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The Open Door is a documentary film shot in 1948-49 to publicise the work being done at the Morialta Protestant Children’s Home, and appeal for donations to fund the building of cottage homes at Morialta. The film includes information about the history of the Home, and the process of admitting children to it. It follows the stories of two fictional residents at Morialta, Peter and Joan, and their journeys from childhood at Morialta to adulthood. It includes footage filmed at Morialta, and shots showing the daily lives of children at Morialta, including at meals, playtime, getting ready for bed, going to church, receiving medical care, and attending Christmas events. Access Conditions Access to records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People depicted in this film 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.

Hopewood, in Bowral, was a children’s home operated by the Youth Welfare Association of Australia (YWAA), which was founded by Leslie Owen Bailey. Bailey gathered 86 babies from unmarried mothers from 1942 until 1951 and raised them at Hopewood, and at smaller institutions in New South Wales, using his principles of ‘natural health’. Hopewood closed in 1970, after the Hopewood children reached adulthood. Hopewood was an experiment started by L.O. ‘Daddy’ Bailey, to raise 43 male and 43 female babies in a perfect environment, using his philosophies of ‘natural health’ or ‘natural living’. The 86 ‘Hopewood Children’, or ‘Hopewoods’, were told they were orphans and raised as ‘brothers and sisters’, although they were not adopted, or legally fostered. Bailey fed them all a vegetarian diet of mostly raw food, never allowed vaccination and avoided modern medicine. He recorded their progress, with assistance from doctors and dentists, and published widely about the success of his method

Gerard Mission was established in 1945 near Loxton by the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) to replace the Swan Reach Mission. A school and a children’s dormitory was established and 15 children from Swan Reach and Ooldea were initially accommodated. From the mid 1950s children attended the local Winkie School. The state government took control of the Mission in 1961, the Dormitory was closed and all children were sent to Colebrook Home, Eden Hills. In 1974 control of Gerard Mission was passed to the Indigenous residents and run by the Gerard Council. In April 1945 the United Aborigines Mission [UAM] purchased 5800 acres (2348 hectares) of land near Loxton with the intention of establishing a new Mission Station. The Mission was named Gerard Mission in honour of the South Australian President of the UAM. For some years the UAM had been seeking a new location to house children, particularly from their Swan Reach Mission. The secretary of the UAM had advised the Minister of Public Works

This series consists of the legal documents which committed children to an Industrial or Reformatory School, and was the first step in them becoming a ward of the State. They contain information including the child’s name, the name of the institution they were placed in, the date of their placement, general biographical information including about their parents and siblings, and notes on the reasons for their wardship. Unfortunately not all mandates have been retained by the department, and some have been destroyed. Only 5% of the mandates created between 1940 and 1970 survive. From 1972 mandates were instead placed on a child’s individual file, and were not aggregated into this series. Access Conditions Access to some of the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Those records over 100 years old are open and can be accessed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information abou

Overton Residential Nursery was established in Bendigo in 1962. It provided accommodation for infants and children under five years. Overton closed in January 1974. Overton Residential Nursery was established in 1962 by the Bendigo Creche Committee in a large single storey house close to the centre of Bendigo. Extensive alterations to the property provided accommodation for 17 children in an infant wing and six bedrooms for older children. Under Health Department Regulations, Overton was approved to function as a subsidised residential nursery and was registered to take children under 5 years under the Infant Life Protection provisions and as an approved children’s home. By late 1973, capacity had increased to 30 children. A combination of changes in child care philosophy, the lack of suitable local children for placement due to the development of other facilities in the region as well as ongoing financial pressures led to the closure of Overton in January 1974.

