• Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

South Australia

1922 - 1981

Records of Enfield Hospital, State Records of South Australia

These records were created by Enfield Receiving House, later known as Enfield Hospital, and contain information about patients, staff, and administrative matters at Enfield. The collection is held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain personal details of people admitted to Enfield Hospital, including children and young people. Records about patients include admission and discharge registers, case files, records about prescribed medications, records about the movement of patients between wards/facilities, and daily information about occurrences on hospital wards. The collection also includes administrative records from the hospital such as staff reports/diaries, and meeting minutes. Some records dating from 1979 onwards also relate to patients admitted to Hillcrest Hospital, which came under the same board of management as Enfield in 1979. Access Conditions Access to records in this collection is restricted for up to 100 years in order to protect personal p

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

South Australia

1911 - 1983

Records of the Probationary School Mount Barker/Eden Park, at State Records of South Australia

This small collection of records were created by the Boys Probationary School, Mount Barker, which was later known as the Salvation Army Boys’ Home, Mount Barker, or Eden Park Boys Home. It includes nine Admission Registers which contain details of the boys admitted to the Homes, and two School Journals, which contain information recorded by the head teacher about daily occurrences at the school. Access Conditions The Admission Registers in this series are restricted for 100 years to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these registers have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department of Education Information Release Unit. Admission registers over 100 years old, and all School Journals are open and can be accessed by any member of the public.  To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

South Australia

1979 - 1997

Records of Minda Inc., State Records of South Australia

This collection contains an Admission Register and School Council Records from the Minda Special School created by Minda Inc. The records contain basic details about children enrolled at the school, as well as administrative records about the management of the school. Access Conditions Access to these registers is restricted in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these registers have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department of Education Information Release Unit. To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records Admission Registers, 1979-1997 (GRS/5383) contain details about children enrolled at Minda Special School, including their name, address, date of birth, and information about their parents/guardians. These records have

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

South Australia

1909 - 1978

Child and Youth Migration Records, State Records of South Australia

State Records of South Australia holds a number of records that contain information about child and youth migrants, and the organisations and schemes that brought child and youth migrants to South Australia. The records were kept by the State departments responsible for immigration and tourism, and the State departments responsible for child and social welfare. Some of the records directly relate to child and youth migration, while other relate to migration more broadly, but include information about child and youth migrants. Access Conditions While the majority of records described on this page are open and can be viewed by any member of the public, some are restricted for a period of time to protect personal privacy. Individuals mentioned in restricted records have a right to access information about themselves. To access restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information Unit. For access to open records please contact State Record

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

South Australia

1924 - 1976

Morialta Protestant Children’s Home Records, State Records of South Australia

These are records created by Morialta Protestant Children’s Home that are held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain information about children living at the Home, and include children’s files, photographs, adoption forms, annual reports, a film made about the Home, visitor’s books, and administrative records such as reports, meeting minutes and regulations. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Some of these records are still restricted, while others over 100 years old are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the Department for Child Protection Freedom of Information team. To arrange access to open records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records The following records in this collection contain infor

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

New South Wales

1924 - 1925?

Rehoboth

Rehoboth was a Home for Aboriginal girls run by the Aborigines’ Inland Mission. It was officially opened in March 1924. Elizabeth McKenzie Hatton, a white missionary (later secretary of the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association), was instrumental in the establishment of Rehoboth. According to the Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership, McKenzie Hatton’s intention for Rehoboth was: to provide a refuge for ‘girls – not children – who have proved unsuitable for domestic service and have otherwise given trouble and failed’ (Hatton McKenzie, quoted in Maynard, ‘”Light in the Darkness”‘.). These were girls who the NSW Aboriginal Protection Board (APB) had found ‘incorrigible’. McKenzie Hatton had a vision of doing missionary work with indentured young Aboriginal women in Sydney, who were ‘in need of a motherly guardian’. In an interview in 1921, she was critical of the Aborigines Protection Board and its failure to protect these young women:

