Nindee Hostel was opened by the government at Beulah Park in 1971 as accommodation for primary and secondary school children aged between 7 and 16 years old. Most of the children at Nindee cam from remote areas, mostly from the Northern Territory. They attended schools in the Norwood area. Nindee Hostel was still operating in 2026 and was run by Aboriginal Hostels Limited as short term accommodation for Indigenous people living away from home.
Nindee, meaning ‘educated’, was the first of a small number of hostels for Aboriginal young people opened during 1971. Luprina Hostel was another of these hostels that were financed by the Commonwealth Government to provide accommodation for Aboriginal children working or studying in the city and/or suburbs. Early reports about Nindee published in the annual reports of Aboriginal Hostels Limited mention that Nindee was operating successfully and that the students were settling in well, despite initial concerns that the change in environment between their home and the hostel would be too disruptive for young children. However, only a few years later in 1979 the reports mentioned that the students at Nindee were struggling with the transition to the hostel, particularly with the lack of recreational facilities and space available to them. The hostel was at this time attempting to purchase a bus to take students on excursions.
The hostel was run with the assistance of an Advisory Committee which included Aboriginal representatives. With the establishment of the Department for Community Welfare in 1972 responsibility for Nindee was transferred to the new separate Department of Aboriginal Affairs, via Aboriginal Hostels Limited.
From
1971
To
Current
1971 -
Nindee Hostel was situated at 2 Oban Street, Beulah Park, South Australia (Building Still standing)