Truancy means intentional absences from schooling. Truancy became an offence when education became compulsory (under state education laws). This meant children charged with truancy could be arrested by police or truancy officers and committed to institutions such as industrial schools and reformatories. Magistrates could also fine parents for allowing a child to truant, and order the family be supervised under the probation system, or remove children from their families and commit them to an institution. Throughout the twentieth century truancy was one of the most common reasons children came to the attention of state welfare authorities. For example, truancy became an offence in Tasmania after the passage of the 1868 Public Schools Act which made education compulsory. In New South Wales, education was made compulsory in 1881, under the Public Instruction Act, and truancy became an offence. This meant children charged w

The Public Schools Act 1868 set up a Board of Education to establish public schools and made education compulsory for children aged between seven and 12 years. It provided for the children of parents who could not pay school fees to be educated anyway. It was amended by the Public Schools Amendment Act 1873. Children could be exempted from school attendance if they were privately educated, had parents who could not manage without their labour, could already read and write, or could not attend school safely. Failure to send children to school incurred a fine of 40 shillings.

The records of the Adelaide Children’s Hospital are held by State Records of South Australia. They may contain information about children who were wards of the state, or who had been placed in out-of-home care, and who received treatment at the hospital. They also contain admissions registers and a visitor’s book from Estcourt House, which was managed by the Hospital. Records about patients from the Adelaide Children’s Hospital include admission registers, a register of patient deaths, an index to physical therapy patients, and a small sample of patient records and client files. The collection also includes some administrative and correspondence records from the hospital. Access Conditions Some records in this collection are open

Terrigal Holiday Home, also known as Spurway Holiday House, was a holiday home for boys from the Church of England Boys Home, Carlingford. The home at Terrigal (also sometimes referred to as Wamberal) was donated to the Boys Home in 1942. In 2025 this Home was still operating as a holiday home.

Charlton Youth Services ran several Family Group Homes in the Sydney area from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. These were a half-way house at Summerhill (open 1976 to 1983), a half-way house for girls at Five Dock (open 1978 to 1984), and a Group Home for Boys at Canterbury (open March to November 1983). Little more about these family group homes is known. If you have more information about these homes please contact Find & Connect.

The Fairfield Home for Refugee Children was a children’s Home run by the Sydney Anglican Home Mission Society, via it’s 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.

Charlton Youth Services was an agency of the Anglican Home Mission Society and, after Anglicare was formed in 1985, of Anglicare Welfare Services. It was formed to manage Charlton Boys Homes in the 1950s. Charlton Youth Services provided care for older boys, many of whom were referred by the courts. By 2012, the name Charlton Youth Services was no longer in use. Some of its records, and records of boys’ homes that were under its supervision, are held by Anglicare Out-of-Home Care Service. Charlton Youth Services operated Charlton Boys Home at Glebe and Ashfield. The Ashfield complex included Milleewa, Robinson and Wright. They also operated Trigg at Granville; Lisgar at Summer Hill (which had previously been at Oatley, Bonnet Bay and Marrickville); Carramar at Girraween and Telopea; and Timaru at Macquarie Fields (Campbelltown) and Ingleburn. Charlton Boys Home at Ashfield consisted of three buildings built at 16 Brunswick Parade, on the former Milleewa boys home site. In the lat

Kingsdene Special School at Telopea provided schooling and residential care to children aged 10-18 from March 1976. It was run by the Anglican Home Mission Society’s Care Force division, the welfare arm of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, who described it as being for children and young people with “moderate to severe intellectual disabilities”. It closed in 2010 due to a lack of funding to continue operations. At the time of closure Anglicare (the successor to Care Force) stated that it was the only school in Australia providing education and accommodation for children with intellectual disabilities. Following the closure of the school, one of the buildings was redeveloped to support the expansion of work by Anglicare Out-of-Home Care Services. The residential portions of the Kingsdene Special School included a hostel on the school site (open from 1976 to 2010), and a group home called the Denison Group Home which opened as Denison Cottage at Seven Hills in 1985 before moving next d

This is an image of Brig House, which was later purchased by the Red Cross Society and used as the Lady Norrie Junior Red Cross Children’s Home. It shows a large, ornate, house surrounded by gardens. Two children can be seen standing in the garden looking at the house. This image was published in the Critic (Adelaide, SA) on 16 May 1917, as one of four photos in a set titled ‘Fete in aid of the Grange Red Cross Society, held at the Home of Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Fisher, “Brig House”, Grange’.

