Archives



Jika Reformatory for Boys

In 1873 the Boys’ Reformatory run by the Victorian government moved from the reformatories on board the Sir Harry Smith and the Deborah. The new institution at Coburg was known as the Jika Reformatory for Boys. It was located within the grounds of Pentridge prison. The Royal Commission on Penal and Prison Discipline had stated in…

The Horseshoe

The Horseshoe was a Home in Carlton for women suffering from venereal disease, run by the Mission of St James and St John. In October 1927, women were transferred from The Horseshoe to the Mission’s new institution at Fairfield, known as Fairhaven. On 31 December 1925, a hotel known as The Horseshoe in Lygon Street…

Adoption and Family Records Service, Department of Human Services

The Adoption and Family Records Service (AFRS) was a program within the Department of Human Services (DHS) for former wards of the state of Victoria and their families. The purpose of the Service was to release state ward files and provide assistance to locate other relevant records and information; give counselling and support and referrals…

Children’s Welfare Advisory Council

The Children’s Welfare Advisory Council came into being with the passage of the Children’s Welfare Act 1954. The Council consisted of representatives nominated by the Children’s Welfare Association of Victoria and the Victorian Council of Social Service. Its name changed to the Family Welfare Advisory Council with the passage of the Social Welfare Act 1960….

Anglican Diocese of Ballarat

The Anglican (Church of England) Diocese of Ballarat has been in existence since at least 1863. The Diocese ran the St Cuthbert’s Children’s Home in Colac from 1948. The affairs of St Cuthbert’s Children’s Home were conducted by a Board of Management consisting of local citizens of the Colac and district community.

Ramoth

Ramoth was established in Ferntree Gully in 1926. It was a convalescent Home for young women suffering from venereal diseases. In 1927, the Mission of St James and St John took over Ramoth and it became the Ramoth Toddlers’ Home. Women at Ramoth were transferred to Fairhaven in Fairfield. Ramoth was run in close association…

Home Mission Society of Victoria

The Home Mission Society of Victoria was established in circa 1871 by the Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church to undertake mission work in city and country. Under the auspices of the Home Mission Society, the Central Dorcas Society, later called the Wesleyan Church Neglected Children’s Aid Society, ran Livingstone House in Carlton. In 1884,…

Central Dorcas Society

The Central Dorcas Society was a Wesleyan organisation established at a meeting of over 100 women in 1888. The aims of the Society were ‘to help the poor and look after waifs’. After a name change to the Central Dorcas Association Help and Rescue Society, in 1891 the Society became known as the Wesleyan Church…

The Salvation Army EastCare Network

The Salvation Army EastCare Network was established in 1995. The Network operates a range of programs in the Department of Human Services’ Eastern Metropolitan Region.

The Salvation Army Peninsula Youth & Family Services

Peninsula Youth and Family Services (PYFS) is part of the Salvation Army’s South East Services Network in Victoria. PYFS has offices in Frankston, Mornington and Rosebud.