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Northam Cottage

Northam Cottages were three group Homes established by Centrecare Children’s Cottages (1979-1992) and Djooraminda (from 1992) to accommodate Aboriginal children in family-type Homes. Children and young people aged up to 15 years were admitted, often in sibling groups, either referred by the department responsible for child welfare, or as private admissions. The Homes were open…

Norseman Mission

Norseman Mission was a ‘children’s mission’ established in 1935 by members of the Churches of Christ and then run from 1942 by the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board Inc. Its purpose was to provide accommodation, education and vocational training for children and young people aged 2-15 years. The number of children at the…

Nollamara Cottage

Nollamara Cottage was established around 1973 as a temporary Home for children transferred from Mogumber to Perth for schooling and other reasons, such as access to medical treatment in Perth. It was run by Mogumber until 1974, then the Mogumber Training Centre until 1980 and then Sister Kate’s Child and Family Care Services. Nollamara Cottage…

Nindeebai Education Hostel

Nindeebai Education Hostel, in Boulder, was established in 1971 or 1972 as a government-run education hostel for Aboriginal teenagers who were going to high school in Kalgoorlie. It closed in 1984. Nindeebai Education Hostel, which was purpose-built in 1971, was originally going to be known as the Goldfields Students’ Hostel, but the annual report of…

Ngangganawili Group Home

The Ngangganawili Group Home, in Wiluna, was a government-run group home established to provide emergency accommodation for children. It is known to have been operating in 1982. The Department for Community Welfare said in its annual report in 1982 (Signposts 2004, p.374) that one of the factors that led to the establishment of the Ngangganawili…

Ngal-a Mothercraft Home and Training Centre Inc

The Ngal-a Mothercraft Home and Training Centre Inc (Ngala) was the new name given in 1956 to The Alexandra Home for Mothers and Babies (Inc) and Mothercraft Training School, in Highgate. In 1959 Ngala moved to Kensington. Ngala had three functions: a maternity home for mothers and babies; from 1959, the ‘reception centre’ for all…

Neuville

Neuville was a service providing short or long term residential care for girls. According to Signposts (2004), it is likely that Neuville started out as a successor to the Home of the Good Shepherd. Government reports (Signposts 2004, pp.369-371) give no information about why Neuville was established, but it is known that by 1975, Neuville…

Nazareth House, Geraldton

Nazareth House in Bluff Point, Geraldton was established in 1941 and run by the Poor Sisters of Nazareth. It was initially built in to house children sent as child migrants from Britain. However, as it became unsafe to transport children during the war, the large buildings were used to accommodate Australian-born children, including Aboriginal children…

Nabberu Hostel

Nabberu Hostel at Leonora was a government-run residential facility for primary-school aged children. It is unclear when the hostel opened, however it was declared an approved institution for the purposes of receiving child endowment payments in 1967, at which time there were 24 children in residence. By 1971 the hostel housed 66 boys and girls…

Myera House

Myera House, in Subiaco, was established around 1973 as a government-run Aboriginal education and employment hostel for young people going to high school in Perth. Myera closed briefly in the mid-1980s but had re-opened by 1987. By 1994, only seven boys (aged 15 to over 18 years) had been admitted. Myera closed permanently around 2005….