The Roman Catholic Orphan School at Parramatta was established on the 8 March 1844 and run by a committee. On the 31 March 1859, it was taken over by the Good Shepherd Sisters, later known as Sisters of the Good Samaritan. It was Australia’s first purpose built orphanage for Catholic children and received funding from the New South Wales Government. It housed about 320 children at time. At first they were aged 3 to 9 years, but in later years the Orphanage admitted infants and children up to the age of 14. In 1886 the Roman Catholic Orphan School was relocated to Manly Industrial School, and the site became the Parramatta Industrial School for Girls. Building work commenced in early 1840 and the Orphan School was formally occupied on the 8 March 1844 with the transfer of 114 children from the Roman Catholic Orphan School at Waverley (established in 1837 and closed when Parramatta was opened). A state-funded institution with staff employed by the government, the institution was manag

The Roman Catholic Orphan School was established at Waverley House, a large home in Waverley, in 1837. It was the first Catholic orphanage in Australia. It was opened in response to community concerns about Catholic children being placed in the government-run Protestant orphan schools, where they were raised as Protestants, not Catholics. The home was run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, but received financial support from the State Government. The Home had capacity for approximately 100 children. It took in both girls and boys, housing them in separate ‘schools’. The children were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and were sent to apprenticeships once old enough. The Home closed in 1844. In December 1840 it was reported in the Australasian Chronicle that a dinner had been held for the children at the Orphan School, funded by a local benefactor. The children ate roast beef, mutton, vegetables, and plum pudding. The benefactor requested that the dinner be an annua

Index cards relating to State Wards, often referred to as State Ward Index cards, or SWICs, are among the oldest records kept by the Government relating to children in care. They contain basic information about children in care, their parents/guardians, and where they were placed. These index cards were created as administrative records for children when they came into the care of the State Children’s Department and its successors. The cards were used from 1900 through to the early 1990s. During that time they were kept in the Central Records Branch of the Department. These index cards relate to children who were placed in children’s homes and other institutions, and to children who were placed in foster care. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Those records over 100 years old are open and can be accessed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records have a right to access

Vaccinations and infectious diseases log – Seaforth Home is a register used to record medical information about residents of the Seaforth Convalescent Home and Seaforth Home at Somerton Park between 1941 and 1973. It includes information about vaccinations received and infectious diseases contracted by the residents. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order 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. Records One side of each page is a register of vaccinations given, including vaccinations for polio, triple antigen, influenza, CDT (combined diphtheria and tetanus), and gamma globulin injections. The other side of the page is a register of infectious diseases contracted by residents. Information captured in the register includes dat

This is a series of administrative records from the Department for Community Welfare, the Department for Family and Community Services, and FamiliesSA. The records concern various subjects such as: minutes of meetings, ministerial enquiries, funding agreements, training programmes etc. related to the work of the Department. These files rarely mention the names of children. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order 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 Visitors’ Book – Boys’ Reformatory, Magill, is a single leather bound volume with the title embossed on the front cover. It was used by the Magill Boys Reformatory to record visits from 1933 to 1968 by government committees, members of the Children’s Welfare and Public Relief Board, community leaders, and local, interstate and overseas dignitaries and officials. The volume provided for the Date, Visitor’s Name, and Remarks. Visitors signed their names against the date and named the organisation that they were representing, or their profession, in the Remarks column. Many comments were also recorded in the Remarks column about visitors’ impressions of the reformatory and its work. Access Conditions This series is open and can be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records Of South Australia.  

These indexes to correspondence received by the Destitute Poor Department, Destitute Person’s Department and the Children’s Welfare and Public Relief Department are held by State Records of South Australia.The indexes include name of writer, number of file, date of letter, date of receipt of letter and subject of letter i.e.. “W. Holmes, 137, 7/3/1900, 9/3/1900, Maintenance of E.M. Howell’s child; Remittance on account of”. The indexes contain some references to destitute people who have NOT been admitted to the Destitute Asylum, the so called ‘town cases’. As the Town Cases Registers are now missing, and as much of Destitute Board correspondence prior to 1921 is also missing, these indexes may be the only trace left of such people. These volumes do not index the State Children’s Department files, but there are many references to the maintenance of children, and to letters from the State Children’s Department regarding children. Access Conditions Access to the records in thi

