The Geelong Industrial School received its first children in September 1865. The School was located on Ryrie Street, Geelong, in a portion of the immigration barracks at the eastern end of town. In 1869, the school opened a second site in the old Geelong Gaol at Myers Street in order to reduce overcrowding at the…
The Talbot Colony for Epileptics was established in 1907. It was a non-denominational institution for boys and girls with epilepsy over the age of five. The Talbot Colony for Epileptics was renamed to the ‘Royal Talbot Colony for Epileptics’ in 1958. In 1961, it relocated from Clayton to Yarra Boulevard, Kew (its former site was…
The Presbyterian Sisterhood began in Warrnambool in western Victoria. It was established by the Rev. Donald A. Cameron, who was Director of Home Missions within the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. The aim of the Presbyterian Sisterhood was ‘to rescue and help women in distress’ (Argus, 1908). From around 1901, the Sisterhood ran a refuge in…
St Mary’s School for the Deaf was run by the Dominican Sisters and was situated in Portsea. Formerly, the building had been an Australian Camp Hospital and officers’ convalescent home. It opened in February 1948. In the 1950s, it catered for boys aged 3-10 and girls aged 3-16, all of whom had hearing difficulties. St…
Myra House was established by the Catholic Church in 1945 and run by the Legion of Mary. It was a Home for girls aged 14 to 18. It could accommodate up to 12 residents, and the average stay was between 3 and 5 months. Myra House was located in Kew until 1954 when it moved…
The Salesian College in Sunbury was acquired by the Salesians in 1927 (the site was Rupertswood). It became a registered Victorian school in 1929. It accommodated boys between 10 and 16.
The YCW Hostel, Albert Park, was established in 1946, as a place where “under-privileged youth” could live while working in Melbourne (Advocate, 27 December 1951). It was run by the Young Christian Workers Movement (YCW). When it opened in 1946, it accommodated older boys who had left St Augustine’s Orphanage in Geelong to start employment…
The Salvation Army Children’s Creche, in North Carlton, was established in 1915. It offered day care for pre-school children under the age of five, as well as accommodating a number of children. The Melbourne City Council bought the property and buildings in 1947, and the Salvation Army transferred the children to its new Kardinia Children’s…
The Young Christian Workers’ Movement Hostel, Hawthorn, was established in 1948. It was located in a house known as ‘The Terricks’ at the corner of Paterson and Oxley Road. It offered temporary housing to youth migrants from Britain. The Hostel closed in 1955. According to Good British Stock (1999), the YCW contacted Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell…
The Young Christian Workers’ Movement (YCW) was established in the late 1930s in Melbourne. It was part of a worldwide YCW movement, founded in Belgium in 1912. By 1950, YCW groups had been established in 60 countries. The group established in Melbourne was originally for boys – there was also a National Catholic Girls Movement,…
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