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The Royal Institution for Deaf and Blind Children was the new name given to the Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and the Blind in 1957, when Queen Elizabeth II conferred the title ‘Royal’ on the Darlington school and residential facility. It was run by a board of directors. The Institution moved to North Rocks in 1962 and the old building was acquired by Sydney University. In 1973 the organisation changed its name to the Royal Institution for Deaf and Blind Children. By 1959 the directors of the Royal Institution for Deaf and Blind Children were aware that the Darlington premises were no longer suitable. It purchased land at North Rocks and commenced building a complex that was officially opened in 1963. The Institution partnered with the Department of Education to provide services to deaf-blind children in 1965 and by 1967 a preschool had been established at the North Rocks site. The organisation changed its name to the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in 1973.

The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, at North Rocks, was the new name adopted in 1973 by the former Royal Institution for Deaf and Blind Children, which continued work started by the Deaf and Dumb Institution in Sydney in 1860. It was a school and disability institution, with residential facilities, including the Special School for Multi-Handicapped Blind Children. It was run by a board of directors and management committee. In 2014 the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children was a leading non-government provider of services to children with visual and auditory impairments, across a number of sites in Sydney. The Deaf and Blind Children’s Centre was mentioned in a 1979 Commonwealth Government report called Why are they in children’s homes: report of the ACOSS children’s home intake survey. In 2014 the Institution ran the Garfield Barwick School, Alice Betteridge School (formerly the Special School for Multi-Handicapped Children). Thomas Pattison School and

The Deaf and Dumb Institution, founded in 1860, was renamed the New South Wales Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind in 1868. It was run by a board of Directors as a public charitable institution for the education of deaf and blind children and had a residential facility for school-aged children. Initially based at Ormond House (Juniper Hall) in Paddington, the Institution moved to a new building in Darlington (Newtown), on the Princes Highway in 1872. At its peak the New South Wales Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind had 242 children enrolled in its school, many of whom were boarders. In 1957, Queen Elizabeth II conferred the title ‘Royal’ on the Institution, at which point it became the Royal New South Wales Institution for Deaf and Blind Children. The New South Wales Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind was the most important institution for educating children with deafness and blindness in New South Wales. It was begun by Thomas Pattison, a deaf and dumb Scottish m

Chinnery Family Home was opened by the government in Stuart Park in 1968. It provided long term accommodation for up to nine Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children from babies to teenagers under the supervision of cottage parents. Chinnery Family Home was opened in Henry Street, Stuart Park in 1968. It was one of three Family Homes opened by the Welfare Branch of the Northern Territory in the suburbs of Darwin that year. The other two Homes were the Harney Family Home and the Hamilton Family Home. Chinnery Family Home, named after a former Director of Native Affairs, Mr EP Chinnery, was located in Stuart Park on land handed over to the Government by the Methodist Overseas Mission. A purpose built five bedroom family residence was constructed on the site. The Chinnery Family Home provided accommodation for up to nine Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, from babies to teenagers. Children remained in the Home for various periods of time, often long term. The Home had the capa

Government Agricultural Farm, Scheyville, located at Pitt Town, was a training farm for youth from 1905, and, from 1911, a camp for British migrant boys and youth in the Dreadnought and Big Brother schemes. During World War II it was converted to a military training camp and after World War II became a Commonwealth migrant camp. It stopped housing youths and children in 1940. Scheyville began in the 1890s as a labour co-operative known as the Pitt Town Co-operative Labour Settlement, which failed. It was then taken over by the New South Wales Government. In 1905 the State Labour Bureau set up a training farm to alleviate unemployment amongst city youths. Boys, mostly aged between 14 and 16, spent one month attending the Labour Depot in Randwick, then were sent to the Training Farm for City Lads, on the Pitt Town property. A Casual Labour Farm, for men, was on the same property. By 1910 both farms were known as the Government Agricultural Training Farm. In 1911 the government ente

The Department of Labour and Industry was established by the State Government of New South Wales in 1896 to provide assistance to the unemployed and their families. In 1912 the State Labour Bureau was merged into the Department of Labour and Industry, and renamed the State Labour Branch. The State Labour Branch maintained responsibility for the Government Agricultural Training Farm at Scheyville, which it had run since 1905. In 1940 the Department of Labour and Industry became the Department of Labour and Industry and Social Services.

