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Lawson Rural Centre, in Lawson in the Blue Mountains, was a children’s home established by the Homes and Hostels Committee of the Home Mission Society, part of the Church of England’s Sydney Diocese, in 1944. The Lawson Rural Centre is mentioned in a Sydney Morning Herald article about children’s homes run by the Home Mission Society. According to this article the property was given to the Church of England by the owners and was still in development as a small home in 1945. A five year old boy placed at the Lawson Rural Centre by his father in April 1945 died in August of that year. Subsequently the matron of the Home was charged under the Child Welfare Act with failure to procure medical attention for the child, and sentenced to 12 months’ hard labour. The tragic death resulted in a number of newspaper articles, notably in the Truth, raising questions about the Church of England Home Mission Society’s supervision and management of children’s Homes.

Kingswood Lodge, in Berrinba, was operated by the Churches of Christ. It opened in 1989 and closed in 2016. Kingswood Lodge was a residential facility for adolescents.

The New South Wales Department of Child Welfare (and its predecessor and successor departments) created a wide range of records about state wards. These records contain personal information about former wards of the state, and include case files, ward history cards, foster parent files, registers and indexes of children in certain types of institutions, after-care files, and records relating to the operation of Homes and institutions for young people. The majority of these records are held by Museums of History NSW (State Archives), although more modern records from the 1980s onwards remain in the custody of the Department of Family and Community Services. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted. In New South Wales, records relating to individuals, such as case files and correspondence are closed to public access for 100 years. Records such as registers and indexes are closed to public access for 80 years. Care Leavers wishing to access records about thems

Meribah was opened by the Methodist Homes for Children at St James in 1972. It provided residential care for six school age boys and girls in a home-like setting. Meribah closed some time around 1986.

The Silky Oaks Haven for Children, in Manly West, was operated by the Open Brethren and the Council of Silky Oaks Children’s Haven. It was established at Toowong in 1940 and moved to Manly in 1946, and was licensed as a foster home. The first State children were admitted to Silky Oaks in April 1950. From the 1970s, Silky Oaks established a number of cottage homes. Silky Oaks Haven for Children was licensed under The lnfant Life Protection Act 1905 on 6 September 1940. Silky Oaks was licensed as a residential facility under The State Children Act 1911 on 30 March 1957. The first family group cottage was completed in 1965/66 and licensed under The Children’s Services Act 1965 on 4 August 1966. The name Silky Oaks was adopted because the kitchen at the Cross Street residence at Toowong was made from Silky Oak timber. The original home is over 100 years old. It provided the first dormitory style accommodation for the children. In 1946 Silky Oaks moved to M

Cooinda, in Mount Lawley, was established in 1966 by Methodist Homes for Children at the request of the Department of Native Welfare as hostel to accommodate Aboriginal teenage girls working in Perth. The Heritage Council documentation states “Although managed by the Methodist Church, the Department of Native Welfare remained responsible for the placement and location of employment for residents at Cooinda.” Up to fourteen girls could be accommodated at the hostel. By December 1974, Cooinda is described in The ‘Homes’ Herald as caring for ten teenage girls who are either working or studying, and are usually state wards. From 1977 it was run by the agencies of the Uniting Church, later known as Mofflyn, and in 1987 it was transferred to the Department for Community Services. Cooinda remained a departmental facility for Aboriginal student accommodation until it closed in December 2020. It is reported in the Heritage Council documentation that prior to its closure Cooinda

The Kardinia Children’s Home in Belmont (Geelong) was established in 1947 and was run by the Salvation Army. Originally it opened as a toddler’s home and accommodated children aged between two and five with children sent to Salvation Army children’s homes in Melbourne upon reaching school age. Later on it provided for children of all ages and children often attended the local Belmont Primary School. From 1965 cottage homes were opened on the Kardinia grounds to enable siblings to stay together and the institution was also known as Kardinia Child Care and Family Services Centre. All residential care of children ended at Kardinia on 31 January 1986. In 1983, the residential units declared as approved children’s homes at Kardinia Child Care and Family Services Centre were Paringa Cottage, Attunga Unit, Wallara Cottage, Birralee Unit and Kyewong Cottage. In around 2003 when the property was being “cleaned out”, the personal files of children who had been at the Home were destroyed. I

