The Mittagong Cottage Homes Area is the site of various NSW Government institutions, including the former Mittagong Cottage Homes, Mittagong Farm Home, Mittagong Training Home and Renwick Child Welfare Homes. It was used continuously as a government child welfare institution, on the cottage system, from 1896 until 1994. The area is on Bong Bong Road, bounded by Old Hume Highway and Old South Road, and includes Renwick Drive. The NSW Government sold the site in 1994 and in 2014 it was being subdivided and developed. A number of the original buildings have been demolished, but some of the historic cottages and Challoner remain standing, many with State Heritage Register listings.
Mittagong Cottage Homes were set up by the State Children’s Relief Board from 1885 in rented cottages in the Mittagong Town Centre. In 1896 the State Children’s Relief Board leased 100 acres of the ‘Southwood Estate’, and cottages on its edges. In 1901 the NSW Government bought the land. In the 1930s a section of ‘Rotherwood Estate’ was added to the site.
From
1896
To
1994
Alternative Names
Southwood Estate
Rotherwood Estate
Mittagong Training Centre Group
Renwick Child Welfare Group
Mittagong Farm Group