The State Labour Bureau was established by the State Government of New South Wales in 1905. It was formed to provide assistance to unemployed people in accessing employment and training. It ran the Government Agricultural Training Farm at Pitt Town, which was intended to lower unemployment among teenage boys from the city by apprenticing them as farm labourers. In 1912 the State Labour Bureau was merged into the Department of Labour and Industry, becoming the State Labour Branch of the Department.

Devonleigh Maternity Home was established in 1931, following an extension of the Devonleigh Hospital (which had opened in 1926). It was located in the Perth suburb of Peppermint Grove. It was privately run until 1948, when it was taken over by Public Health Department. Babies were adopted from Devonleigh Maternity Home. It closed in 1979 following a decline in patient numbers. From 1979 it was used by Mental Health Services to accommodate children with intellectual disabilities.

The Northern Territory Spastics Association, originally known as the Darwin and Districts Spastics Paralysis Association, was established in 1973 to advocate on behalf of and provide support for people with disability. In 1977 the Association opened the Harry Giese Centre to provide assessment, treatment, and residential care for people with disabilities, including children. In 2017 the organisation was renamed to Carpentaria. In 2026 it continued to provide support to people with disabilities.

The Hospital for the Insane replaced the Lunatic Asylum in 1859. It remained on the same site. Day to day management of the hospital was run by a Superintendent. General oversight of the Hospital was the responsibility of the Commissioners of the Hospital for the Insane until 1885, when this over was responsibility was transferred to the Charitable Grants Department. In 1937, the Mental Diseases Hospital replaced the New Norfolk Hospital. The Gentleman’s Cottage, which in 1941, became an institution for men and boys with intellectual disabilities, was built in 1859. The Ladies Cottage, which later became ‘J’ Ward, opened in 1868. In later years, J Ward became a maximum security ward for disabled adult women and occasionally held girls with ‘behaviour problems’. As the name implies, the Ladies Cottage was for patients from a privileged social class. It was a one storey building enclosed by walls and fences and at some distance from the original Barracks. It had a ‘ha ha’ wall alon

The Commissioners of the Hospital for the Insane was a government body established by the Colonial Government of Tasmania in 1859 to provide care and treatment for persons in mental health hospitals in Tasmania, including the Hospital for the Insane, New Norfolk . It was established following the passing of the Mental Hospitals Act 1858. Each hospital was to have its own board of at least five commissioners, including two with medical qualifications. The Commissioners were required to inspect and report on the hospital and its patients periodically, could make and establish rules and regulations for the hospital, could order the discharge of any patient, and had the ability to suspend the Superintendent or other officers of the hospital in cases of misconduct. Deaths, discharges, and escapes of patients were also reported to the Commissioners. Day-to-day running of the hospital was to remain in the hands

The Vernon was a tall ship purchased by the New South Wales Government in 1867 and converted to a Nautical School Ship. It was a reformatory and industrial school and housed more than 100 boys, training them in nautical and other trades. It was run by the Office of the Colonial Secretary until 1880 when reponsibility for it was transferred to the Department of Public Instruction. The Vernon was first anchored between Garden Island and the Government Domain, and from 1871 at Cockatoo Island. The Vernon was replaced by another ship, the Sobraon, in 1892. The NSS Vernon had been a merchant vessel. In 1867 it was fitted out as an industrial school and reformatory. NSS Vernon was the only industrial school for boys at the time. More than 100 boys lived on board the ship, which was anchored alongside a substantial shore facility that stretched between Garden Island and the Government Domain. The shore facility included a gymnasium, a spacious r

