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Charlton Memorial Home, also known as Charlton Boys’ Home, was established in Glebe by the Home Mission Society in 1942. It was a Church of England home that primarily dealt with boys who had appeared in Children’s Courts, but also took a small number of girls. It held up to 40 young people, ranging in age from seven to 20. It was located in a building called ‘Avona’, which had previously been the Church of England Home for Girls. In 1966 Charlton Memorial Home moved to Ashfield. The Home was named after Archdeacon Charlton, who a former head of the Home Mission Society. A 1945 Sydney Morning Herald article said Charlton home was established for children attending the Children’s Court and was for “child delinquents and ‘those who might become such without proper care and education’.” According to its annual reports, the Home Mission Society ran a chaplaincy at the Children’s Courts, su

Meli is an organisation created in April 2023, following a merger of Bethany and Barwon Child Youth & Family (BCYF). Meli’s office in Hamlyn Heights (Geelong) is on the former site of the Geelong Female Refuge, established in 1868, and Bethany Babies’ Home (1928-1977). BCYF’s originated with the Geelong Orphan Asylum (established 1854), later known as Glastonbury. Meli is a not-for-profit organisation providing a range of family and community services, including foster care.

Bethany Community Support holds a small collection of general historical records relating to Bethany Babies’ Home, its predecessor the Geelong Female Refuge, and Bethany Community Support. The collection includes annual reports, staff records, some admissions and discharge registers and photographs. The collection does not include client files. Access Conditions Those interested in accessing this historical information relating to the history of the organisation can contact Meli. Records More specifically the collection includes: Admission and Discharge Records (1896-1979 – possibly incomplete) Annual Reports (1950-2007) Newspaper clippings (1990s) Governance documents; By-laws and Constitution (1930s and 1980s) Minutes of Bethany Babies Auxiliary (1949-1978) Financial records (1868-1980s) Organisational publications and promotional literature (1970s-2000s) Mothercraft

Bethany Community Support, a child and family welfare agency, was formed in 1977. Formerly, Bethany operated as an adoption agency and babies home, and was known as the Bethany Babies’ Home. Bethany Community Support was an independent, voluntary organisation with no political or religious affiliations. In April 2023, Bethany merged with Barwon Child Youth & Family (BCYF) to form a new organisation, Meli. In 1977, when Bethany ceased operations as an adoption agency and babies’ home, all records pertaining to individuals, placements and adoptions were transferred to the Victorian government. Department of Human Services. These records can be accessed through the Victorian Adoption Information Service. In December 2008 Bethany opened its new offices in Grovedale at Shop 10, 147 Marshalltown Rd. A number of programs are located there including Innovations Casework, Housing, Community Kitchens, Homework Clubs and Saver Plus. Bethany Community Suppo

The Church of England Girls’ Home was opened by the Church of England Homes in Carlingford in 1928, in the same buildings, Minden and No. 2 Home (which was renamed the Tress-Manning Home in 1929), that had previously operated as the Church of England Boys’ Home. It was a Home for girls between the ages of 3 and 18, although girls under the age of 7 were usually sent to the Havilah Children’s Home first, and transferred to the Girls’ Home after they turned 7. From 1928, girls were transferred from the four Church of England Homes for Girls in Glebe Point – Avona,

Warrawillah Seaside Holiday Home for Girls was opened by Church of England Homes at Collaroy on the 6th October 1956. It was used to provide holidays to girls living at the Church of England Girl’s Home at Carlingford. Warrawillah closed in 1976 due to the poor condition of the building, and the effects of beach erosion on the property.

This is a photo of the Molly Trigg Cottage at the Church of England Girls’ Home, Carlingford. It shows two girls walking away from the camera along a path in front of a brick single-storey building with large windows. There are rose-beds in front of the building. The T.A. Field cottage is just visible behind the Molly Trigg cottage. This photo is undated, the date included is an estimate.

