home at Parkside was opened in 1930 to accommodate Roman Catholic girls from the Salvation Army run Barton Vale Girls’ Home. It was run by the Sisters of St Joseph and overseen by the Children’s Welfare and Public Relief Board. The Catholic Girls’ Home closed in 1943 and the girls were transferred…

St Mary’s Mission of Hope

St Mary’s Mission of Hope opened in Adelaide in 1904, run by an independent management committee that reported to the Synod of the Diocese of Adelaide. The Home took in homeless girls, many from the Destitute Asylum. In 1922 toddlers were admitted and in 1930 teenagers were accommodated. During the 1940s Aboriginal girls from the…