The YCW Hostel, Albert Park, was established in 1946, as a place where “under-privileged youth” could live while working in Melbourne (Advocate, 27 December 1951). It was run by the Young Christian Workers Movement (YCW). When it opened in 1946, it accommodated older boys who had left St Augustine’s Orphanage in Geelong to start employment…
The Salvation Army Children’s Creche, in North Carlton, was established in 1915. It offered day care for pre-school children under the age of five, as well as accommodating a number of children. The Melbourne City Council bought the property and buildings in 1947, and the Salvation Army transferred the children to its new Kardinia Children’s…
The Young Christian Workers’ Movement Hostel, Hawthorn, was established in 1948. It was located in a house known as ‘The Terricks’ at the corner of Paterson and Oxley Road. It offered temporary housing to youth migrants from Britain. The Hostel closed in 1955. According to Good British Stock (1999), the YCW contacted Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell…
The Young Christian Workers’ Movement (YCW) was established in the late 1930s in Melbourne. It was part of a worldwide YCW movement, founded in Belgium in 1912. By 1950, YCW groups had been established in 60 countries. The group established in Melbourne was originally for boys – there was also a National Catholic Girls Movement,…
The Palms was a hostel in Hawthorn, run by the Burwood Boys’ Home. It was for boys who had completed their schooling. It was closed and sold in 1959.
The Heathfield Homes Reformatory School for Protestant Boys, Apollo Bay, was opened on the 4 July 1905 at Apollo Bay and run under the auspices of the Church of England. Boys sent to the Reformatory were trained in farm work. The School closed on 29 October 1915. The Heathfield Reformatory was opened on 4 July…
On 1 February 2010, Wesley Mission Victoria came into being. It was previously known as Wesley Mission Melbourne. The name change reflected an expansion of Wesley’s services into regional areas of Victoria. In July 2017, Wesley Mission Victoria merged with 21 UnitingCare agencies to form a new organisation: Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania) Limited.
The origins of Jesuit Social Services are in the work of Peter Norden SJ in the late 1970s. In January 1977, Norden established a hostel for young offenders in Hawthorn. This grew into what became known as the Brosnan Centre, named after the long-serving chaplain at Pentridge Prison, Fr John Brosnan. In December 1976 ‘Four…
Centacare Catholic Family Services was formerly known as the Catholic Social Service Bureau. The name change, to reflect the organisation’s ‘commitment to families’ was announced by Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne George Pell in December 1998. The Department of Human Services funded Centacare’s Adoption and Permanent Care Service, which incorporated an information service about previous adoptions.
The Our Lady of Sion Orphanage was established in 1913. It was run by the Sisters of Sion and situated in the town of Sale on the grounds of a college for girls. It generally accommodated girls aged from 4 to 15 years. It ceased to operate in 1947. The Orphanage was run by the…
Dec 17, 2025
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024