This is a photo of young girls and a staff member outside the Tress-Manning Home at the Church of England Girls’ Home, Carlingford. It shows a staff member standing with six young girls one the lawn in front of a two-storey brick house with verandahs on one side. The staff member and the girls are all wearing white dresses. Somme of the girls have white boys in their hair, and one is holding a stuffed toy. This photo is undated, the date included is an estimate.

This is a photo of two girls standing in the doorway of the T.A. Field Cottage at the Church of England Home for Girls, Carlingford. It shows two older girlsin white dresses standing in the front doorway of a brick building. There is a small paved porch in front of them. On one of the walls is a plaque commemorating the opening of the T.A. Field Home. The image has been captioned by Anglicare with “As the T.A. Field Home is for our 13-16 years old each girl has her own cubicle… completely self contained. Does not this give them a sense of security?”. This photo is undated, the date included is an estimate.

This is a photo of the boys and staff of the Church of England Boys’ Home, Carlingford, lined up in front of the Buckland Memorial Home. It shows a large group of boys lined up in front of a large two-storey brick building with archways along the centre ground-floor section. This image was published in The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate on 10 November 1932. It was published with the following caption: “Church of England Home for Children. Boys lined up at the Boys’ Home in Pennant Hills road, Carlingford. A garden fete is being held at the Girls’ Homes on Saturday next, and Mr. F. H. Stewart, M.H.R., will perform the opening ceremony at 2.30pm. Sympathisers are invited to help the movement. Included in the entertainments will be folk dancing, physical drill on the lawns by the girls, glee singing by the boys, singing by the tiny tots. Bring your children to the slippery slide and other attractions. The motor drive to Carlingford is one of the best around Sydney. A

This is a photo showing young girls standing in front of the gates of the Church of England Girls’ Home at Carlingford, with the Mary McGarvey Home visible behind them. It shows 9 girls in white dresses standing in front of brick and iron gates in front of a large two-storey brick building. This image was published in The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate on 10 November 1932 with the caption “Carlingford Girls’ Home. A glimpse at one of the Homes which provised shelter from Life’s stormy blast. The children are cared for under ideal conditions.”

The Methodist Church preached its first services in New South Wales in 1812. In the 1880s, faced with a declining congregation in Sydney, the Methodist Conference resolved to try a new style of worship, and opened the Central City Mission. The new church was so popular that, although the Methodist faith survived, the activities of parishioners were absorbed into this Central City Mission. In 1977 the Methodist Church of Australasia resolved to join the Uniting Church in Australia.

The Colonial Secretary was an essential position in the New South Wales Government. During the Colonial era (1821 to 1856) the Colonial Secretary supported the NSW Governor and was responsible for advising and receiving instructions from the British Government. After NSW achieved self-governence in 1856 the Colonial Secretary, was responsible for a range of essential functions, including charities, prisons, police, the Aborigines Protection Board, neglected children, the insane, hospitals and industrial schools. The Colonial Secretary became the Chief Secretary in 1959. The Colonial Secretary and his Department has always been at the centre of decisions made by the New South Wales Government. Many government departments were, in their early years, controlled by the Colonial Secretary. The State Children’s Relief Department is one example, and the early Industrial Schools and Reformatory Acts were administered directly by the Chief Secretary. When New South Wales formed its own go

Cootamundra Training Home was established in a disused hospital building by the Aborigines Protection Board in 1911. It housed only Aboriginal girls, and was designed to train girls for domestic service. In 1940 its management passed to the Aborigines Protection Board. It continued as a girls’ home for Aboriginal girls until it was closed in 1969, although in its last years a few non-Aboriginal girls were sent there. The Cootamundra Girls Home was fundamental to the process of removing Aboriginal girls. When removed, Aboriginal girls were trained to become domestic servants and farm hands in wealthy non-Aboriginal households. Girls in the homes were referred to as ‘inmates’ and parents were unable to regain access to their children until they turned 18yrs, and in many cases never again … The Girls experienced systematic racial discrimination to remove their Aboriginal identity and alienate them from their families (Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation website).

