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Wesley Central Mission

Wesley Central Mission came into being in 1893, as the response of Wesleyan Methodists in Victoria to the severe economic depression and associated inner-city poverty of the early 1890s. In 1977, with the creation of the Uniting Church in Australia, its name changed to Wesley Central Parish Mission. Wesley Central Mission came into being in…

St Anthony’s Home

St Anthony’s Home was the new name given in 1943 to St Anthony’s Children’s Home, in Kew. It was run the Sisters of St Joseph, and accommodated boys aged between 3 and 6. In 1976, the Home closed and services were transferred to St Anthony’s Family Service, in Footscray. In November 1955, St Anthony’s Home…

St Vincent de Paul Boys’ Home

The St Vincent de Paul Boys’ Home was renamed from St Vincent de Paul Orphanage for Boys in 1967. It was run by the Christian Brothers and located in South Melbourne. The St Vincent de Paul Boys’ Home closed in 1997. Since closing, the St Vincent de Paul Boys’ Home has been the subject of…

St Vincent de Paul Children’s Home

St Vincent de Paul Children’s Home was renamed from St Vincent de Paul Girls’ Orphanage in 1962, and was run by the Sisters of Mercy. In 1966, the Home relocated from South Melbourne to Black Rock where children were housed in family group homes. In 1992, its name changed to St Vincent de Paul Child…

Morning Star Boys’ Home

The Morning Star Boys’ Home in Mount Eliza (Mornington ) was established in 1932, and run by the Franciscan Brothers. It was a training centre for young offending boys. Morning Star ceased operation in September 1975. In 1932, the Archbishop of Melbourne received a bequest, part of the purpose of which was ‘to found a…

The Menzies Home for Children

The Menzies Home for Children was the new name given in October 1961 to the former The Menzies Home for Boys. From this time Menzies allowed girls to be admitted and increasingly housed children in family group homes in the Frankston and Dandenong areas. The organisation became Menzies Inc. in 2000. The Menzies Home for…

St Joseph’s Home

St Joseph’s Home, Sebastopol, was established in around 1911. It accommodated boys aged between 6 and 16, and some girls until the age of 6 when they were transferred to Nazareth House, Ballarat. Residential childcare ceased at St Joseph’s in 1980. The site of St Joseph’s Home was on Grant Street, Sebastapol (in the Ballarat…

Marillac House

Marillac House in Brighton East was run by the Daughters of Charity from 1943. It included a school, and accommodated mostly girls aged 10 to 16, and some boys in its early years, with intellectual disabilities, or learning and social problems. In 2009, Marillac House continues to provide programs and services to people with a…

Providence Children’s Home

The Providence Children’s Home was established at Bacchus Marsh in 1957. It accommodated children from Victoria’s Dutch community, but was not exclusively for children from any national or religious group. It was established to accommodate children between 2 and 16 years, but also had babies and infants. Providence Children’s Home also ran three family group…

Bethany Babies’ Home

Bethany Babies’ Home was originally the Geelong Female Refuge when it was established in 1868. From 1928, the Refuge became known as Bethany Babies’ Home. It accommodated pregnant women, babies and toddlers; it operated a maternity hospital and also adopted babies out. In 1977, it ceased to operating as a Home and adoption agency and…