Archives



Rockhampton Receiving Depot

The Rockhampton Receiving Depot, in Rockhampton, was run by the State Government. Although the facility arranged for the fostering and boarding-out of children, it continued to care for infants. It also acted as a training school for girls in domestic service. It was previously known as the Rockhampton Orphanage. In 1964 its name changed to…

BoysTown

BoysTown, run by the De La Salle Brothers, was established in 1961. It was situated in Telemon Road, Beaudesert. BoysTown accommodated boys aged between 12 and 16 in seven cottages. The Beaudesert residential accommodation closed in 2001, and the buildings were demolished in 2017 or 2018. More than 1,000 boys passed through BoysTown during the…

Turner Cottage Special School for Truants

Turner Cottage Special School for Truants was proclaimed a special school on 20 May 1938. It was located on the same site as the Mittagong Farm Home for Boys, and for a time, the school was under the administration of the Superintendent of Mittagong. When Anglewood Special School opened, boys from Turner Cottage were transferred…

Biloela Reformatory School for Females

Biloela Reformatory School for Females was established in 1871 and was located in a small cottage on Cockatoo Island within the grounds of Biloela Industrial School. Girls were transferred to Biloela Reformatory School from Newcastle Reformatory School for Girls when it closed. Biloela Reformatory School for Females shut on 5 February 1800 and girls were…

Newcastle Reformatory School for Females

Newcastle Reformatory School for Females was established on 19 January 1869. The Reformatory School was located in the North Wing and grounds attached to the Newcastle Public Industrial School for Girls with the same matron serving both schools. The Reformatory was established to house girls who had committed criminal offences. The Reformatory School was closed…

Norfolk Island Orphan School

Norfolk Island Orphan School was established in 1795 by the Lieutenant-Governor Of Norfolk Island, Philip Gidley King. The Orphan School was a residential facility for female orphans who lived on the island and it was run by the Secretary of the Governor. Norfolk Island Orphan School closed in 1814 when the entire settlement on Norfolk…

Native Institution

The Native Institution was established at Parramatta by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on 10 December 1814 as a ‘school for the education of the native children’. It was a children’s home and asylum and was run by a Christian missionary, William Shelley. In 1823 it was moved to Blacktown. It closed in 1833. The Native Institution…

Sunnyfield School

Sunnyfield School, also known as Sunnyfield Children’s Home, was a special school for children with intellectual disabilities at Manly Vale. Children stayed over the school holidays, so it also functioned as a disability institution. It was started by the Sunnyfield Branch of the Sub-Normal Children’s Welfare Association, which became the Sunnyfield Association in 1956. It…

The Special School for Multi-Handicapped Blind Children

The Special School for Multi-Handicapped Blind Children was set up by the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in 1974 at North Rocks. It was a school with medical, therapeutic and residential facilities for children with a range of disabilities and was extended in 1980. It operated until 1990, when it became the Alice…

New South Wales Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind

The Deaf and Dumb Institution, founded in 1860, was renamed the New South Wales Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind in 1868. It was a public institution for the education of deaf and blind children and had a residential facility for school-aged children. Initially based at Ormond House (Juniper Hall) in Paddington, the Institution…