From the 1930’s to the 1980’s newborn babies were removed from their unmarried mothers immediately after birth, often without any contact or even sight of the child, to be placed with a married couple. The shame and stigma of pregnancy outside of marriage was such that maternity homes were established where families could send their daughters to have their children to be adopted out, with or without her consent. There were few options for unwed mothers to keep their baby. Little financial support was available to single mothers, and many more institutions were engaged in what we now know as forced adoptions than there were safe places for a single mother to take care of her baby. Mothers were subject to abuse in maternity homes, sometimes shackled to the bed during birth until their baby was removed, drugged and forced to sign papers consenting to adoption, or misled by social workers about financial support

Nicklin Cottage Family Group Home, in Aspley, opened in 1960 and closed in 1984. It was run by the Methodist Church until 1977 when management of the home was transferred to the Uniting Church. Nicklin Cottage Family Group Home was licensed under the State Children Act 1911 on 27 October 1960 and then the Children’s Services Act 1965 on 4 August 1966. The home reopened in early 2011 and in 2014 was operating as a residential home for young people between the ages of 12 and 17 years. It closed again in 2016.  

The Cobar War Memorial Children’s Hostel, also known as Cobar Memorial Home for Boys, opened in 1951. It accommodated up to 48 children from a large portion of the Western District Division in an area extending up to 200 miles from Cobar, so they could attend school in in the town. Cobar War Memorial Children’s Hostel was built as a war memorial in 1950. It was opened by the Minister for Education, RJ Heffron in 1951, and run by a private committee. The funds to build it were raised from residents of the town and district, who subscribed the £17,000 cost. Bursaries and fees assistance for children from poorer families were provided by various funds and organisations, including Cobar RSL. In 1966, ongoing financial difficulties resulted in the closure of the Hostel on August 25th, at the end of the school term. The closure left little alternative accommodation for the 30 children who had boarded at the Hostel. However, this closure appears to have been temporary, as the Cobar Mem

Camp Toukley, located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, was established in 1954 as a holiday camp for children living at Lutanda Children’s Home. Operated by Lutanda Children’s Services, the camp was built on 57 acres of land. Over time its main purpose changed to running holiday camps for groups of children, family group camps, and religious retreats, however it continued to operate camps for children in out-of-home care. In 2019, Lutanda Camps was renamed CCC Camps, and Camp Toukley became known as CCC Central Coast. According to its website, as of 2026 CCC Camps continues to operate out-of-home care camps for “primary-aged children in foster care”.

Louise Place was the new name given to St Joseph’s Refuge at Fullarton in 2001. It operated under the management of Centacare and provided accommodation and services for young pregnant women, new parents and their children. Louise Place was still operating in 2018.

The Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement was located on the lands of the Wakka Wakka people, near the town of Murgon in south eastern Queensland. The Salvation Army missionary William J Thompson established a mission at Barambah in 1899. Initially it was sponsored by the Ipswich Aboriginal Protection Society. In 1904-1905 the Queensland government took over management of the Barambah Aboriginal Settlement, as Cherbourg was also known at that time. In 1986, Cherbourg became a DOGIT (Deed of Grant in Trust) and the community began managing its own affairs. The Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement was located in the South Burnett district of south east Queensland. In 1899, William J Thompson of the Salvation Army began negotiations with the Queensland government to establish an Aboriginal mission – 1280 acres of land at Barambah was gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve in March 1900. Thompson was the first superintendent and the mission was sponsored by the Ipswich Aboriginal Protection Society.

Beemar Yumba Aboriginal Children’s Hostel was a residential care service at Cherbourg funded by the Queensland Department of Child Safety from around 1984 to 2010. It accommodated children between the ages of 5 years and 15 years, who required out of home care due to statutory intervention or parental agreement. All children and young people were referred to Beemar Yumba Hostel by the Department of Child Safety. The hostel opened after the boys’ dormitory at Cherbourg was closed in 1982. The “run-down” hostel building was replaced with a new $1.1m 12-bed shelter in 2005 (ABC news, 2004). In 2009, it became part of the Cherbourg Historical Precinct (Cherbourg Memory website). Beemar Yumba Hostel Aboriginal Corporation, which ran the hostel, was deregistered in November 2010. The new building, funded by the Queensland State Government in 2004 accommodated 12 children. The facility also incorporated a carers’ residence and adminis

The Blue Mountains Handicapped Children’s Centre was formed in Springwood in 1961 to provide accommodation, education, employment and training for children with disabilities. At first its services were for children but this was extended to adults over time. The Centre was known as Eloura from 1963 to 2014, when it became DARE Disability services.

