Minali Receiving and Assessment Centre was established at Lidcombe by the Department of Youth and Community Services in 1975, in response to overcrowding at the Bidura and Royleston shelters in Glebe. It was cottage care, for boys and girls, and was intended to enable children of the same family to be housed together. Following a…
The Metropolitan Boys’ Shelter was established as part of the Children’s Court at Albion Street, Surry Hills in 1911. It was a remand home and shelter for boys who were awaiting Children’s Court hearings. In 1974 boys aged 18 to 20 were transferred to Minda. The Children’s Court and the Metropolitan Boys’ Shelter closed in…
Lynwood Hall was established in 1939 in ‘Linwood’, a house that had previously served as the Guildford School for Truants. Lynwood Hall was initially called the Guildford Domestic Science Training School and was known as Guildford Special Training School by 1966. It closed in 1993. Lynwood Hall was first named ‘Linnwood’ and was built in…
Brougham, in Woollahra, was run by the Child Welfare Department from 1943. It was first established as a receiving home, then became a boys’ home, later becoming a home for boys and girls defined as vulnerable. By the 1980s Brougham was a receiving unit for children aged 1 to 14 years, both state wards and…
Broken Hill Shelter was established in 1942 by the Child Welfare Department as a remand home for children defined as delinquent. By the 1950s it mainly operated as housing for children awaiting their hearings at the nearby Broken Hill Children’s Court. There was room for six boys and girls up to the age of 18…
Bidura in Glebe was a historic house that was acquired by the New South Wales Government in 1920. It was converted to a depot and receiving home, holding children while they awaited foster placements, children’s court hearings or transfer to other establishments. Many children stayed for extended periods. In 1923 it was named the Metropolitan…
Allanville Home was established at Wellington by the Department of Community Services as a receiving home for state wards. It was established in 1973 and housed 15 children at a time. Allanville Home closed in 1995. A submission to the Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care from 2004 mentions being placed at Allanville not…
The Benevolent Asylum, run by the Benevolent Society of New South Wales, was opened in 1821 by Governor Macquarie. It issued poor relief and took in the poor, destitute, disabled and aged but its main focus was pregnant women and children. The Benevolent Asylum closed in 1901 as the land was resumed by the government…
Barnardo House, Ashfield opened in 1924 under Dr Barnardo’s Homes as the organisation’s headquarters and a receiving home for child migrants from England. It also served as a holiday home for children in the Barnardo’s scheme who were between employment or getting over sickness. Later it only accommodated girls and trained them for domestic service….
Turana was a government-run reception centre established in 1955 in Royal Park, Parkville. It was formerly known as the Royal Park Depot. Turana was the sole reception centre for children committed to State ‘care’ until 1961 when Allambie became the main government reception centre. From 1961, the site housed the Turana Remand Centre and the…
Dec 17, 2025
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