Archives



Franciscan Missionaries of Mary

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were first established in Australia in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1941, and worked primarily with Aboriginal people. In Queensland they took over the care of the Leprosarium on Fantome Island and the primary school on Palm Island, both Aboriginal settlements under Government control. They also ran the Xavier Home for Crippled…

Society of the Sacred Advent

The Society of the Sacred Advent is an Anglican religious order founded in Brisbane, Australia, in 1892. The Society ran children’s homes, industrial schools and schools in Queensland, and later, briefly in Western Australia. The Society of the Sacred Advent arrived in Perth in 1933 to manage the Parkerville Children’s Home after the Community of…

Save the Children Fund, Queensland

Save the Children Fund, Queensland was established in 1919 in Brisbane and runs programs throughout Queensland. It works with communities across the country, delivering programs to help disadvantaged, Indigenous, migrant and refugee children and young people reach their full potential. Save the Children Fund developed programs for children in Australia back in the 1950s.

Xavier Children’s Support Network

The Xavier Children’s Support Network was the new name for the Xavier Home for Crippled Children. The name changed in 1994 when the model of care changed from institutional to a community based model. In 2003, it became an agency of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. Xavier supports families with children with severe disabilities…

St Brigid’s Industrial School

St Brigid’s Industrial School, in Rockhampton, was run by the Sisters of Mercy. Information about this institution is scarce but it originally operated as a boarding facility and industrial school for young girls from outlying areas of the Diocese. It then became a working girls’ hostel. St Brigid’s opened around 1874 and closed in 1985….

St Henry’s Roman Catholic Asylum

St Henry’s Roman Catholic Asylum, on Thursday Island, was an orphanage run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. It was part of the Sacred Heart Mission. The orphanage opened in 1889 and closed 1942 when the children were moved from Thursday Island to Cooyar…

Wongabeena Family Group Home

Wongabeena Family Group Home, in Mundingburra, near Townsville, was operated by Queensland Baptist Care. It opened and was licensed 1970/71. Funding for the home ceased 1988/89. As of 2019 we have been unable to find further information about this home. Please contact Find & Connect if you know more about this home.

Yuddika Family Group Home

Yuddika Family Group Home, in Cairns, was operated by the Yuddika Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Corporation. It opened in 1990/91 and funding ceased on 3 October 2001. The Families Department ceased annual funding to the Yuddika Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation because it failed to comply with the conditions of its grant and…

Tufnell Toddlers’ Home

The Tufnell Toddlers’ Home, in Nundah, was operated by the Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane. It was co-located with Tufnell Home and housed children up to the age of five. The Toddlers’ Home opened 14 September 1947 and closed around 1975. The Tufnell Toddlers’ Home was licensed as a separate institution…

Vietnamese Community Family Group Home

Vietnamese Community Family Group Home was funded and operated by the Vietnamese Community in Australia. It was first established in 1982 at Windsor, but was never licensed. The Home moved to Darra, in April 1989. Funding ceased after December 1990 and the home closed May 1991. Records According to Missing Pieces (2001), ‘advice has been…