This is a copy of a photograph of the Beemar Yumba Children’s Shelter from around 1980. It shows the front of the building with a sign that reads, “Beemar Yumba: Maud Phillips Memorial Children’s Shelter”.

The Church Rescue Home was established in 1885 and run by a committee associated with the Church of England Temperance Society. It opened as a Home for the “rescue” of “intemperate”, “inebriate”, and “fallen” women (‘Church Home for the Intemperate and the Fallen’, published in The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 September 1884), including teenage girls. While the Home was associated with the Church of England, it accepted women from any denomination. The Home was officially opened in an eight-roomed rented house at 242 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst, on the 6th March 1885, with 14 women in residence, and capacity for up to 20. This house quickly proved to be too small for the number of women in residence – by the end of March that year there were 25 women living there. On 5th May 1886 the Home officially opened in a larger building on the corner of Crown and Albion streets, Surry Hills (a building which was later used for the

Perth College was established in 1902 by the Sisters of the Church, an Anglican religious order, as a boarding and day school. From 1902 to around 1910, the college also accommodated girls aged 6-10 years who had been brought by the Sisters in 1901 from the Orphanage of Mercy, Kilburn in England. ‘Destitute’ babies were also housed at the college until 1903, when they were transferred to the Waif’s Home, Parkerville and temporarily, in 1903, some orphan boys lodged at Perth College when Tower House closed. In 2014, Perth College continues to operate as a day and boarding school. Perth College, in the ‘Hawkesbury’ building in Perth, was established in 1902 by the Sisters of the Church, an Anglican religious order that was later named the Community of the Sisters of the Church. Perth College was established as a boarding and day school for local girls, but the college also accommodated girls aged 6-10 years who had been brought by the Sisters in 1901 from the Orphanage of Mercy, Kilbu

This image is also available in the State Library of New South Wales. The description in from the State Library of NSW states: First service held at Goulburn Island, Arnhem Land, 1916. Image shows 4 missionaries giving a service to Indigenous Australians on Jesus walking on the sea. In 2026 a relative of one of the missionaries in the photo contacted us to confirm this was taken in 1916, by Edward Reichenbach, also known as Ted Ryko.

St Margaret’s Hospital was established in Strawberry Hills [Surry Hills] in 1894 as a lying-in home, by a religious community led by Gertrude Abbott. It grew and became a maternity hospital, lying in home and provided midwifery nursing training. In 1910, St Margaret’s moved to Darlinghurst. From 1937 was run by the Sisters of St Joseph . St Margaret’s was an adoption agency and an obstetric teaching hospital for the University of Sydney. St Margaret’s Public Hospital operated as part of the hospital from 1946-1993 and St Margaret’s Children’s Hospital operated from 1967-1979. St Margaret’s closed in 1998. St Margaret’s Hospital was started in 1894 by a group of women living in an informal Catholic religious community in ‘Lorraine Terrace’, 561 Elizabeth Street, Strawberry Hills (Surry Hills), on the corner of Cleveland Street. The leader of this community was Gertrude Abbott, who had been a Josephite nun in Adelaide (formerly Mary Jane O’Brien, then Sister Ignatius of Jesus). Gertru

Please contact the Care Leaver Records Service: Phone: (03) 9096 8449 Email: clrs@dffh.vic.gov.au Website: https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/making-freedom-information-request

Karril Cottage was a government-run Home for school-aged boys and girls. It had opened by 1973 and was located in the suburb of Kellyville. Karril Cottage closed in the late 1980s. Although a NSW government guide to records, Connecting Kin (1998), stated that Karril Cottage was a boy’s Home, it was a Home for boys and girls. Boyle (1996) refers to 14 girls coming to Karril Cottage from Thornbury Lodge in 1973. Emails from former residents to the Find & Connect resource also confirm that girls and boys lived at Karril Cottage in the 1970s and early 1980s. A newspaper article from 2005 refers to Karril Cottage being “a boys’ home in Kellyville in the late 1980s” (Sydney Morning Herald, 24 November 2005). In 2006 a former private music teacher who taught boys from Karril Cottage was convicted of sexually abusing students, including at least one from Karril Cottage.