This series contains a volume that records details about patients admitted to the Northfield Consumptive Home, later the Morris Hospital. Information varies between patients, but generally includes name, date of admission, admission number, patient’s address, next of kin, age, religion, place of birth, length of residence in South Australia, occupation, doctor, duration of illness, where transferred from, and date of discharge or death. Access Conditions These records are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records of South Australia. Records There is an alphabetical index at the front of the volume. Patient admission numbers are preceded by the letter ‘B’ for cancer patients and the letter ‘C’ for tuberculosis patients. These patients were admitted separately, and their details were later compiled into this register.  

This series consists of registers of patients admitted to the Northfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, later the Northfield Wards of the Royal Adelaide Hospital. It includes basic information about people who were patients at the hospital, including name, date of admission and discharge, sex, age, occupation, marital status, contact details for family/friends, doctor, and destination on discharge. Some entries in the register note the diagnosis given to patients. The registers cover the dates 1932-1938 and 1951-1959. The location of the registers recording patients between 1938 and 1951 is not known. Access Conditions This series is open and can be viewed by any member of the public. To arrange access to these records please contact State Records of South Australia.

This series of Case Cards comprises a record of cases dealt with by the Women Police Branch. The date range of the cards runs from 1960 to 1973. Women Police during the period dealt primarily with the moral and social welfare of women and children, such as domestic issues or missing persons, with criminal offences being handled by the regular police force. The cards include basic personal details about the woman or child in question, alongside details of the incident, observations made by police, general information, and sometimes a photograph. These cards contain information about children who were placed at Glandore Children’s Home/Glandore Boys’ Home, and may contain information about children placed in other out-of-home care settings. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 75 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please

This series of Case Cards comprises a record of cases dealt with by the Women Police Branch. The date range of the cards runs from 1940 to 1974. Women Police during the period dealt primarily with the moral and social welfare of women and children, such as domestic issues or missing persons, with criminal offences being handled by the regular police force. The cards include basic personal details about the woman or child in question, alongside details of the incident, observations made by police, general information, and sometimes a photograph. These cards may include information about children who were placed in out-of-home care. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 75 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restricted records please contact the South Australian Police, Freedom of Information Unit. To arrange access to open records please co

Please contact the SA Police Information Services Branch, Freedom of Information Unit: Postal Address: GPO Box 1539, Adelaide SA 5001 Phone: (08) (08) 7322 3347 or (08) 8207 5590 Website: https://www.police.sa.gov.au/services-and-events/freedom-of-information  

This series contains the Observation Log of Seaforth Home for 1968 to 1973, which is titled “Wet Bed Book”. It includes notes about daily checks conducted on the beds of children in the morning and evening. Entries include the name of children, with ticks or crosses against their name to indicate if their bed was wet or dry. Entries for children have been divided into two groups – toddlers and schoolgirls – reflecting the different dormitories for the age groups. Access Conditions   Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. 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.    

Records of McBride Maternity Hospital, formerly Adelaide Maternity Home is a collection of records that date from 1893 to 1982 created by staff at the Adelaide Maternity Hospital, McBride Maternity Hospital and McBride Hospital. The records are held at the State Records of South Australia and include admission and discharge registers, clinical registers, patient information, case books and day books for mothers and infants. Access Conditions These records are closed to public access due to the Adoption Act 1988. To access these records you must complete a Freedom of Information (FOI) request form and submit it to the Department for Child Protection. You can contact the FOI team for assistance with your application. There is no fee to apply. If you do not want to approach the Department yourself, someone else (like a worker from a support service) can apply on your behalf. Records Records of McBride Maternity Hospital, formerly Adelaide Maternity Home, is a c

This series provides indexes to the admission registers for the Boys Reformatory at Magill and on the Hulk Fitzjames, and the McNally Training Centre. The indexes contain the name of the child and their admission number. It is not clear if all of the admission registers that contain the full admission entries for the children listed in this index have survived. 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 volumes are index-tabbed alphabetically. Loose pages were adhes

