Lawson Rural Centre

Lawson Rural Centre, in Lawson in the Blue Mountains, was a children’s home established by the Homes and Hostels Committee of the Home Mission Society, part of the Church of England’s Sydney Diocese, in 1944, after the property was offered to the Anglican church.

It was the only small home run by the Anglican Home Mission Society. The staff included a matron and a farm manager (Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 1945). In 1945, the chairman of the Church of England Homes Committee, Bishop Hilliard, said that the house in Lawson was “deemed an excellent and healthy spot … We entertained high hopes for it and we still do” (Sydney Morning Herald, 3 September 1945).

Hilliard was speaking in the wake of an outcry following the death of a 5 year old boy at Lawson Rural Centre in August 1945. Noel Younie and his brother and sister had been placed in the care of the Anglican Church by their father in April of that year, who was unable to take care of them due to a “family upset” (Truth, 30 December 1945). Mr Younie paid for their upkeep at the Lawson home, the children living with Sister Florence Godfrey, a trained nurse.

After a period of illness, Noel Younie passed away in his bed on the morning of 18 August 1945. An inquest found that he had probably died from diphtheria, although a doctor testified that he could not say the cause of death. He also testified that he had never had a call to attend a children at Lawson Rural Centre (Truth, 16 December 1945). The Katoomba Government Medical Officer who examined the child’s body stated that Noel was undernourished for his age and build, and that he had unexplained bruises. 

Following the inquest, Sister Florence Godfrey was charged with manslaughter causing the death of Noel Younie. Witnesses had testified that the house at Lawson was filthy and under-furnished and there were also reports that passers-by had seen the children being beaten by Godfrey. Younie’s father removed his other two children from the Home after Noel’s death, and his daughter was taken to hospital with diphtheria. Both children were said to be “badly lice-infested” (Truth, 9 December 1945).

Sister Godfrey was acquitted of the charge of manslaughter in December 1945 (Truth, 9 December 1945). Soon after she was charged, this time under the NSW Child Welfare Act with having failed to procure medical attention for the child. Godfrey was found guilty of this charge and sentenced to 12 months’ hard labour. However, it was reported that within half an hour of being sentenced, Godfrey was released on the personal bond of Rev. Gordon Smee. Smee was a former member of the committee that ran Lawson Rural Centre, but resigned following the incident (Truth, 16 December 1945). Godfrey appealed her sentence in 1946, the hearing being held in a court closed to the public and the press. The outcome of the appeal was not known to the public in September 1946 (Truth, 22 September 1946).

The death of Noel Younie resulted in considerable media attention, with newspaper articles raising questions about the Church of England Home Mission Society’s supervision and management of children’s Homes. The Lawson Rural Centre was found to not be licensed by the Child Welfare Department, even though the law required registration of any home receiving payment for the accommodation for children under the age of 7. Bishop Hilliard stated that all Homes run by the Homes and Hostels Committee of the Home Mission Society were regularly visited. He also claimed government medical inspection of Anglican homes was not necessary, because there were two doctors on every committee to take care of health conditions. He said that children’s Homes run by the Church of England had “an unblemished record and have evoked warm admiration and the practical support of many of the best citizens of the community” (Sydney Morning Herald, 3 September 1945).

The NSW Child Welfare Department also came under scrutiny. In January 1946, Mr R Heffron, Minister for Education and head of the Department said that he had taken “swift action” following the death of Noel Younie. He stated that the Department’s “only method of discovering if homes are not licensed is when someone brings it to our notice that there has been a breach of the law”. He reported that the Department was not planning any further action against the Church of England, saying that the Church “has been an innocent party to a sad affair. All the churches are doing a fine and sincere work in caring for the numerous children that come into their protection. In this instance, some elements of organisation broke down and a tragedy occurred” (Truth, 6 January 1946).