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St Joseph’s Orphanage, Kincumber

St Joseph’s Orphanage, Kincumber, on the Central Coast, opened in 1887 and was run by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. It first housed boys aged 7 to 15, but by the 1970s accommodated boys and girls. More than 2,500 children passed through St Joseph’s Orphanage by the time it closed in…

St Joseph’s Providence

St Joseph’s Providence, or The Providence, operated at Dawes Point from 1880 then moved to The Rocks in 1881. Run by Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, The Providence took in boys and girls, and homeless women, as well as providing meals for destitute men. The Providence closed in 1901. The Sisters of…

St Joseph’s Girls’ Home

St Joseph’s Girls Home was established in ‘Gladstone House’ at Lane Cove (Gore Hill) in 1900. The home was a replacement for St Joseph’s Providence at The Rocks. It housed around 90 girls aged 5 to 15. By the 1970s the Home was divided into units for small group accommodation. St Joseph’s Girls’ Home closed…

St Anthony’s Home Croydon

In 1925, St Anthony’s Home moved from Petersham to Croydon. It was a Home for unmarried pregnant women and accommodated them and their babies for up to 12 months after the birth, as well as infants and children up to around the age of 3. Sister Kathleen Burford’s history of the Home states that mothers…

St Anthony’s Petersham

St Anthony’s was opened in 1922 by the Society of St Vincent De Paul, first in St Peters, and then in Petersham. It was not intended to provide long term residential care. Several hundred adoptions and foster placements were arranged from Petersham. In 1925 the home became St Anthony’s Home Croydon. St Anthony’s was developed…

St Anne’s Home

St Anne’s Home was established in 1898 at Broken Hill and operated by the Sisters of Mercy Wilcannia-Forbes Congregation. In 1941 the Daughters of our Lady of Compassion (Sisters of Compassion) took over the home and it became known as St Anne’s Home of Compassion. St Anne’s Home was established at the request of Rev….

St Michael’s Family Centre

St Michael’s Family Centre, run by the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation, was formerly known as St Michael’s Children’s Home. It was three cottages that provided accommodation for homeless women and children. The centre also provided long day care facilities. In August 2012 the Sisters of Mercy announced plans for the closure of the centre.

St Michael’s Orphanage

St Michael’s Orphanage, run by the Sisters of Mercy, was opened at Baulkham Hills in 1902. It was also known as St Michael’s Boys’ Home. The Orphanage housed boys aged 5 to 12 years. Around 1960, the institution became St Michael’s Children’s Home and housed boys and girls. St Michael’s Orphanage was established by the…

St Michael’s Children’s Home

St Michael’s Children’s Home, run by the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation, was established around 1960. It was previously known as St Michael’s Orphanage or Boys’ Home. The Children’s Home cared for boys and girls aged 5 to 15 years. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the home evolved into three cottages each with…

St Brigid’s Girls’ Home, Ryde

St Brigid’s Girls’ Home opened in 1898 at Ryde and was operated by the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation. It housed girls aged 5 to 15 years. St Brigid’s Girls’ Home closed in 1978. St Brigid’s Girls’ Home was opened, under the patronage of Cardinal Moran, on 17 June 1898. Records of the Home are…