Archives



St Margaret’s Hostel

St Margaret’s Hostel for ‘unmarried mothers and their babies’ was run by the Sisters of Mercy from 1918 as an extension of St Vincent’s Foundling Home in Subiaco. It is probable that babies from St Margaret’s were adopted, fostered or lived at St Vincent’s Foundling Home until they were old enough to be moved to…

St Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage for Girls

St Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage for Girls was established in Perth by the Sisters of Mercy in 1868, for girls from the Poor House. Children who were destitute were accommodated, along with orphans. In 1901, the Home moved to Subiaco and became the St Joseph’s Girls’ Orphanage. An orphanage for Catholic girls was first established in…

Bishop Hale’s Institution for Native and Half-Caste Children

Bishop Hale’s Institution for Native and Half-Caste Children operated from1871 to 1888 in Perth. In October 1888 this institution closed and the children were sent to be the first residents of the Swan Native and Half-Caste Mission. Bishop Hale was the Anglican Bishop of Perth who, before coming to Perth, had established a ‘Native Institution’…

Keaney House

Keaney House was established in Alma Road, North Perth by the Society of St Vincent de Paul. It was a hostel for up to nine ‘working youths’, with a focus on aftercare for former child migrants from Christian Brothers institutions, mostly from Clontarf. This function ceased in 1965 and the building was later used as…

Catholic Migrant Centre

The Catholic Migrant Centre was established in 1984 by the Archdiocese of Perth to deliver a range of immigration-related programs from a small office in Victoria Square in Perth. In 1992, Sr Tania de Jong was appointed to help former child migrants access records about their childhood and trace family in Britain and Malta, using…

Collie Boys’ Home

Collie Boys’ Home The Collie Boys’ Home was established by the Salvation Army in 1902 for boys aged from 4 years, outside Collie on land previously settled by the Pollard family,. It was one of three institutions set on 8,093 hectares of land held by the Salvation Army, the other being the Salvation Army Industrial…

Salvation Army Industrial School for Girls, Collie

The Salvation Army Industrial School for Girls was established at Collie in 1901. It was an industrial school (reformatory) for ‘senior Protestant girls’ but also admitted girls under 12. When it closed in 1920, the girls were sent to the Seaforth Salvation Army Girls’ Home, Gosnells. The Salvation Army opened an ‘industrial school’ (reformatory) for…

Hollywood Children’s Village, Salvation Army

Hollywood Children’s Village was the new name given in 1965 to the Salvation Army Boys’ Home (in Nedlands). Cottages were built to house the boys from this time. In 1969, after the Salvation Army Girls’ Home, Cottesloe closed, girls were admitted. Children who were wards and private children were admitted until the Village closed in…

Catholic Episcopal Migration and Welfare Association

The Catholic Episcopal Migration and Welfare Association (CEMWA) in Western Australia was the state-based receiving agency for post-World War II child migrants who were sent to WA under the Catholic child immigration scheme. After 1965, the child migration program to WA ceased and the welfare functions of the CEMWA were taken over by the Catholic…

Anglican Diocese of Bunbury

The Anglican Diocese of Bunbury was established in 1904. During the 20th century, the Diocese administered a number of hostels for children attending high school in regional centres. In 2012, some of these hostels were included in a Special Inquiry into the response of public officers to allegations of sexual abuse at St Andrew’s Hostel,…