Perth Girls’ Orphanage was established as the ‘Protestant Orphanage’ in 1868 with 8 children, including one boy. It operated in a building near the Causeway, for children of all denominations aged 2-14 years. Children who were not orphans were also admitted. The Home was run by the The Committee until 1889, the Orphanages’ Committee until…
The Parkerville Children’s Home continued the Waifs’ Home, Parkerville from 1909. It was run by the Community of the Sisters of the Church from 1909 to 1925 and from 1925 to 2005 by the Parkerville Children’s Home Incorporated. Over time, Parkerville developed a range of youth care and family services, including non-residential programs. In 2005…
The Padbury Boys’ Farm School was run by the Anglican Orphanages Committee as part of Swan Homes from 1946 to 1955, on land owned by the Anglican church in Stoneville. Boys were sent there to gain training and experience in farm work. The Padbury Boys’ Farm School at Stoneville was part of the Swan Homes…
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…
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