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

Western Australia

1994 - 2012

Rangeview Remand Centre

Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre, in Murdoch, was established in 1994 as a government-run detention facility for up to 80 male and female youth. By October 2012, the young people at Rangeview were transferred to the Banksia Hill Detention Centre. The Rangeview facility re-opened as the Wandoo Reintegration Centre for young adults in November 2012. Rangeview was established by the government in response to over-crowding in the ageing Longmore Remand and Assessment Centre. In October 2005, all the girls who had been held at Banksia Hill were transferred to Rangeview. Authorities reported this was because of a sexual encounter between a male and female detainee at Banksia Hill. The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (OICS) reported (2008) on the Rangeview youth detention facility in October 2007. At that time, (p.iii) all girls, on remand and convicted, were held at Rangeview, and 75 percent of the young people at Rangeview were identified as Aboriginal. The OICS repor

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 17th, 2025

New South Wales

1946 - 1974

Parramatta Girls Training School

The Parramatta Girls Training School was the new name given in 1946 to the former Parramatta Girls Training Home. It accommodated around 160 to 200 older girls at a time who had been charged with crimes, or committed by welfare organisations. Although the Annual Reports of the Child Welfare Department claimed it had made positive changes in the institution, very little changed inside in these years. Some children were transferred from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and placed in this Home. The Parramatta Girls Training School closed in 1974. 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 passed through Parramatta over this time; it is a significant site in Australian women’s and child welfare history. Girls were placed in Parramatta for a variety of reasons: they had been committed by welfare organisations; had been charged with crimes; were on remand or because they had not

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 16th, 2025

Western Australia

1893 - 1980

Mt Lawley Reception Home

The Mount Lawley Government Reception Home was first established as an industrial school at Claisebrook in 1893 after the passage of the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Act 1893, moving to Subiaco in 1897. It functioned as a temporary reception centre for children temporarily or permanently placed out of home, which remained largely unchanged until the 1970’s despite a number of name changes. It originally housed girls, then older children. By 1902 it was known as the Government Industrial School and Receiving Depot. The Report by the Superintendent of Public Charities and Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, 1902 (p.16) noted that the “younger destitute children formerly detained in the Home for Women” were moved to Subiaco. By 1907 after the passing of the Child Welfare Act, the institution’s name changed to the Government

  • Page

Last Updated: October 16th, 2025

Cootamundra Girls Home: four eras of occupation

  • Archival Series

Last Updated: October 15th, 2025

South Australia

1962 - 1968

Admission registers – Umeewarra Mission School

These admission registers were created by the Umeewarra Mission School, which was the school located at the Umeewarra Mission, also known as Davenport Reserve, near Port Augusta. The registers record details about children that attended the school, including their name, date of birth, gender, religion, parents names and occupations, residence, previous school, grades, date of leaving school, and other remarks. Children are listed in the registers by their date of enrolment. The registers also include an alphabetical index to students. Access Conditions These registers are open and can be accessed by any member of the public. For access to these registers please contact State Records of South Australia.

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 15th, 2025

South Australia

1879 - 2019

Records of Home for Incurables, Julia Farr Centre, & Highgate Park, at State Records of South Australia

These records were created by the Home for Incurables, later known as the Julia Farr Centre, Julia Farr Services, and Highgate Park. They contain information about patients, staff, and administrative matters at the Homes. The collection is held by State Records of South Australia. The records contain personal details of people admitted to the Home for Incurables, Julia Farr, and Highgate Park, including children and young people. Records about patients include admission and discharge registers, case books, records about the movement of patients between wards/facilities, and records about medications prescribed to patients. The collection also includes administrative records from the hospital, which also include some references to individual patients, such as staff reports about occurrences at the Homes, correspondence, visitor books, meeting minutes, and annual reports. These records were transferred to State Records of South Australia in 2020, following the closure of Highgate Park

