Tufnell Home, in Nundah was operated by the Society of the Sacred Advent and the Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane. The Tufnell Home formally opened 6 February 1901. It accommodated boys and girls from various backgrounds. The first family group units were officially opened in 1969. Funding ceased in 1990 and the home closed in 1993.
The Tufnell Home opened on 6 February 1901. Children from the adjacent Home of the Good Shepherd, Nundah were transferred to Tufnell Home.
With funds donated by Mrs Tufnell (the widow of Edward Wyndham Tufnell, the first bishop of Brisbane), a Chapel of the Good Shepherd was erected at Tufnell Home. In 1927 a boys’ wing, laundry and recreation room were built. A new dining hall was erected next to the main house in 1932.
The foundation stone for the Toddler’s Home was laid by the Archbishop of Brisbane on 23 June 1946.
In 1965 the Diocese of Brisbane began plans to surround the original home with new cottages and ancillary buildings then demolish the original house to form a central courtyard. This was accomplished and can be seen in the present layout of buildings.
Biala House was opened 25 June 1966 and Elonera and Carinya Houses opened in 1968. Attunga and Yallambee Houses were opened on 22 April 1972.
A publication from 1968 stated that Tufnell Home accommodated 23 boys from 5 to 8 years and 60 girls from 5 to 15 years (Social Services Queensland, 1968, p.96).
In 1988 the Tufnell Child Care Centre opened in the old Toddler’s Home. In 1993 the last children in care moved off the campus and Tufnell Children’s Home operations closed.
In 1996 Anglicare relocated their administrative offices from the Cathedral buildings in the city to the refurbished former dining hall and kitchen building at Tufnell.
Tufnell Home was mentioned in the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices Inquiry (2012) as an institution that was involved in forced adoption.
From
1901
To
1993
1901 - 1993
The Tufnell Home was situated at 230 Buckland Road, Nundah, Queensland (Building Demolished)