This series comprises five (5) registers of admissions to the Boys’ Reformatory, Magill from 1877 to 1943. Volume 1 also covers admissions to the Boys’ Reformatory Hulk, The Fitzjames. The information included in these registers varies over time, but most volumes give child’s admission number, name, age, date of birth, last place of residence, details of relatives, court of committal, reason for admission, date of admission, date of leaving and destination. Volume 1 covering the period 1877-1898 has columns for ‘ship’ and ‘how long in colony’, but most entries read ‘native born’. Some entries into the register mention transfers to or from other institutions, such as the Roman Catholic Boys’ Reformatory, Brooklyn Park. Access Conditions Access to records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Records older than 100 years are open access and can b

These records contain information required for the official handover of children from the Police or Court to the South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre (SAYRAC), and its predecessor Vaughan House. They record name, age, date of birth, police station or court and property belonging to youth, and note if they were to be returned to the Centre or released. Some entries are incomplete. Some records in this series are called ‘Receipt for mandate and/or person named thereon”, and contain similar information and were used for a similar purpose to the Property and personal disposition records. Some records in this series relate to young people who were transferred between the custody of police and the Children’s Court, but not to Vaughan House/SAYRAC. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. People mentioned in these records have a right to access information about themselves. To request access to restr

These Log Books contain information recorded by staff about the day-to-day occurrences at a number of children’s institutions run by the South Australian Government between 1961 and 1999. A number of different types of log books make up this series including: movement, programme, routine, observation, detention, Centre Duty Officer [CDO], day book, Matron, medical, visitors, maintenance, incident and separation logs. These log books have been archived under the name South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre, however they also relate to: Vaughan House, including the Elizabeth Grace Hostel; Brookway Park, including the Kulkami Unit; McNally Training Centre; South Australian Youth Training Centre; Lochiel Park Boys’ Training Centre’; Kandarik Cottage; Central Region Assessment/Admission Unit; Clarence Park Assessment Unit; Woodville Assessment Unit; Southern Region Admission Unit; Central Western Admission Unit; Hay Community Unit; and Enfield Community Unit. Access Conditi

These admission/intake cards make up an alphabetical index of youths admitted to the South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre (SAYRAC), previously known as Vaughan House. Although the card index is archived under ‘SAYRAC’ cards were also kept prior to the name change in 1979. The series also includes admission index cards for Lochiel Park (boys only) from 1979 to 1990. Access Conditions Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. 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. Records These admission/intake cards are also referred to as Liaison cards. They record details such as: (1) Name; (2) Age; (3) Date of birth; (4) Names and contact details of parents/guardians; (5) Height, weight and distinguishing marks; (6) Reasons admitted; (7) Court of commi

This series contains the applications and related records of assisted passage agricultural labourers who migrated to South Australia between 1911 and 1914, which may include boys who migrated under youth immigration schemes. These files were maintained by the immigration section of the Intelligence and Tourist Bureau, with information forwarded by the South Australian Emigration Agent in the United Kingdom. A list of the names of the almost 200 applicants mentioned in this series can be found on the Consignments page. Access Conditions These records 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. Records The records are foolscap sized papers, fixed together with file clips or split pins, each with a title page recording the following details: – Surname and Given names – Date of Arrival

Crusaders Camp Mission Hostel at Otford, near Sydney’s Royal National Park, was used by the Church Missionary Society in 1942 to house 98 Aboriginal children who had been evacuated from Croker Island, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory. The evacuees, who were accompanied by the Croker Island Mission staff, were wards of the Commonwealth Government. These children, who were aged 1 to 16, were defined at the time as ‘half-castes’. The evacuees had left by 1946. The Cairns Post and The Argus of 20 May 1942 reported that 98 ‘half-caste’ children from the Methodist Mission on Croker Island, Northern Territory, had arrived in Melbourne, after travelling seven weeks by lugger, truck, rail and foot via the Methodist Inland Mission in Alice Springs. The children were aged from 1-16 and the newspaper reported they would be sent to Sydney, to Otford (which The Cairns Post called ‘Oxford’), under the care of Mr K. Wale, superintendent of Croker Island Mission. Wale t