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 15th, 2025

South Australia

1967 - 1972

Toorak Gardens Boys’ Hostel

The Toorak Gardens Boys’ Hostel opened in 1967 at Toorak Gardens. Run by the same independent Board of Management as the Morialta Protestant Children’s Home, it provided accommodation for boys who had left the Children’s Home and were studying or working. The Hostel, along with the Children’s Home was renamed Morialta Children’s Homes Incorporated in 1972. In the mid-1960s, recognising the difficulties some boys were having in finding accommodation after leaving the Morialta Children’s Home, the Home’s Board of Management decided to establish a Hostel. The Toorak Gardens Hostel opened in 1967 and it provided accommodation for older boys who were working or studying. In 1972 the Hostel was renamed, along with the Children’s Home, as the Morialta Children’s Homes Incorporated. Both institutions operated under this name until 1974. National Redress Scheme for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abus

  • Archival Item

Last Updated: October 14th, 2025

New South Wales

1903 - 1905

Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen Women Admissions Registers

The Admissions Register of the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen Women (South Sydney Women’s Hospital) are two volumes of registers. The registers contain pre-printed forms requesting personal details of pregnant women who were admitted. Details on the firms include the mother’s medical history, current circumstances, and additional notes relating to outcomes after the mother and child were discharged from the Home. According to Professor Lynette Russell, archivist of the Nursing History Research Unit, these were retrieved from a rubbish pile at Rozelle Hospital and donated to the Nursing History Research Unit. Professor Russell believes all other records of the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen Women have been destroyed. The Admissions Register for Home of Hope were in the custody of the Nursing History Research Unit before being donated to the State Library of New South Wales following the closure of the unit. The registers contain limited information about the women

  • Page

Last Updated: October 13th, 2025

Kids grown up but together again

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 10th, 2025

Victoria

1956 - c. 1991

Winlaton

Winlaton, in Nunawading, was established in 1956 as Victoria’s main state-run institution for adolescent girls. Previously (from 1951 to 1953) the building was a Home, also called Winlaton, run by the Mission of St James and St John. Winlaton Juvenile School received its first placements in 1956. Many female juvenile offenders were committed to Winlaton by the courts; however, throughout its history Winlaton housed many girls and young women who had not committed a crime. Winlaton had a training school, and by 1959 it also housed a reception centre (Winbirra) and a hostel (Leawarra). In 1991 it was renamed the Nunawading Youth Residential Service. The Winlaton home run by the Mission of St James and St John from 1951 was taken over by the Children’s Welfare Department in 1953. That year, the Department’s annual report stated that: … during the year it was decided to erect at “Winlaton”, Nunawading, a training and rehabilitation centre for delinquent girls. In three se

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 10th, 2025

New South Wales

c. 1981

Weldon Centre Photographs

The Weldon Centre photographs is a collection of around 100 colour snapshots taken by a former youth worker at the Weldon Centre in 1981. (The Weldon Centre was the new name for the Church of England Children’s Homes in Burwood.) These photographs have the names of children and workers written on the back. The photographs were donated in 2012 to the Australian Orphanage Museum, run by the Care Leavers of Australasia Network (CLAN). Access Conditions Access to some items in this collection might be restricted to protect the privacy of individuals. For access to these records please contact the Australian Orphanage Museum.

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 10th, 2025

New South Wales

1980s - 1993

Wyatt Lodge

Wyatt Lodge was established in the early 1980s as a residential care unit, as part of the Church of England Children’s Homes, Burwood. In the 1980s Church of England Homes Burwood changed their name to the Weldon Centre. This closed as a residential institution in 1993 due to a lack of government funding. In 2012 a former youth worker at the Weldon Centre contacted the Find & Connect web resource to donate a collection of 100 photographs, taken in 1981. These colour snapshots, which feature excursions and events within the home, have the names of children and workers written on the back. They have been deposited with the National Orphanage Museum (Care Leavers Australia Network).

