Records of the Destitute Board and Destitute Asylum, State Records of South Australia

State Records of South Australia hold a large collection of records created by the Destitute Board, which include records about children and unmarried mothers admitted to the Destitute Asylum and Lying-in Home, as well as records about the Industrial Schools at Brighton and Magill. The records include admissions registers to the Destitute Asylum and Lying-in Home, lists of “orphan and deserted children”, registers of children boarded out from the asylum, register of infants born at the asylum, registers of licensed foster mothers and the children fostered to them, account books showing maintenance payments for children, registers of children transferred to other institutions, and registers of children apprenticed, adopted, or sent out to work, plus more administrative and contextual records such as correspondence files, committee meeting minutes, and annual reports.

Access Conditions

Records created by the Destitute Board that relate to children admitted to the Destitute Asylum are open and may be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records of South Australia. Digital indexes for some records have been created by State Records of South Australia and can be viewed at the links below. Some records have been fully digitised and can be viewed on the Family Search website using the below links.

Records

Records created by the Destitute Board that relate to children admitted to the asylum and unmarried mothers admitted to the Lying-in Home include:

Admission, Discharge, and Movement Registers for children

Ledger of children boarded out,1855-1867 (GRG28/6)

Contains information about children who were boarded out (either foster care of employment/apprenticeship) including: child’s name, age, date of placement, guardians/employer’s name and place of residence, dates of return, and remarks

List of children forwarded from the Destitute Asylum to the Roman Catholic Orphanage, 1867-1869 (GRG28/33)

Contains basic details about children admitted to the Roman Catholic Orphanage (i.e. the St Vincent de Paul Orphanage, also known as Goodwood Orphanage) from the Destitute Asylum. The full digitised list is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).

Nominal list of orphaned and deserted children taken out of the Destitute Asylum, 1855-1861 (GRS/3822)

Contains child’s name, date leaving the Destitute Asylum, child’s age, where discharged to, date if returned to the asylum, and remarks (including if the child was adopted). An index to this register has been published by State Records of South Australia here: Index to Nominal list of orphan and deserted children taken out of the Destitute Asylum, 1855-1861. The full digitised list is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).

Register of admissions – Destitute Asylum, 1870-1924 (GRG28/5)

Contains information about people, including children, admitted to the destitute asylum such as: name, nationality, religion, previous address, occupation, date of and reason for admission, date of discharge, and living relatives in South Australia. Several Indexes to this register have been published by State Records of South Australia and are available in their Guide to Destitution in South Australia. The full digitised register is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).

Register of admissions – Industrial School, Boys Reformatory School and Girls Reformatory School, 1862-1882 (GRG28/9)

Contains information about children admitted to Girls and Boys Reformatory Schools and the Industrial School, including: name, age, nationality, religion, date of admission, reason for admission, date of discharge, ‘sentence’, transfers to other institutions, and the names of their parents/guardians. 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 to the Reformatory Hulk ‘Fitzjames’, 1879-1893 (GRG28/12)

Contains information about children admitted to the Boys’ Reformatory, including: name, age, previous address, relatives, nationality, religion, reason for admission, date of admission, date of discharge and place discharged to. The full digitised register is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).

Register of children apprenticed, adopted or licensed to service, 1862-1872 (GRG28/7)

Contains information about children discharged from the destitute asylum including: name, date of placement, age, comments about the child’s situation, with whom placed, type of placement, official visits and remarks, and date of return and transfer.

Admission, Discharge, and Movement Registers for unmarried mothers

Register of admissions to Destitute Lying-in Home, Flinders Street, 1865-1868 (GRG28/34)

Contains personal details of women admitted to the lying-in home, including: name, date of arrival in South Australia, previous address, occupation, relatives, nationality, religion, ‘recommendation’, reason for admission, date of admission, date of discharge and where discharged to. An index to this register has been published by State Records of South Australia here: Index to GRG28/34 Admissions to the Destitute Lying-in Home, Flinders Street. The full digitised register 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 Lying-in Home – Destitute Asylum, 1886-1896 (GRG28/13)

Contains personal details of women admitted to the lying-in home, including: name, date of confinement (giving birth), name and gender of child, details of father and his ability to pay maintenance, date of discharge, mother and child’s whereabouts, dates of visits, inquiries, and remarks. The full digitised register is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).

Reports on applicants for admission to the Lying-in Department, Destitute Asylum, 1900-1922 (GRG28/14)

Contains information about women and girls applying for admission to the Lying-in Department, including family information, financial situation, circumstances of her pregnancy, and details of the father.

Other records about children/unmarried mothers

Account book of money received and deposited on behalf of indentured children, 1872-1892 (GRG28/8)

Contains information about wages for indentured/apprenticed wards of the state forwarded by employers to the Destitute Person’s Department for banking until the child’s term of employment was complete. It includes child’s name, employer’s name, date of indenture/apprenticeship, age, wages paid, and signature of the child on receiving their wages.

Daily report books – Industrial School, Brighton and Magill, 1867-1882 (GRG28/11)

Contains information recorded daily about children admitted to or discharged from the industrial school, and any deaths that occurred.

Register of licensed foster-mothers and foster children – Destitute Board, 1881-1886 (GRS28/15)

Contains details about foster mothers and the children fostered to them, including names, age, marital status of foster mother, if child was born out of wedlock, details of child’s biological parents,  amount paid to foster mother in maintenance, dates of visits, and condition of child.

Register of infants born in the Destitute Asylum, later the Magill Home, 1880-1932 (GRG29/15)

Contains details about babies born at the Destitute Asylum’s Lying-In Department, including name of child and mother, date of birth, religion, nationality, father’s details, dates of discharge and proposed place of discharge. The full digitised register is available via Family Search (users must sign up for a free account with Family Search to view the register).

Administrative and contextual records

Annual reports – Destitute Board and successors, 1867-1926 (GRG28/35)

Letter book – Destitute Board, 1858-1860 (GRG28/30)

Includes letters about admissions to the asylum, applications to employ/foster children, and paternity of unmarried mother’s infants.

Letters and memoranda sent to the Chief Secretary, 1876-1926 (GRG28/31)

Minutes – Destitute Board, 1849-1927 (GRG28/1)