The Croker Island Mission was established by the Methodist Overseas Mission on Croker Island in 1941. Children from Darwin and Alice Springs were accommodated in temporary cottages until February 1942 when they were evacuated to institutions in New South Wales. In 1946 the children returned to Croker Island where they lived in eight new cottages. The Mission closed in 1968 and children were transferred to Somerville Cottage Homes in Darwin and to placements interstate. The Croker Island Mission was established by the Methodist Overseas Mission on Croker Island, 290 kilometres east of Darwin. In April 1939 a new Native Affairs Branch, run by a new Director took over control of the lives of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. Up until that time, Aboriginal children, particularly those deemed to be ‘half-caste’ were placed in the government-run institutions such as the Kahlin Compound in Darwin and the Bungalow in Alice Springs. In the early 1940s, the government began to disc

This series consists of completed application forms for assisted passage for immigrants travelling to South Australia from the United Kingdom, including boys travelling to work as farm apprentices in Australia under the Balliol Boys’ Club and Dreadnought immigration schemes. The forms include personal details about the applicants, their address in the United Kingdom, referees, name of their parent or guardian etc., date of arrival in South Australia and name of the ship they travelled on. Some of the applications include a photograph of the migrant. There are approximately 1500 files in this series. State Records of South Australia also holds two partial indexes to this series (GRG7/11 and GRG7/18) which may help identify relevant records. Access Conditions These records are open access and can be viewed by any member of the publ

The Dreadnought Trust was one of the first organisations to be involved in child migration in New South Wales. It raised funds to bring British child and youth migrant boys to Australia. The first Dreadnought Boys arrived in 1911. The scheme ended around the time of the Great Depression, in 1930. The Dreadnought Trust was established in 1909 when a meeting at Sydney Town Hall resolved to raise money to purchase a battleship for the British Navy. However the Australian Government decided in 1910 to establish an Australian navy, rendering the subscription irrelevant. A large part of the £90,000 raised was instead placed in a fund to bring British child migrant boys to Australia for training and assignment as rural workers. The first Dreadnought boys arrived in New South Wales in 1911, although the scheme was halted in 1914. It resumed in 1921, stopping again in 1930 because of the Depression. On arrival in Sydney the Dreadnought Boys were sent to government run farms at Yanco,

This series contains completed application forms for boys who travelled to South Australia under the Big Brother Scheme. The forms include personal details for each boy, address in the United Kingdom, referees, name of parent or guardian, date of arrival in South Australia and the name of the ship they travelled on. Files also contain correspondence between the applicant and the Immigration Department once the applicant arrived in South Australia. A list of the names of the approximately 125 boys who are mentioned in this series can be found on the Consignments page. Access Conditions These records 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 series contains completed application forms for boys who travelled to South Australia under the British Boy Farm Apprentice Scheme, also known as the Barwell Scheme. The forms include personal details for each boy, address in the United Kingdom, referees, name of parent or guardian, date of arrival in South Australia and the name of the ship they travelled on. Files also contain correspondence between the applicant and the Immigration Department once the applicant arrived in South Australia. A list of the names of the almost 1500 boys who are mentioned in this series can be found on the Consignments page. Access Conditions These records 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 series comprises correspondence files of the Colonial Surgeon’s office and its successors, including the Hospitals Department. The correspondence contains little information about patients, however it does include correspondence relating to the lunatic asylums and mental hostpials, and it may include correspondence related to Estcourt House and Mareeba Babies Hospital. The correspondence mostly relates to staffing matters, payment authorisations, and administrative issues. There is little information about hospital or asylum patients in these files, other than reports on exceptional incidents and attempts to recover payments. Unit 1 of this series directly relates to the Colonial Lunatic Asylum and the Adelaide Lunatic Asylum. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. Those records over 100 years old are open and can be accessed by any member of the public. People mentioned in these records h

