Karingal

Karingal, in Melville, was established in 1966 to accommodate up to 10 high school girls who were wards of the State. It was staffed by the Churches of Christ Christian Welfare Centre under a formal agreement with the Child Welfare Department. Its original purpose was to provide a Home for young people who had been in institutions, to prepare them for living in private accommodation. In 1973, Karingal accommodated primary and high school students. It is likely that Karingal’s role as an education hostel finished in 1974. By December 1976, Karingal had become an annexe of the government’s youth justice facility, Nyandi.

Karingal was an education hostel located in the Perth suburb of Melville. It began in 1966, as a collaborative venture between the Child Welfare Department (CWD) and the Churches of Christ Christian Welfare Centre (CCCWC).

According to a survey of hostels for Aboriginal children in 1971, the CWD seems to have helped the CCCWC access grant funds to buy the building. CCCWC staffed Karingal and the CWD placed children there. Up until 1971 at least, it seems that children at Karingal had been in institutions and Karingal was a stepping stone to living in private accommodation. It is uncertain whether all the young people placed at Karingal were Aboriginal children, but Karingal’s inclusion in the 1971 survey of hostels makes it likely that at least some children were Aboriginal.

Some departmental reports (Signposts, 2004, p.262) record children who were wards being resident at Karingal on 30 June: in 1967, there were 7; in 1968, there were 10; and in 1970 there were 7 children.

From 1973, Karingal was included in the Department for Community Welfare’s annual reports as a metropolitan education and employment hostel for children and young people of primary and high school age. The Churches of Christ Christian Welfare Centre sold the Karingal building to the department in 1974, and it is likely that the hostel program was discontinued at that time, as Karingal does not appear in departmental annual reports after the 1974/75 year.

In December 1976, the building known as Karingal became part of the Nyandi youth justice facility.