The Historical Abuse Network provides support for people who have experienced abuse in institutions, foster care and detention in Queensland. The Historical Abuse Network can be contacted at Lotus Place. The aims of the Historical Abuse Network are: to maintain a voice so as to continue dialogue regarding the recommendations from the Queensland Government’s Forde Inquiry to share and disseminate information to support each other to reconnect and create support groups for ex-residents of each institution and former children in care as required to promote affirmative action and ensure recognition of the continued discrimination and disadvantage of ex-residents and former children in care. Membership of the Historical Abuse Network is open to anyone: who lived in an institution

The Fairfield Home for Refugee Children was a children’s Home run by the Sydney Anglican Home Mission Society, via its Care Force unit. It was also known as the Fairfield Hostel for Refugees, and the Condell Park Home for Refugee Children (though it is not known if it was ever located at Condell Park). It was opened at Tasman Parade Fairfield in 1980, and moved to Hamilton Road, Fairfield, in 1986 until it was closed in 1988. At this time no more information about this home is known. If you have more information about this home please get in touch with Find & Connect.

Koolyangarra Fostering Agency (Nowra) was a New South Wales Aboriginal Children’s Services organisation funded by the New South Wales Department of Community Services.

This page is a resource to help people understand the words and abbreviations commonly found on child welfare records. It contains explanations and definitions for many words, terms and abbreviations. Please be aware that this page contains language and terms that are derogatory and offensive. The records from a child or young person’s time in institutional ‘care’ can be difficult to understand and interpret – files from government departments and past providers often contain abbreviations and acronyms, unfamiliar terms and jargon. Access to Records by Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants (Department of Social Services, 2016) recommends that record-holding organisations prov

The Find & Connect Support Services can help Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and others who spent time in out of home care between 1920 and 1990 find family members.   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families under the past laws, practices and policies of Australian governments can get help to locate family with Link-Up services: http://aiatsis.gov.au/research/finding-your-family/link-services. People affected by forced adoption can find organisations that can help here:

A Resource for People with Experience of Adoption and/or Out-of-Home Care

Redfern Aboriginal Children’s Service was established in 1975, after the Aboriginal Legal Service identified a high number of Aboriginal children escaping from custody or from fostering situations and coming to Redfern to search for their families. Many Aboriginal children were either placed into the care of non-Aboriginal families, or were wards of the state. The ACS continues to support Aboriginal children’s wellbeing, connecting with family and alternate care. Redfern was a key location for Aboriginal self-determination, with Aboriginal-run organisations including the Aboriginal Legal Service and Aboriginal Medical Service being established in 1970 and 1971. In 1972, Black Theatre, an Aboriginal-run theatre company was started, and in 1973 the Aboriginal Housing Company was incorporated. Also in 1972, Murawaina, a childcare centre run by and for Aboriginal people, was established. While the ACS had paid staff, there were also many who worked without pay over the years to ensur

The Hay Institution for Girls was opened in the old Hay Gaol in 1961. It was an annexe of Parramatta Girls Training School, and held 12 girls aged 15 to 18 who had committed offences, including rioting to protest their treatment, while they were in Parramatta. They were officially sent to Hay for three month terms, but this was often extended, and girls could be sent between Hay and Parramatta multiple times. The Hay Institution for Girls became the subject of widespread community condemnation and closed in 1974. The Hay Institution for Girls was proclaimed in the old Hay Gaol on 28th July 1961 as a ‘school for the reception, detention, maintenance, discipline, education and training of children and young persons committed to such institution to be known as Institution for Girls, Hay’. Its establishment came after a series of riots that had taken place at the Parramatta Girls Home in early 1961. The girls sent from Hay from Parramatta were considered ‘incorrigible’. The first gir

This image was included in the National Museum of Australia’s Inside blog, originally provided by Community Services New South Wales, Human Services.