  • Contact Details

Last Updated: October 10th, 2025

Glenside Health Services Records Manager- Contact Details

For access to South Australian mental health hospital records, please contact the Records Manager at Glenside Health Services: Address: PO Box 17, Fullarton SA 5063 or 2 Karrayarta Drive, Glenside SA 5065 Phone: 7087 1000 Email: healthGlensideinformationManagement@sa.gov.au Website: https://www.calhn.sa.gov.au/contact-us/freedom-of-information

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 10th, 2025

New South Wales

1969 - 1974

Bimbadeen Girls Home

Bimbadeen Girls Home in Cootamundra was established in 1969 by the New South Wales Department of Child Welfare in the buildings that had been used by the Cootamundra Girls Training Home. An article by Kabaila states that Bimbadeen was “a home for all races” (Kabaila, 1995). Some girls at Bimbadeen had previously lived in Cootamundra Girls Training Home. Bimbadeen Girls Home closed in 1974. Bimbadeen Girls Home was established in 1969 when the Aborigines Welfare Board was shut down and the Cootamundra Girls Training Home was closed. It was first run by the New South Wales Child Welfare Department, which later became the Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare and then was called the Department of Youth and Community Services. Some Aboriginal girls who had been in Cootamundra Girls Training Home remained on site at Bimbadeen, under the care of the Child Welfare Department. The institution closed when the government reviewed residential accommodation for children. Bimba

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 10th, 2025

Western Australia

1920s - 1980s

United Aborigines Mission records known to have existed

This page lists all of the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) archival records known to have existed and having once been in the organisation’s custody. Since the beginning of the Find & Connect web resource project, the UAM has disputed the scope and amount of records that have been identified as having once been held by the organisation.  Since at least 2015, the Find & Connect web resource has been aware of multiple First Nations people who had unsuccessfully attempted to access their own records from the UAM.  Due to the great importance of the UAM records to a large number of Stolen Generations members, the Find & Connect web resource has worked for years to try and engage with UAM and to ascertain information about the scope, content and whereabouts of its archives. The UAM

  • Page

Last Updated: October 9th, 2025

The Ridge

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 8th, 2025

Western Australia

1929 - 2020

United Aborigines Mission

The United Aborigines Mission (UAM) was established in 1929. Formerly, it was known as the Australian Aborigines Mission. Its missionaries were active in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, where the UAM established missions as well as institutions for children. All UAM children’s Homes had been shut down by the early 1980s. The UAM was wound up at the end of 2020. The UAM and its antecedents understood mission as the conversion to Christianity of Aboriginal people (Longworth, p.5). In the second half of the twentieth century, the shift in Australian government policy towards assimilation led to challenges for UAM and its institutions. The UAM was “deeply complicit in removal of First Nation children from their parents” (Bishop, 2024). Even after the closure of the last of its children’s institutions, the UAM continued to exist, the corporate body (also known as UAM Ministries) was based in the state of Victoria, as

  • Page

Last Updated: October 8th, 2025

UAM Ministries website

  • Contact Details

Last Updated: October 8th, 2025

New South Wales

Sisters of Charity – Contact Details

As of October 2025 the Sisters of Charity archives are un-staffed, and are closed for personal research enquiries. They are only able to assist with urgent legal enquiries at this time.   Please contact the Archives Manager, Sisters of Charity: Postal address: PO Box 21, Potts Point NSW 1335 Phone: (02) 9138 0840 Email: archives@rscoffice.com Website: https://www.sistersofcharity.org.au/our-story/congregational-archives

  • Page

Last Updated: October 8th, 2025

St Catherine’s Home – Brooklyn

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 7th, 2025

Queensland

Queensland State Archives

Queensland State Archives (QSA) is the lead agency for record keeping across Queensland’s public authorities. QSA manages a comprehensive recordkeeping policy framework to ensure the consistent creation, management, disposal, storage, preservation and retrieval of government information.

  • Archival Series

Last Updated: October 7th, 2025

Queensland

6 September 1916 - 10 July 1947

Jones Family Cutting Book

The Jones Family Cutting Book consists of press cuttings and correspondence collected by Thomas Jones, former Superintendent of Westbrook Reformatory School for Boys and Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook. The cutting book was presented to the Westbrook Youth Centre in 1987.The original is held at John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. There is a photocopy held at Queensland State Archives. Access Conditions This record is on open access and is available for viewing by the general public.

