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Discussions about access to records for Care Leavers often focus on issues like redaction and the complex web of legal mechanisms governing who can and cannot consult records. But proactive disclosure of information also plays an integral role in providing access to records. Read More…

Access to records may take longer than usual due to COVID-19 restrictions, but Find & Connect support services are here to help

Recently at Lotus Place we have noticed a flurry of interest in service records, particularly from World War Two. Overwhelmingly these relate to fathers / grandfathers / brothers / uncles but there are also a number of mothers / grandmothers / sisters / aunts who enlisted. People find a range of benefits when they access a service record.Read More…

Following on from our last post, here’s a list of podcasts, interviews & exhibitions focused on Australia’s history of out-of-home care. Read More…

By the 1960s, the Queensland Government was using Wolston Park adult mental health facility to house children who were wards of the state. Read More…

This is a recent image of Struan Farm School at Naracoorte, now known as Struan House.

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

Babies, usually from unwed mothers, were handed in to the Foundling Hospital until 1954. They were registered with a number & given a new name to disguise any connections to their birth families. Read More…

Some of our readers might be interested in a recent publication, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the unveiling of the memorial to Victorian Forgotten Australians.Read More…

This photograph was taken at Northcote Training Farm school, Glenmore, Victoria. It shows three boys in overalls (presumably residents of the training farm) forking hay onto a small cart.

A memorial dedicated to children who were in institutional ‘care’ has recently been installed on the Geelong foreshore in Victoria. The hand-carved limestone couch (by local artist Jacinta Leitch) was officially launched in July 2015. Read More…

Bob was abused in Homes in Qld from 1959 to 1964. He died waiting for redress.

This is a digital copy of a black and white print of a glass plate negative. This is from an album produced to document demolition works in the City of Sydney.

This is a photograph of Waverley House, which housed the Roman Catholic Orphan School from 1837-1844, and then the Church of England Orphanage during the 1890s and 1900s, before it was demolished in 1904. The photograph shows the front a two-storey mansion facing the road, with a front path leading through hedges up to the house. A man can be seen walking past the house. This photograph is undated, the date given is an estimate.

Imagine a participatory art project aimed at developing archives inspired by creativity and respect … Read More…

St Paul’s School for the Blind opened in 1957 in Kew and was run by the Villa Maria Society. It admitted some wards of state, and operated two residential units in Kew and Alphington. For most of its history St Paul’s School was located at 6 Studley Park Road, Kew (also described as 13 Fernhurst Grove). In 2018 it moved to 3 Brenbeal Street, Balwyn. In the late 1970s, the school expanded to teach children with other disabilities. At some point St Paul’s ceased providing residential care for children. In 2019 it continues to operate as St Paul’s College, located in Balwyn, a ‘Catholic specialist school for children with a wide range of intellectual, physical, profound multiple and sensory disabilities’. St Paul’s School for the Blind was run by the Villa Maria Society, which was formerly the Catholic Braille Writers’ Association of Victoria from 1907 to 1948. Brother O’Neill (d.1968), a Christian Brother, was the first principal. As this facility admitted state wards from time to

The Office for Children, Youth and Family Support was established in 2004. It is an administrative unit of the Community Services Directorate (formerly the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services). The Office works to provide care, support and protection services to children, young people and families in the Australian Capital Territory. In addition, the Office is responsible for youth justice services and the monitoring and licensing of children’s services.

Please contact the Freedom of Information team, Community Services Directorate: Postal Address: GPO Box 158, Canberra ACT 2601 Phone: (02) 6205 3296 Email: csd.foi@act.gov.au Website: https://www.act.gov.au/directorates-and-agencies/access-act-government-information

You might have noticed we haven’t been as active recently on our blog – it has been a busy month for the team. We have been out and about gaining and sharing knowledge and raising the profile of the Find & Connect web resource. Read More…

Lillimur was a children’s home established on 11 acres at Dubbo by the United Protestant Association in 1947. It was the sixth United Protestant Association home and was initially for girls, but was converted to a boys’ home in later years. It closed in September 1978.

Narrabundah House Indigenous Supported Accommodation (NHISA) is run in partnership with government and non government agencies. It provides supported accommodation for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men aged 12 to 18 years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The services offered by Narrabundah House Indigenous Supported Accommodation include culturally based residential and integrated programs.

“This award is for organisations that have increased public awareness of a specific body of documents through compilation, transcription, exhibition, or public presentation” A background to Find & Connect’s Hamer Keegan Award Read More…

Although we’re hearing a lot about the economy, asylum seekers, “jobs & growth”, climate change, negative gearing, health and education during this looooong federal election campaign, it is heartening to see that out-of-home care and supporting young people leaving care are emerging as issues. Read More…

This image is of the Boys’ Reformatory, Magill and the Boys Reformatory, Magill.

“He is a bad egg. His history of offences and reoffences is too long to list. We’re talking graffiti-ing. Littering. Smashing stuff. Burning stuff. Breaking stuff. Stealing stuff. Throwing rocks. Running away … and that’s just the stuff we know about …” This is a description of Ricky Baker, the hero of the (now showing) NZ comedy film Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Read More…

A lot has changed in the decade since we first launched and we’re not slowing down

Spring brings warmer weather and more work to do in the garden, as these children tending their vegetable patches knew well.

Testing the upgraded website platform

The Find & Connect Support Services will be taking a break over the xmas-new year period, here’s when to contact them what you need to know.

The Support Service Series showcases Find & Connect Services in each state. Here you can get an idea of what happens after you contact a service. Read More…

Records can turn up in the least expected places, and sometimes with a little help from The Seekers

It’s a sad fact that many people who were in care do not know what they looked like as children. When I was the Find & Connect Client Liaison Officer I received many emails from people desperately searching for photographs and video footage of themselves and their relatives. Read More…

Legacy is a national organisation that was established in 1923 to assist men returned from the Great War and their families. Initially established to improve business prospects for returned soldiers, in 1925 Legacy’s focus became the provision of assistance to the children of deceased servicemen. In the state of Victoria, Melbourne Legacy ran a number of Homes from 1942 until the 1980s. From around 1942, Melbourne Legacy operated a number of residential homes for children. Its first Homes, Holmbush and Stanhope, were residential hostels for children or young people aged nine years and over attending some form of educational institution, including tertiary institutions. In 1947, Legacy established a home for younger children in Beaumaris, known as Blamey House. In 1950, another hostel, Harelands, opened in Kew. Children placed in institutions operated by Legacy were sometimes referred to as ‘repatriation wards’. According to the guide Finding your story, Legacy holds