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Newcastle Mental Hospital

Newcastle Mental Hospital was established in 1871 in buildings that had previously been the Newcastle Industrial School and Reformatory for Girls, and prior to that the government barracks. It was opened to ease overcrowding at asylums in Sydney, and intended to specifically accept patients with developmental disabilities (referred to at the time as “imbeciles” and…

Gladesville Mental Hospital

Gladesville Mental Hospital officially opened in 1838 under the name Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum. It was located in the Sydney suburb of Gladesville, and was run by the office of the Colonial Secretary before the Office of the Inspector General of the Insane was established in 1876 and took over it’s management. It had several…

Callan Park Mental Hospital

Callan Park Hospital for the Insane was officially opened in 1878 at Lilyfield, Sydney. It was under the control of the New South Wales State Government office of the Inspector General of the Insane. It was opened to help relieve overcrowding at other mental health hospitals in New South Wales. In 1915 the name of…

Apostolic Church of Australia

The Apostolic Church of Australia was established in 1930. It is a form of Pentecostalism that has its roots in the Welsh Revival church of the early 1900s. It originated in Perth, and by 1935 congregations had been established in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania. Features of Apostolic Church services include…

Department of Labour and Industry, State Government of New South Wales

The Department of Labour and Industry was established by the State Government of New South Wales in 1896 to provide assistance to the unemployed and their families. In 1912 the State Labour Bureau was merged into the Department of Labour and Industry, and renamed the State Labour Branch. The State Labour Branch maintained responsibility for…

State Labour Bureau, State Government of New South Wales

The State Labour Bureau was established by the State Government of New South Wales in 1905. It was formed to provide assistance to unemployed people in accessing employment and training. It ran the Government Agricultural Training Farm at Pitt Town, which was intended to lower unemployment among teenage boys from the city by apprenticing them…

The Northern Territory Spastics Association

The Northern Territory Spastics Association, originally known as the Darwin and Districts Spastics Paralysis Association, was established in 1973 to advocate on behalf of and provide support for people with disability. In 1977 the Association opened the Harry Giese Centre to provide assessment, treatment, and residential care for people with disabilities, including children. In 2017…

Commissioners of the Hospital for the Insane, State of Tasmania

The Commissioners of the Hospital for the Insane was a government body established by the Colonial Government of Tasmania in 1859 to provide care and treatment for persons in mental health hospitals in Tasmania, including the Hospital for the Insane, New Norfolk . It was established following the passing of the Mental Hospitals Act 1858….

Raelene Hostel, Mentone

Raelene Hostel was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1961. Originally, the hostel was started to house 7 boys of working age who had previously resided at the St John of God Training Centre in Cheltenham. During the 1960s, Raelene Hostel received subsidies from the Social Welfare Department (annual report, 1962-1963). The…

Department of Prisons

The Department of Prisons, also known as the Department of Justice, was established in 1874 with the passing of the Prisons Act of 1874. The Department was headed by the Minister of Justice, and included the office of Comptroller-General of Prisons, who was responsible for the “care, direction and control” of all prisons, juvenile reformatories,…