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 7th, 2025

Northern Territory

1963 - 1982

Lutheran Mission Block, Alice Springs

The Lutheran Mission Block was established in Alice Springs in 1938 by the Lutheran Church. In the 1950s Aboriginal children were cared for by an Aboriginal woman in a residential house on the block. In 1963 two cottages were opened. Each accommodated up to 12 children under the supervision of house mothers. Children attending school in Alice Springs and children under the care of the Welfare Branch lived in the cottages. The cottages closed in 1982. The Lutheran Mission Block was obtained in June 1938 by Pastor Albrecht from the Hermannsburg Mission. This block of six acres of land was located at 49 Gap Road in Alice Springs and became known locally as Mission Block. A small church was built on the site in December 1938. During the 1940s Pastor Albrecht visited fortnightly to provide church services and spiritual teaching. Trained Aboriginal lay ministers continued the work in between his visits. In 1942 the Acting Director of Native Affairs, Mr V J White noted that 50 adults and 1

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 7th, 2025

Victoria

1867 - 1919

Lake Condah Mission Station

Lake Condah Mission Station was established in 1867 as a Church of England Mission, approximately three kilometres from the Lake. The Lake Condah area in south western Victoria was home to the Kerrupjmara people prior to European occupation. The station was closed in 1919 after the government assumed control. The Lake Condah Station comprised a missionary cottage and kitchen, schoolhouse, children’s dormitory and store. A number of the buildings were weatherboard and in good condition. They also used local stone to build houses. There were 26 buildings in total. The church was built out of bluestone in 1883, but it was demolished in 1957. The Reserve was on 2,000 acres, of which 15 were under cultivation. The residents of Lake Condah were subject to a severe and strict regime. Missionary Stahle refused to support work certificates for residents to work on neighbouring farms – upsetting both the local farmers and Mission residents; he refused requests for family members to move on

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 7th, 2025

Western Australia

1955 - 1984

La Grange Mission

La Grange Mission, at La Grange Bay south of Broome, was established in 1955 when the La Grange Bay Ration Depot was transferred to the Pious Society of Missions (Pallottines). A school was established by the Pallotines in 1957, and until 1963 children at La Grange were under the guardianship of the Commissioner of Native Welfare. In 1968 there were more than 100 children under 16 years old. In 1984 La Grange Mission became the Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community La Grange Inc and its role in institutional out-of-home care ceased. La Grange Mission, 200 kilometres south of Broome, was established on 1 January 1955 when the La Grange Bay Ration Depot was transferred from the Department of Native Welfare to the Pious Society of Missions (Pallottines) for a mission. It was intended to train and employ Aboriginal youth and adults on a self-sustaining station. In 1957, the Sisters of St John of God came to La Grange to teach at the school and from 1959, lay missionaries also helped in the

  • Contact Details

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

South Australia

UAM Ministries – Contact Details

This page is unlike others on Find & Connect describing archival collections, in that it lists records known to have existed at some point in the past, but the whereabouts and very existence of which are currently not known. The United Aborigines Mission (UAM) was wound up at the end of 2020. In 2022, the Find & Connect web resource was advised by Sharrock Pitman lawyers that the following  postal address was now the only contact information for UAM Ministries. PO Box 172 Vermont, Victoria, 3133 David Reid, Minister of Religion and Accountant and former director of the UAM, swore an affidavit for the Yoorrook Justice Commission on 2 November 2023 which stated that the historical records of UAM, which were in storage in Williamstown, Victoria, were all destroyed following flooding in around July 2020, which was said to have resulte

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

Western Australia

c. 1894 - 1929

Australian Aborigines’ Mission

The Australian Aborigines’ Mission dates back to around 1894, in New South Wales. It was originally known as the La Perouse Aborigines’ Christian Endeavour Society, established in June 1894. The interdenominational Christian society was active in the Sydney beachside area of La Perouse, establishing a mission to work with the Aboriginal people, and opening its first church there in November 1894. The name of the group changed to the La Perouse Aborigines Mission Committee in July 1895. In September 1899, it became the New South Wales Aborigines Mission, the new name better reflecting its intention to expand across the state of New South Wales. In 1907 the Mission commenced work in other states and changed its name again to the Australian Aborigines’ Mission. A state council in Western Australia was formed in 1908. The Mission became active in South Australia from around 1919, starting in Oodnadatta. The AAM established a council in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1924. The AAM establishe

