Harelands was a hostel in Willsmere Road, Kew, established by Melbourne Legacy in around 1952. It was first a hostel for young people in employment, but later housed boys and girls aged 6 to 14, including the children of ex-servicemen and some state wards. In 1977, Harelands was renamed Blamey House.
In May 1952, the Argus reported that Melbourne Legacy planned to open a new residence, Harelands, ‘to keep pace with the demands upon its guardianship’. (Legacy ran 3 other children’s homes at that time.) It was located at 5 Willsmere Road, Kew.
Originally, Harelands was a hostel for Junior Legatees, who were in employment but not quite ready to live independently. According to Jenkinson, Harelands later changed its function to receive boys and girls aged 6 to 14.
Residents of Harelands and other Legacy homes were the children of deceased ex-servicemen. Sometimes residents at Legacy homes were both children of ex-servicemen and wards of state.
Harelands was renamed Blamey House in 1977 (Legacy had previously operated homes also called Blamey House at other locations in Beaumaris and Kew). Blamey House in Willsmere Road, Kew, provided accommodation for boys aged 13 and over from 1977 until it closed in 1980.
From
c. 1952
To
1977
Alternative Names
Blamey House
c. 1952 - 1977
The Harelands hostel was located at 5 Willsmere Road, Kew, Victoria (Building Still standing)
Subsequent