The Tweddle Hospital for Babies and School of Mothercraft, in Footscray, opened in 1920. In the 1960s, Tweddle was classified as an approved children’s home. Tweddle provided temporary care for babies and toddlers awaiting foster care or adoption, including some wards of state from 1965 until the late 1980s. It also provided short term care for babies whose mother was ill or otherwise incapacitated. On 31 October 1990 the organisation was incorporated as a Public Hospital under the Health Services Act 1988 and became the Tweddle Child and family Health Service. Around 2012, Tweddle gave a formal apology for its involvement in past forced adoption practices. It continues to operate in 2026 as a statewide Early Parenting Centre providing services for pregnant women, and families with children aged under five.

Holy Cross Home, in Wooloowin, was operated by the Sisters of Mercy. The institution was renamed in 1966 – formerly it was known as the Industrial School for Girls, Wooloowin. Holy Cross Home discontinued accepting girls in care and control from 1 April 1973. State Government funding ceased in 1974. Holy Cross Home was located on the same site as the Holy Cross Retreat, a maternity home also run by the Sisters of Mercy. The Holy Cross Home was licensed under the Children’s Services Act 1965 on 4 August 1966. A publication from 1976 stated that Holy Cross Home ceased accommodating girls in 1973 (previously it had accommodated girls, single mothers as well as women with intellectual disabilities). “In recent years, girls as young as 12 years of age were being admitted. By law these girls were required to have a formal education. The lack of educational facilities to take care of their needs was another factor which resulted in

Holy Cross Retreat or Magdalen Asylum, in Wooloowin, was operated by the Sisters of Mercy, Brisbane Congregation. It opened in 1889 as a home for unmarried mothers, disabled girls and infants. It ceased operating as a home for very young children in 1959. From 1974 it no longer cared for children but provided continuing care for physically and intellectually disabled persons and single mothers. In 1978 its function changed to a centre for intellectually and physically disabled persons and was renamed Mercy Centre. Mother Mary Vincent was instrumental in the establishment of Holy Cross Retreat. She came to Queensland from Ireland in 1861. The Holy Cross Retreat foundation stone was laid on Sunday 22nd April 1888 by Archbishop Dr Dunne. The Holy Cross Retreat was then opened 13th October 1889 by the Governor Sir Henry Norman. This institution was also referred to as the Magdalen Asylum. The girls worked in the laundry which was co-located on the site. State Government funds contrib

These registers record details about children admitted to the Townsend Pre-School for Hearing and Hearing Impaired Children. Information recorded includes child’s name, gender, admission date, date of birth, religion, parent’s names and occupations, address, and reason for leaving school. It is not clear if this register includes details about children who lived at Townsend House, or if it only includes details of non-residential students. Access Conditions These registers are open access and can be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records of South Australia.

This admission and discharge book contains details about children and young people admitted to the Central Norther Region Assessment Unit, which was also known as the Gilles Plains Assessment Unit or the Northern Metro Assessment Unit. It contains information such as child’s name, date of birth, endowment/DSS number, age, cultural group, sex, date of admission, where admitted from/previous address, reason for admission, name of their social worker or district centre, discharge date, place discharged to, and coordinators name. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information Team.

The Gilles Plains Community Unit opened at Gilles Plains in 1979 as an open unit for boys who had been committed to Brookway Park. Run by the government, it provided long term accommodation for up to eight boys aged 9 to 15 who were deemed to be able to live in the community. It was also known as the Central Northern Region Assessment Unit, and the Northern Metro Region Assessment Unit. The Unit closed in 1990 and was replaced in 1992 by a new facility built on the same site, the Gilles Plains Assessment Unit. The Gilles Plains Community Unit opened at 643 North East Road, Gilles Plains in 1979 as an open unit for boys of school age who had been committed to Brookway Park, a secure care institution for young boys who had committed offences. Run by the government, the Gilles Plains Unit provided long term accommodation for boys between the ages of 9 and 15 whom the government deemed could live in the community. In 1982 five boys were resident in the Unit which was managed by a Senior

These two admission books record details about children and young people admitted to the Western Region Admission Unit at Somerton Park, which was initially known as the Central Region Admission Unit. Information recorded in the books includes child’s name, admission number, admission date, their age, date of birth, name of their Community Welfare Worker or District Office, who/where they were admitted by (e.g. courts, police, parents, or another institution), date discharged from the Unit, and who discharged to (e.g. parents, other institutions, or other accommodation). Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to these records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information Team.