Please contact the SA Health Freedom of Information Officer: Postal Address: PO Box 287 Rundle Mall, Adelaide SA 5000 Phone: (08) 8226 0705 Email: HealthFOIOCE@sa.gov.au Website: https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/Public%20Content/SA%20Health%20Internet/About%20us/Accessing%20information/Freedom%20of%20information  

This Visitors’ Book records information about people who visited Estcourt House. It includes details such as the date of the visit, name and address of visitor, and comments made by the visitor. Most visitors recorded in this book are members of church groups, societies, benefactors, dignitaries, and school groups. Some may be parents of children who were patients at Estcourt House. The book also includes some fake entries that were possibly written by children living at Estcourt house. Access Conditions These records 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.  

The Correspondence files of the Aborigines Office and its successors are the major series of correspondence of the state government department responsible for the administration of Aboriginal affairs in the period 1866 through to 1969. This includes the Aborigines Office from 1866 to 1912, the Aborigines Department, 1912-1962 and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, 1962-1969. The files include letters, memoranda, reports and many other documents. Files relate to individuals, families, Missions, Homes. Policies and many other subjects. Access Conditions A Research Centre Members card, obtainable at the Archives, is required to research records held at State Records. Although some very early records relating to children in care in South Australia are open for access, most records relating to children are subject to a 100 year restriction, particularly those which contain personal information about individuals. Written permission must be obtained from the government agency

This series contains copies made by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1966 of the Report of the Sub-Protector of Aborigines for the year ended 31 December 1878 and the Report of the Sub-Protector of Aborigines – Aborigines of the Far North and West Coast, dated 20 March 1892. It also includes annual reports of the Protector of Aborigines for the years ended 30 June 1901 to 1918, and the annual reports of the Chief Protector of Aboriginals for the years ended 30 June 1919 to 1939, the annual reports of the Aborigines’ Protection Board for the years ended 30 June 1940 to 1962, and the annual reports of the Aboriginal Affairs Board for the years ended 30 June 1963 to 1965, 1968 to 1971. Some of the annual reports contain photographs. Access Conditions This series is 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.  

These minutes include references to placements of Aboriginal children and may contain references to Campbell House as it was specifically developed for Aboriginal youths. These minutes also refer to Kurbingai Hostel. This is not a continuous series of minutes – there are gaps between December 1945 and August 1954, and between July 1957 and July 1960. Access Conditions This series is 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 series contains administrative type files created by the various government departments responsible for the running and supervision of children’s homes and other institutions. Although most of the files were created in 1972 or later, they also contain information dating back to 1918. Subjects covered by these files include aboriginal matters, child protection, community development, complaints, fostering of children, social planning, research and development, and young offenders. These files may contain material related to many Government Homes and non-government Homes under the supervision of the Department. Access Conditions Access to records in this series is partially restricted in order to protect personal privacy. Some items in this series are restricted for 100 years, some for 50 years, and some for 20 years, while others are open and can be viewed by any member of the public. Some items are permanently restricted subject to legal priveledge. People mentioned in

This series includes liaison files for young Aboriginal people remanded at the South Australian Youth Training Centre and Magill Training Centre. The files include personal information about the young people, including family and personal background, medical history and psychiatric reports, history of interactions with the courts, names and contact details of their relatives and associates, as well as more administrative information such as court mandates, assessment panel reports, liaison court instructions, and admission reports. Access Conditions Access to the records in this series is restricted for 100 years in order 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.

This series includes records about the official handover of young people to the Children’s Courts or the custody of South Australian Police from the McNally Training Centre/South Australian Youth Training Centre. There are two sets of records in this series, which include similar information. One set of records, called ‘Personal disposition/property advice records’, include the name of the young person, their age, date of birth, police station or court involved, property belonging to the young person and a signature where property has been returned to them, and a note stating whether they needed to be returned to the Centre after the transfer. The other set is called ‘Receipt for mandate and/or person named thereon forms’, and includes the name of the young person, name of the police station, mandate number and date, physical condition of the young person, date and time of movement, and property belonging to the young person. Some records dated between 1984 and 1988 refer to a centre c