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Sisters of Charity of Australia

The Sisters of Charity of Australia was established in Parramatta on 31 December 1838. The Sisters came from Ireland at the request of the Archbishop of Sydney to care for the convicts at the Female Factory in Parramatta and the children at the Female Orphan School. In 1847, some of the Sisters moved to Tasmania…

Centacare Tasmania

Centacare replaced the Catholic Family Welfare Bureau in 1977. In 2013, it continued to assist families and to offer adoption services. It ran the Annie Kenney Young Women’s Refuge. In 2015 Centacare Tasmania changed its name to CatholicCare Tasmania. Part VI of the Adoption of Children Act 1988 made information on adoptions arranged by the…

Roland Boys’ Home

Roland Boys’ Home, run by the Anglican Church, opened in Sheffield in 1951. It accommodated orphans and state wards from the age of six. The Home closed in the early 1990s. Roland Boys’ Home opened officially on 9 June 1951 at 69 High Street, Sheffield opposite the park and 200 yards from the state school…

Bethany Boys’ Home

Bethany Boys’ Home, run by the Churches of Christ, opened in Dover in 1947 and moved to Lindisfarne in 1956. Up to 18 boys, mostly wards of state aged between 2 and 18, lived there. From 1971 onwards, the Home also accepted girls. It closed in 1978. The gift of a house and land at…

Boys’ Town

Boys’ Town opened in Glenorchy in 1945. It was run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and, after 1946, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, who opened a school on the premises. Boys’ Town was for boys aged between five and 16 years. Thirty-nine British child migrants lived there between 1952 and 1956 when…

Magdalen Home

The Magdalen Home, run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, was established in 1893. It was a rescue home for girls and young women, aged between 12 and 39 years. Later it became an approved children’s home. The Magdalen Home closed in 1974. A bequest from WJ Dunne, a former Vicar-General, paid for the…

Maylands Salvation Army Home for Girls

Maylands Salvation Army Home for Girls in New Town was formerly the Hobart Girls’ Industrial School. The Trustees of the School handed it over to the Salvation Army on 31 January 1945. The Home accepted girls aged between two and 16 and boys between two and five. About half were wards of state. Maylands closed…

Barrington Boys’ Home

Barrington Boys’ Home, run by the Salvation Army, opened in New Town in 1946. Some of the boys had committed an offence. The rest were either wards of state or admitted by their relatives. The Home closed in 1981. Barrington Boys’ Home was in New Town. When it opened, it had a capacity for 40…

Northern Tasmanian Home for Boys

The Northern Tasmanian Home for Boys opened in Glenara in 1921. Before 1946, most of the boys were state wards. After that, the Home also admitted them by private arrangement. In 1971, the name changed to Glenara Northern Tasmanian Home for Boys. It became Glenara Children’s Home in 1973. The Northern Tasmanian Home for Boys…

Kennerley Boys’ Home

Kennerley Boys’ Home opened in West Hobart in 1869. As an industrial school, it provided accommodation and training for boys considered to be neglected. In 1969, it became Kennerley Children’s Home. On 20 March 1876, the wealthy businessman, philanthropist, and Premier, Alfred Kennerley (1810-97), issued a Deed of Gift to enable ‘The Boys’ Home’, established…