The Church Missionary Society Home for Half-Castes at Mulgoa was established in 1942. It accommodated Aboriginal children who had been evacuated under military orders by the Commonwealth Department of Native Affairs. They were mainly from South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, though some were from New South Wales. They were aged 1 to 14 and some were accompanied by their mothers.
The children at Mulgoa had been evacuated from Croker Island and Groote Eylandt (Emerald River), as well as from Queensland, South Australia and far western New South Wales.
Some of the younger children and their mothers were sent to Milleewa, an Anglican children’s home in Ashfield, for six months in 1942. Others were sent to private homes. Some fathers later joined their wives and children. According to John Harris, these families left Mulgoa to settle in Sydney.
At Mulgoa the children and their mothers were cared for by Mrs Port, Miss Dove and Miss Alder, who had travelled from Roper River, along with Aboriginal women. They lived in the old rectory of St Thomas’ Church at Mulgoa, which had been converted in 1942.
After the end of World War II, the Mulgoa Mission continued to operate until early 1949. On its closure, some people remained in Sydney and others returned to the Northern Territory and South Australia.
Mulgoa Mission was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) as an institution that housed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed from their families.
From
1942
To
1949
Alternative Names
Mulgoa Mission
Mulgoa Home
Mulgoa Half-Caste Home
1942 - 1949
Church Missionary Society Home for Half-Castes was situated on Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa, New South Wales (Building Demolished)