Newcastle Reformatory School for Females was established on 19 January 1869 under the control of the Colonial Secretary of NSW. The Reformatory School was located in the North Wing and grounds attached to the Newcastle Public Industrial School for Girls with the same matron serving both schools. The Reformatory was established to house girls who had committed criminal offences. The Reformatory School was closed on 20 July 1871 and relocated to Cockatoo Island becoming Biloela Reformatory School for Females. On 19 January 1869, following the introduction of the Reformatory Schools Act, a reformatory was established on the same site as the Newcastle Industrial School for Girls, in the Officer’s Barracks. This created twin institutions. The Reformatory School was overseen by the same Matron as the Industrial School, Mrs Agnes King, but a new superintendent, Mr J. H. Clarke was employed. There were many issues associated with both the Industrial School and the Reformatory S

The Newcastle Industrial School was established on 6 August 1867 in the former Military Barracks on the Newcastle Government Domain. It was a place of detention for girls charged with neglect, wandering, street-trading or being ‘uncontrollable’. From 1869 the site was shared with the Newcastle Reformatory School for Females. In 1871 the institution was relocated and became the Biloela Industrial School at Cockatoo Island. The Newcastle Industrial School for Females was established under the Destitute Children Act (also known as the Industrial Schools Act) of 1866. It was Australia’s first industrial school for girls; that is, an institution defined by legislation and paid for by the government as a place of detention for children charged with neglect, wandering, street-trading or being ‘uncontrollable’. It was run by a Superintendent and a Matron under the control of the Office of the Colonial Secretary. 193 girls and young women were sent to the Industrial School and Refo

The Parramatta Girls Industrial School was established by the New South Wales state governement in 1887 in the old Roman Catholic Orphan School buildings at Parramatta.  It accommodated around 160 to 200 girls at a time, and some younger boys, most of whom had been charged with crimes or committed for welfare reasons. In 1912 the Parramatta Girls Industrial School moved to the control of the State Children’s Relief Board and became the Parramatta Girls Training Home. Parramatta Industrial School was initially run by the Department of Public Instruction until the passing of the 1901 Reformatory and Industrial Schools Act, which transferred its management to the Colonial Secretary. Following the passing of the 1905 Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act management of the School was returned to the Department of Public Instruction. The institution at Parramatta has a long history including several name changes from 1887 to 1975. It has been estimated that up to 30,000 girls

The Reformatory and Industrial Schools Act 1901(38/1901) repealed the Colonial Reformatory Act and Destitute Children’s Act which had existed since 1866. This Act governed industrial schools and reformatories. The new Act retained the 1866 provisions for offenders under sixteen, and for vagrant and destitute children. It provided a court with the power to commit a child to the care of a relative, a named person, the State Children’s Relief Board or to a public industrial school. It placed oversight of reformatories and industrial schools with the Office of the Colonial Secretary. It was repealed by the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905.

St Joseph’s Home, Sebastopol, was established in around 1911. It accommodated boys aged between 6 and 16, and some girls until the age of 6 when they were transferred to Nazareth House, Ballarat. Residential childcare ceased at St Joseph’s in 1980. The site of St Joseph’s Home was on Grant Street, Sebastapol (in the Ballarat district). It was formerly known as Leckie Mansion, and Blythewood Grange. The foundation stone for the St Joseph’s Home was laid in 1911. Dr Higgins, Catholic Bishop of Ballarat, opened the home in February 1913. St Joseph’s Home was for boys and girls up to six years of age. When girls turned six, they were transferred to Nazareth House in Ballarat. Boys could remain at St Joseph’s until they were 16. From 1961 to 1975, the institution was known as Nazareth Boys’ House. It reverted back to the name St Joseph’s Home in 1975. In the words of Gabrielle Short: St Joseph’s baby’s home was run by the Poor Sisters of Nazareth also known as th

Biloela Industrial School was an industrial school for girls that was established on Cockatoo Island in 1871 to replace the Newcastle Industrial School for Girls. It was run by the Office of the Colonial Secretary until 1881, when it’s management was taken over by the Department of Public Instruction. It usually held up to 120 girls at any given time aged from about 18 months to 14 years. Biloela Industrial School was located on the same site as Biloela Reformatory School for Females and experienced several problems, including riots. In 1887 Biloela Industrial School was moved and became the Parramatta Girls Industrial School. The buildings on Cockatoo Island were bleak barracks, built in 1841 for convict re-offenders. The site was renamed Biloela to escape those convict associations but the girls had to sleep in the cells. The Industrial School was established on the same site as Biloela Reformatory School and despite them officially being separate institutions all the girls mixed

