The Franciscan Friars arrived in Victoria in 1839 and built two of the colony’s first churches. This Catholic Order, which dates back to Italy in 1209, has been working in Australia almost since the time of first European contact. In Victoria, the Franciscans ran the Morning Star Boys’ Home and Padua Hall.
The first branch of the Church of England Boys’ Society (CEBS) in Australia was established in around 1914 in Kew, Victoria. It was initially under the guidance of the Church of England Men’s Society. CEBS played a role in a number of children’s institutions in Victoria, sometimes delivering services in conjunction with St John’s Homes…
The Ballarat District Orphan Asylum was run by a non-denominational Committee of Management, comprising a President, two Vice-Presidents, five Trustees, a Treasurer and a Committee of Management of sixteen members. Each year it would meet to present the annual report and balance sheet, and to hold elections for officers. A House Committee of five people…
The George Street Children’s Home was established in 1916 and run by the Ballarat Town and City Mission. The Town and City Mission Visitor of 4 August 1916 appealed for more furniture to be donated to help the children at George Street settle in, and “make the place something like it ought to be”. In September 1916…
The Community of the Holy Name is a religious order founded in Melbourne, in 1888. The founder of the order, Emma Caroline Silcock (also known as Sister Esther), led the work of the Mission to the Streets and Lanes in Melbourne, and the two organisations had a close association. The order was not formally established…
Peninsula Family Services was established in 1980 by the Mission of St James and St John. The Andrew Kerr Memorial Home had been closed in 1978, with its residents being moved to family group homes in the Mornington Peninsula region. Peninsula Family Services was first located above a coffee shop in Main Street, Mornington. In…
The Seaside Garden Home for Boys was established in around 1921 in Newhaven, on Phillip Island and run by non-denominational committee of management. When the Seaside Garden Home opened in around 1921, it was an approved ‘institution to whose care neglected children may be committed’, under the terms of the Children’s Welfare Act 1915. In…
The Try Society came into being in the early 1880s, when William Mark Foster and William Groom formed a number of ‘Try Excelsior’ groups in different suburbs around Melbourne. The clubs established by the Try Boys’ Societies aimed to lead boys away from the path that led to ‘larrikinism’. The Try Society emerged as a…
The Minton Boys Home was established in Olivers Hill, Frankston in 1924. It was previously known as the Seaside Home, Frankston and Melbourne Ragged Boys’ Home in Melbourne. The Minton Boys Home accommodated boys until the age of eighteen. In 1943, it was renamed The Menzies Home for Boys. The services provided by the Melbourne…
The Latrobe St Ragged School and Mission was a non-denominational organisation established by volunteers in 1865. The school and mission offered a range of classes and services to ‘waifs and strays’. In 1895 the Latrobe St Ragged School and Mission became the Melbourne Boys’ Ragged Home and Mission. The Latrobe St Ragged School and Mission,…
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