The Church of England Boys’ Home was for boys aged 3 to 18 years. It was established by Church of England Homes in 1918 in a rented house in Cronulla, before moving in 1920 to Carlingford occupying the building ‘Minden’ at 216 Pennant Hills Road, the site that had previously housed the Carlingford Children’s Home. Boys from the Havilah Home were sometimes transferred to the Church of England Boys’ Home upon reaching the age of 9. Minden initially had capacity for approximately 30 boys, but it was extended the following year to enable the Home to accommodate 60 children with the addition of the No. 2 Home, which opened on 7th May 1921. According to local newspapers this addition featured “Large airy dormitories, together

The Northcote Farm School was established at Glenmore, near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, in 1937. It was the only institution in Victoria to have been constructed specifically for child migrants. From 1937 to 1958, the Northcote Farm School received a total of 273 child migrants. From 1962, it changed its function and began to also accept local children, including wards of the state. Northcote Farm School had accommodation for approximately 200 children. It was run by the Northcote Trust until the Social Welfare Department took over in 1976. It closed in 1979. The Northcote Farm School was established at Glenmore, near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, in 1937. The Farm was established as a result of a bequest by Lady Alice Northcote, wife of the Australian Governor-General and an admirer of Kingsley Fairbridge and his Farm School initiative. The Farm School was based on Fairbridge principles. Students at Northcote received farm training, as well

Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre, at Airds, near Campbelltown, was opened under the Department of Juvenile Justice in 1991. It had been the Reiby Training School for girls. In 2025, Reiby accommodates a maximum of 55 girls and boys under the age of 15 years, who are on control orders or remanded in custody According to the Department of Juvenile Justice, Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre offers a range of health, educational and spiritual services to the young people, including individual case management, specialised counselling, and training in job and living skills. The centre also specialises in managing young male offenders with extreme behavioural problems with a unit specifically designated to address the special needs of this group. The Waratah Unit, also at Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre, was opened in late 2010, and is a pre-release unit aimed at preparing young people for return into the community. The unit caters for 10 young people from across New South Wales.

This is an image of the Trigg Home at the Church of England Boys’ Home, Carlingford. It shows a large single-storey brick cottage with a small central front verandah framed with white columns. The cottage is surrounded by lawn, with a few trees in the background and foreground. This photo is undated, the date included is an estimate.

This is a YouTube video of a radio interview in 2019 on Talk Radio Europe with former child migrant Nigel Owen about his time at the Northcote Farm School in Bacchus Marsh.

This is an image of three of the buildings at the Church of England Boys’ Home, Carlingford. It shows the Spurway Cottage (right hand side), Broad Cottage (centre), and part of the Buckland Memorial Home (left hand side). The two cottages are similar in shape and style – both are large single-storey cottages with a central verandah framed with white columns. The Spurway Cottage has brick walls, while Broad Cottage has white rendered walls. Only the rear of the Buckland Memorial Home can be seen – it is  a brick two-storey building. There is a large lawn in front of the homes, with several small trees and shrubs and one larger tree planted through it. This image is undated, the date included is an estimate.

This is a photo of the Buckland Memorial Home at the Carlingford Church of England Boys’ Home. It shows a large two-storey brick building with lots of windows and decorative archways running along a covered walkway along the ground floor, some of which have white rendered highlights. Above the central front entrance is lettering that reads “Buckland Memorial Home”. The building is surrounded by lawns, shrubs, and young trees. There is an empty flag-pole sitting in front of the building.

This is an image of the Vickery Home, or Vickery Cottage, at the Church of England Boys’ Home, Carlingford. It shows a white rendered single-storey cottage with a tile roof and two chimneys surrounded by lawn and a few small shrubs. The cottage has a small central front verandah which is framed by thin white columns. This photo is undated, the date included is an estimate.