The Order of the Hospitaller Brothers of St John of God came to Australia from Ireland in 1947. Its first work was a residential school in New South Wales for boys with learning difficulties called Kendall Grange at Morriset Park, in the Hunter region (1948-2000). The Order also ran children’s homes and family services in Victoria and Queensland, as well as in New Zealand, but withdrew from providing children’s services around 2005. The Oceania Province of the chapter is chapter is based in Burwood, New South Wales. Members of the Order of the Hospitaller Brothers of St John of God have been implicated in a number of legal cases involving assaults on children in their institutions across Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, a report from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse stated that, “for religious institutes with non-ordained religious members, taking into account duration of ministry … the St John of God Brothe

Kendall Grange, at The Bluff in Morisset Park in the Hunter Region, was established by the Brothers of St John of God in 1948 as a residential school for boys deemed to have an intellectual disability, behavioural issues or physical disability. It began with 30 boys from Westmead Home, aged six to 16. In 1980 Kendall Grange changed to a residential school for boys with behavioural disorders, and in 1994 it became a residential school for primary school aged boys and girls with behavioural disorders, which operated until 2000. At the time when this institution was open, children in “care” could be diagnosed as having an intellectual disability due to challenging behaviour or ‘delinquency’. Inadequately-managed physical disabilities such as deafness, educational disadvantage, an institutional upbringing, and poverty, neglect or abuse could all lead to this diagnosis. One man who told his story to the Royal Commission was placed at K

Raelene Hostel was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1961. Originally, the hostel was started to house 7 boys of working age who had previously resided at the St John of God Training Centre in Cheltenham. During the 1960s, Raelene Hostel received subsidies from the Social Welfare Department (annual report, 1962-1963). The hostel was mentioned in a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care. According to the National Redress website, Raelene Hostel closed in 1980.

The Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care was referred to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee on 4 March 2003. This inquiry was directed primarily to those affected children who were not covered by the 2001 report Lost Innocents: Righting the Record, inquiring into child migrants, and the 1997 report, Bringing them Home, inquiring into Aboriginal children. The Committee released its first report from the inquiry on 30 August 2004, Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children. A second report, Protecting vulnerable children: A national challenge, was released on 17 March 2005. The Australian Government’s response to the inquiry was tabled in the Senate on 10 November 2005. The Senate inquiry received over 500 submissions. In the final report, the Senate paid tribute to those Forgotten Australians who had shared their stories: The Committee members are m

This is a digitised copy of a photoprint and is part of the ‘Shapcott collection of images’ held at the State Library of Western Australia. The image shows the fromt of the hospital.

Please contact The Brother Provincial Hospitaller, Order of St. John of God: Phone: (02) 9747 1699 Email: pso@oh.org.au

The Department of Prisons, also known as the Department of Justice, was established in 1874 with the passing of the Prisons Act of 1874. The Department was headed by the Minister of Justice, and included the office of Comptroller-General of Prisons, who was responsible for the “care, direction and control” of all prisons, juvenile reformatories, gaols, and correctional institutions in New South Wales, as well as the custody of all convicted prisoners. These duties had previously been the responsibility of the Sheriff, with the exception of management of reformatories which had been under the management of the Colonial Secretary. The Comptroller-General of Prisons had oversight of all government-run juvenile reformatories in New South Wales from 1874 until 1893. Superintendents of reformatories were to manage the institutions under the direction of the Comptroller-General, and had to report regularly on the op

The Act to make better provision for the control of prisons and for the custody of prisoners, 1874 (37 Vic. Act No.14) was better known as the Prisons Act of 1874. It Established the office of the Comptroller General of Prisons, who was responsible for the “care, direction, and control” of all prisons and prisoners in the Colony of New South Wales. The Act specifies that the term prisons includes all public gaols, prisons, houses of correction, and reformatories for juvenile offenders. Prior to the introduction of this act, reformatories had been under the control of the Colonial Secretary, and the control of other prisons, gaol, houses of correction and prisoners was placed with the Sheriff. The Sheriff maintained certain responsibilities and powers under the 1874 act, such as those relating to prisoners who had been sentenced to death.