  • Page

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

Aborigines Mission

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

New South Wales

1908 - 1988

Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home

Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home, located near Nowra, was established in 1908 by the Australian Aborigines’ Mission (which became the United Aborigines Mission. in 1929). It was a home for children aged under 10 and ran until 1988. As the longest-running Aboriginal Children’s Home in NSW and the first Home to be established for Aboriginal children in NSW, it has been called “the birthplace” of the Stolen Generations in NSW. Bomaderry was started to receive seven Aboriginal children, six orphans and one baby rescued by Miss Thompson, a missionary working with Aboriginal people. A cottage was provided by Colebrook, the editor of the Bomaderry Mission’s paper. The home developed until it had four cottages, the last of which was opened on 29 May 1924. Up to 47 children were resident at the Home at any one time. In 1929, M.F. Morton, MLA. gave five acres of land to the home, bringing the total area of the property to nine acres. Although Bomaderry was always independent of the Ab

  • Contact Details

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

Victoria

Heritage and Background Information Service, Berry Street – Contact Details

Please contact the Heritage and Background Information Service, Berry Street : Postal address: PO Box 2171, Richmond 3121 Phone: (03) 9429 9266 Email: heritage@berrystreet.org.au Website: https://www.berrystreet.org.au/what-we-do/supporting-past-care-leavers

  • Contact Details

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

South Australia

Professional Standards Office Records Service of the Catholic Church – Contact Details

Please contact the Professional Standards Office Records Service of the Catholic Church: Postal Address: Catholic Diocesan Centre, 39 Wakefield Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Phone: (08) 8210 8275 or 1800 139 020 Email: receptionprofstandards@adelaide.catholic.org.au Website: https://adelaide.catholic.org.au/our-works-and-community/record-services-and-archives

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

South Australia

c. 1908 - c. 1976

United Aborigines Mission, records deposited with State Library of South Australia

United Aborigines Mission, records deposited with State Library of South Australia is an archival collection that came into the custody of the State Library of South Australia in late 2022. It comprises some records from the United Aborigines Mission archives, relating to Homes in South Australia, and the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home in New South Wales. Access Conditions The State Library of South Australia is in consultation with former residents and their families regarding access, the consultation process is expected to be concluded by the end of 2023, to be included in this consultation please contact the State Library. Records In December 2022, a representative of the defunct organisation, United Aborigines Mission, transferred records to the custody of the State Library of South Australia. Details of the records are provided below. The records deposited with the State Library of South Australia relate to Colebrook Home, Tanderra Girls’ Home, Oodna

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

South Australia

1912 - 1945

The Babies’ Home Walkerville

The Babies’ Home at Walkerville was established by the Church of England in Walkerville in 1912. It cared for, and often adopted out, babies born at the House of Mercy, a refuge for unmarried mothers. After the home closed in 1945, babies were placed at St Mary’s Mission of Hope. The Babies’ Home at Walkerville was established in 1912 by the Church of England at Gawler Terrace, Walkerville. It cared for babies born at the House of Mercy which operated in the same suburb. While the House of Mercy was a refuge for unmarried mothers, The Babies’ Home focused on after-care of their babies as well as other infants. The House of Mercy management committee ran the home until a separate committee was formed in 1915. The leading figure in its administration was Miss Nellie Barker. In 1914 the home was caring for 14 babies. The existing cottage was replaced in the early 1920s. In 1929 it was further extended to include a new annex named the Barker wing after Nellie Barker and her mother wh

