Please contact the Freedom of Information Team at the Department for Child Protection:
Phone: (08) 8226 4399
Postal address: GPO Box 1072, Adelaide SA 5001
Email: DCP.FOI@sa.gov.au
Website, Out-of-Home Care information: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/research-and-publications/freedom-information/provision-information-care-leavers
Website, Adoptions information: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/support-and-guidance/adoption-processes/applying-for-adoption-information
These records are held by State Records of South Australia (1919 - current).
These are records created by the institutions that functioned as the government Reformatories and Training Centres in South Australia, including the Ilfracombe, Boys Reformatory, the Reformatory Hulk FitzJames, Boys and Girls Reformatories at Magill, McNally Training Centre, South Australian Youth Training Centre, the Magill Training Centre, and the Adelaide Youth Training Centre. The records contain information about young people living at the institutions, and include admission, discharge, and transfer records, records of conduct and punishment, records about court appearances, and medical records. Some records (where noted below) also contain information about other institutions that housed children, such as the Brighton Industrial School, and the Catholic reformatory St John the Baptist Home for Boys.
Access to these records is restricted for up to 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Some of these records are still restricted, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team. To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia.
The following records in this collection contain information about children and young people who lived at reformatories and training centres in South Australia, or contain contextual information about the institutions that may be of interest to former residents and their families. More information about these records has been published on the State Records of South Australia catalogue, and can be accessed via the links below. Some records about the institutions that are purely administrative or financial in nature have not been included here, but are listed on the SRSA catalogue.
Admissions, Discharge, and Transfer records:
Contains brief details about children admitted to Girls and Boys Reformatory Schools and the Industrial Schools at Brighton and Magill. An index to this register has been published by State Records of South Australia here: Index to GRG28/9 Admissions to Industrial School, Boys Reformatory School and Girls Reformatory School.
Register of Admissions – Boys’ Reformatory Magill & Reformatory Hulk ‘Fitzjames’, 1877-1943 (GRG29/110)
Contains brief details of boys admitted to the reformatory. Some entries into the register mention transfers to or from other institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Boys’ Reformatory, Brooklyn Park. The admissions register dating 1877 to 1913 has been digitised and is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).
Register of admissions to the Reformatory Hulk ‘Fitzjames’, 1879-1893 (GRG28/12)
Contains brief details about children admitted to the Boys’ Reformatory. The full digitised register is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).
Index to admissions – Boys Reformatory, McNally Training Centre, Magill, 1877-1975 (GRS/13484)
This index contains the names and admission numbers of young people admitted to the Boys Reformatories and Training Centres. It cross-references with the admission registers for those institutions, but provides information about admissions for periods where the admissions register are missing (e.g between 1943 and 1962).
Admission cards – South Australian Youth Training Centre, later Magill Training Centre, 1962-1995 (GRS/13488)
Cards include brief details of young people admitted to the Boys Reformatory Magill, McNally Training Centre, South Australia Youth Training Centre, and Magill Training Centre.
Contain brief details about the admissions and discharges of young people to/from McNally Training Centre and SAYTC for the purposes of calculating family allowances payments.
Other Records about individuals:
Punishment Book, Boys Reformatory, Magill, 1911-1975 (GRG29/112)
Records punishments dealt to young people at the Magill Reformatory and McNally Training Centre, including date, name of boy, reason for punishment, type of punishment, who delivered the punishment, and witness.
Daily record of inmates – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, 1924-1971 (GRG29/111)
Contains basic details about movements of boys to and from the Reformatory/Training School, including total number of people in the institution, admissions, discharges, probationary leave, remand, weekend leave, transfers, absconding, and leave for appointments.
Conduct record, Boys Reformatory, Magill, 1933-1945 (GRG29/113)
Records conduct marks/points for each boy for each day of the month, and general notes made by staff for each boy summarising their behaviour that month.
Superintendent’s letter book – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, 1937-1939 (GRG29/134)
Contains letters written by the superintendent of the Boys’ Reformatory, Magill. The letters mostly relate to administrative matters, but do contain some reports on individual boys at the reformatory.
Personal disposition advice forms – Magill Training Centre, 1940-1996 (GRS/6646)
Contain details about young people transferred between the Reformatories/Training Centres (mostly to McNally Training Centre) and the custody of police or the children’s courts. They include details about the personal belongings of the young people at the time of transfer, as well as reasons for the transfer. There is a gap in this series from 1979 to 1993, which is filled in by records in GRS/6643 recorded below.
Record of rewards paid to boys for work done – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, 1954-1965 (GRG29/132)
Contains information about payments made to boys for work done at the Reformatory, including boys name, amount paid, and date.
Night log – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, 1956-1957 (GRG29/131)
Contains nightly logs recording events occurring at the Reformatory between 10.30pm and 6.30am. Sometimes includes notes on incidents such as attempted absconding or illness.
Personal disposition advice forms – South Australia Youth Training Centre (SAYTC), 1978-1993 (GRS/6643)
Contain details about young people transferred between the McNally Training Centre of South Australian Youth Training Centre and the custody of police or the children’s courts. They include details about the personal belongings of the young people at the time of transfer, as well as reasons for the transfer.
Detention orders card index – Training Centre Review Board (Magill), 1978-1995 (GRS/13367)
Cards contain brief details for each young person who was given a detention order by the Training Centre review board, including their history in detention. There were also files for each person with further details than the card, but most of these were destroyed once the individual turned 18 years old. The cards note when files were destroyed.
Aboriginal liaison files – South Australia Youth Training Centre (SAYTC), 1980-1999 (GRS/10982)
These files contain personal information about Aboriginal young people who spent time at the South Australian Youth/Magill Training Centres, including medical and psychiatric information, family and personal background, reports, and court information.
Medical Files, 1980-1999 (GRS/11062)
These medical files likely contain medical information about young people at the Magill Training Centre, including medical history, medical events while in detention, and psychological reports. Though the files themselves do not state which institution created them, they were found at Magill.
Court appearance cards – Magill Training Centre, 1987-2000 (GRS/13487)
Cards contain brief details of young people at the South Australian Youth/Magill Training Centres who had court appearances, including the result of the appearance.
Administrative and contextual records:
Cash book – Magill Boys’ Reformatory and successors, 1910-1972 (GRS/13917)
Records financial transactions from the Reformatories and Training Centres, including some payments to or deductions from earnings of boys in custody.
Visitors’ Book – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, 1933-1968 (GRS/13485)
Records names and dates of official visitors to the Reformatory, e.g. government officials, children’s welfare officers, and dignitaries.
Diet books – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, 1947-1956 (GRG29/115)
Contains menus for each day’s meals at the Magill Reformatory.
Operational and administrative records – Magill Training Centre, 1971-2003 (GRS/11540)
