Mount Margaret Mission, south of Laverton, was established in 1921 by R. Schenk, with assistance from the Australian Aborigines Mission (which became the United Aborigines Mission in 1929). Around 1928, the Schenks established a dormitory system at the Mission, where Aboriginal children were housed separately from their parents. It was called the Graham Homes. By…
Millington Street Bethel Home, Ardross, was established in 1962 in the private home of the founders of Bethel Inc, an independent mission society. From 1964, it was run by Bethel Inc for up to 12 Aboriginal students, male and female, going to high school in Perth. It had closed by 1982. The home of Don…
The Methodist Girls’ Home was established in 1917 in North Perth by the Central Methodist Mission, for girls of working age. When it closed in 1924, the young women were transferred to the Salvation Army’s Seaforth ‘reformatory’ at Gosnells. The Methodist Girls’ Home opened on 27 October 1917. At the Annual Meeting of the ‘Perth…
Meribah was opened by the Methodist Homes for Children at St James in 1972. It provided residential care for six school age boys and girls in a home-like setting. Meribah closed some time around 1986.
Marribank, near Katanning, was run by the Baptist Union as an Aboriginal mission from November 1952, when it continued the Marribank Farm Training School. Marribank accepted children who were wards of the state and private admissions. By the 1970s, Marribank was reported as operating with a community development model and by the 1980s was offering…
Kurrawang Mission, near Kalgoorlie, was established as a ‘native reserve’ in 1952 by the Gospel Brethren (later known as Christian Brethren). Until 1963, the head of the government departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare was the guardian of children at the Home. By 1968, there were 66 children, some who were wards of the State. Its…
Karalundi, at Crystal Brook near Meekatharra, was established by the Western Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church as a ‘native institution’ in March 1954, for up to 50 Aboriginal children and, from 1955, children aged over 8 who were transferred from Wiluna mission. By 1971, there were 61 school-aged children. Karalundi closed in 1974…
Jenny House was established in 1994 by Parkerville Children’s Home to provide safe, supported transitional accommodation to young women who are homeless or likely to become homeless. In 2008 it became Penny Jones House. Jenny House has been relocated over the years, but has retained the name of its initial sponsor, ‘Jenny Craig’ the weight…
Fremantle Cottage was established around 1978 in White Gum Valley by Parkerville Children’s Home to provide short to medium-term accommodation for boys and girls in a home-like setting. It remained open in 2014. Parkerville Children’s Home established Fremantle Cottage in the southern Perth suburb of White Gum Valley from 1978, with a mission grant in…
Forrest River Mission was established by the Anglican church in 1913, on the upper reaches of the Forrest River, near Wyndham. Around 40 Aboriginal boys and girls lived at the mission and were separated from their parents and lived in dormitories. Their lives were closely regulated until the 1950s. The head of the government departments…
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