The Church of England Orphanage was established in Surry Hills in 1893 by the Sisters of the Church. It initially girls and provided them with basic education and domestic training. Prior to 1905, the orphanage moved locations regularly, operating in rented properties in Surry Hills, Waverley, Chatswood and Paddington before moving permanently to Burwood. In 1907 a Committee took over running the orphanage and the Sisters ceased their involvement. After much fundraising, in 1912, the Orphanage moved to a purpose-built building on Weldon Street, Burwood. In 1918 the orphanage expanded, opening a Boys’ Home next door on Wyatt Avenue. In 1927, the Orphanage was incorporated under the Companies Act as The Church of England Children’s Homes, Burwood, creating a new institution. In early 1893, the Sisters of the Church opened the Church of England Orphanage at their premises in Bourke Street, Surry Hills, which was bein

The St John of God Training Centre was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1953. It housed around 100 boys aged 7 to 16 deemed to have mild intellectual disabilities, including State wards. It was the Brothers’ first institution in the state of Victoria. An article published by the support group Broken Rites makes the point that The SJOG Brothers said, blatantly … that their institutions were for “sub-normal” or “retarded” boys. But these words were disparaging. Many SJOG inmates, especially wards of state, had behavioural or learning difficulties and were not necessarily born with an intellectual disability, although they certainly became educationally disadvantaged through their incarceration at St John of God (Broken Rites, “This is how a Catholic religious organisation, the St John of God Brothers, ‘looked after’ disadvantaged boys”). The St John of God Training Centre occupied the former site of the

The Yarra View Training Farm, located in Lilydale, was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1957. It was usually staffed by about seven Brothers and accommodated up to 90 youths, aged over 16. The institutions for children run by the St John of God Brothers in Victoria were all described as being for children with intellectual disabilities. According to an article published by Broken Rites, the institution at Lilydale was usually staffed by about seven Brothers and accommodated up to 90 youths, aged over 16. Broken Rites also state that: Many SJOG inmates, especially wards of state, had behavioural or learning difficulties and were not necessarily born with an intellectual disability, although they certainly became educationally disadvantaged through their incarceration at St John of God. Yarra View Training Farm has been described as a ‘sheltered workshop’ environment for boys with mild and moderate intellectual

Marian Lodge Training Centre was established by the St John of God Brothers. It was adjacent to St John Of God Training Centre in Cheltenham. Marian Lodge catered for boys described as having moderate intellectual disabilities and being unable to follow a special schooling program, but able to benefit from other training.

The Reformatory Schools Act 1866 (30 Victoria, Act No. 4, 1866) came into operation on 16th January 1869. Under the Act, any child under the age of sixteen who had been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to fourteen or more days imprisonment could be sent to a reformatory for one to five years. There were to be separate reformatories for boys and girls, and parents were asked to pay maintenance for children, if possible, while they served time. The Act was repealed by the Reformatory and Industrial Schools Act 1901. Reformatories were initially under the control of the Colonial Secretary until 1874, when the Prisons Act of 1874 placed them under the control of the Comptroller General of Prisons under the Department of Prisons. In the 1880s control of reformatory schools was transferred to the Department of Public Instruction.

The Churinga Special Residential School, located in Greensborough, was established by the St John of God Brothers in 1967. It housed 60 Catholic and Protestant boys (aged 7 to 16) and, in later years, some girls. It was an institution for children deemed to have an intellectual or developmental disability. From 1987, Churinga was registered as a Special School and ran a day-program. Churinga closed in 1990. Churinga was purpose designed and built to provide a range of residential care, training and treatment programs for boys with intellectual disabilities. The Brothers needed to open a new facility after the Cheltenham site of the St John of God Training Centre was sold to retail organisation Myer in 1966. According to the guide, A piece of the story Churinga provided residential care to boys (aged 7 to 16) with a developmental disability. An article published by the support group Broken Rites makes the point that