Darling Babies' Home

The Darling Babies’ Home was established by the Community of the Holy Name in 1927. It was run by the Mission to the Streets and Lanes for babies and young children up to the age of 5. The Home was closed in 1967.

In 1927, the Mission to the Streets and Lanes launched an appeal to raise £10,000 to purchase and equip a new babies’ home.

The proposed site for the new babies’ home was a mansion called ‘Yarrayne’ in Malvern (near the Darling railway station). The Mission’s Children’s Home in Wilson Street, Brighton was overcrowded and unsuitable for babies and infants. The Anglican Church had received medical advice that the Brighton air was too ‘keen for anaemic and ill-nourished infants’ and that an inland location would be better.

On 31 March, the Church reported that it was still 1,000 pounds short of the target, but had been granted an extension of the option to purchase the Malvern property for another 14 days.

The Darling Babies’ Home was successfully purchased and officially opened on 4th October 1927. It accommodated around 30 babies at a time. In the mid-1940s, an adjoining block of land was purchased, with plans to build a new complex. The new building was opened in 1951, along with new outdoor play area including a concrete sandpit, and slide and swing set. The Mission continued its fund-raising efforts for the Darling Babies’ Home.

The old ‘Yarrayne’ buildings were demolished in 1953, replaced by a new building, known as the Church of England Home for Little Children, opened by the Governor, Sir Dallas Brooks in May 1954.

Despite its modern facilities, the updated Home only operated for around 13 more years. From the mid 1950s Victoria saw rapid changes in the provision of institutional care. The state government increasingly became more involved with child welfare, and the influence of organisations like the Community of the Holy Name diminished.

From 1966, plans for closing the Darling Babies’ Home were put into effect, with children moved back to the Church of England Homes for Children, returned to their parents, or fostered or adopted out. The Darling property was then used as a temporary refuge for unmarried mothers and deserted wives and their children before being sold in 1968.