  • Archival Collection

Last Updated: October 6th, 2025

South Australia

1912 - 1968

Babies’ Home Walkerville Records

Babies’ Home Walkerville Records is a collection of records created between 1912-1968 by staff of The Babies’ Home Walkerville. The records collection for the Home includes financial records, annual reports, minutes and correspondence. Access Conditions Former residents of the children’s Homes of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide and Church of England, or members of their families, can apply to the Diocesan Archivist to be provided with information and/or copies of records relevant to their time in care. Physical access to the historical records of the children’s Homes or the church’s Social Welfare Bureau is not permitted due to the fragility of the material and the need to protect the privacy of third parties. Records Record keeping practices varied significantly from one Home to another and from one time period to another, with respect to the quantity and types of records that were created and preserved. Many of the following records are fragmentary or incomplet

  • Page

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2025

A Melbourne office held vital records of Aboriginal children’s homes. How did they go missing?

  • Page

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2025

Affidavit of Catherine O’Neill

  • Page

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2025

Affidavit of Catherine Bishop

  • Page

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2025

Affidavit of David Reid, former Director of the United Aborigines Mission (UAM)

  • Organisation

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2025

Western Australia

1978 - 1989?

Katanning Group Home

Katanning Group Home (also known ‘Oxley Road’ or ‘Marribank Group Home’) was established in 1978, by the Baptist Union, to accommodate Aboriginal children from Marribank, possibly while they went to school in Katanning. By 1984, it was providing short-term and emergency care for up to six children. It had closed by 1989.

  • Contact Details

Last Updated: October 1st, 2025

Tasmania

Right to Information Team, DECYP – Contact Details

Please contact the Right to Information Team, Department for Education, Children and Young People: Postal Address: Right to Information Department for Education, Children and Young People GPO Box 169 Hobart, Tasmania, 7001 Phone: (03) 6166 0422 Email: RTI.PIP@decyp.tas.gov.au Website: Right to Information – Department for Education, Children and Young People

  • Photo

Last Updated: October 1st, 2025

Queensland

Kiah Hostel, Brisbane, Queensland, 1974

This is a copy of a photograph held by the National Archives of Australia in Series A8739, Aboriginal Affairs photographic negatives. It shows the exterior of Kiah Hostel in 1974.

  • Organisation

Last Updated: September 29th, 2025

Queensland

1929 - 1952?

Hammond Island Mission Orphanage

The Hammond Island Mission Orphanage, on Hammond Island, was run by the the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. It opened in 1929 and closed in January 1942, when the residents were evacuated to Cooyar. A boys’ dormitory housed the children. The orphanage reopened in 1948, ‘for only a short time’ (Deere, 1994). Hammond Island was originally declared a government reserve in 1881. The inhabitants were forcibly removed to Moa Island (also known as Banks Island) in 1922. In 1929, Father Doyle from the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, took about 15 ‘needy half-caste boys’ from the Thursday Island Catholic Orphanage to establish an orphanage on Hammond Island. They were originally housed in a galvanised iron house near the beach. The Church had built a new boys’ dormitory by 1932. A convent was built in 1935 and two Sacred Heart Mission Sisters went to live there at the beginning of 1936. The Sisters took over the school and became responsible for the domestic management of the pr

  • Page

Last Updated: September 29th, 2025

NSW boys home grounds to be explored after possible ‘clandestine’ human burial sites revealed

  • Organisation

Last Updated: September 29th, 2025

New South Wales

1923 - 1970

Kinchela Training Home for Aboriginal Boys

Kinchela Training Home, near Kempsey, was built in 1923 by the Aborigines’ Protection Board. It was intended to offer training in farm labouring to older boys who had been removed from their families under the Protection Board’s policies of apprenticing Aboriginal youths. Later it became a home for school-aged boys who had been removed from their families by the Aborigines Protection Board, the Aborigines Welfare Board or the Child Welfare Department. There were between 30 and 50 boys at the home at any given time. It was transferred to the Child Welfare Department in 1969 and closed in 1970. Kinchela Boys’ Home was modelled on Cootamundra Girls’ Home and was intended to offer ‘training’. The property included a dairy and farm and boys did all the labouring. There was a school, but farm training was the main focus of activities. There were many investigations into Kinchela Home during the 1920s and 1930s. At least one manager during this period was a violent alcoholic who physica