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Barton’s Mill Prison originally functioned as a timber workers’ camp. In 1942 the military requisitioned Fremantle Prison at short notice, leaving authorities with no option but to find another location for the inmates. Barton’s Mill was chosen, initially housing all prisoners until escapees and those considered a maximum security risk were returned to Fremantle. Young male offenders were placed at Barton’s Mill Prison in conditions that were considered by many at the time to be inappropriate and dangerous. Boys were reportedly locked into rooms individually at night, however accounts from a superintendent at the time state that there was no segregation between any

This is a photograph showing some of the cell huts at the deserted Barton’s Mill Prison site.

Udialla Station was established south of Derby in 1944 as a government-run training facility for ‘part-Aboriginal’ people, including children under the guardianship of the Commissioner of Native Welfare. Udialla closed in 1949 and the residents were transferred to the La Grange Bay Feeding Depot. Udialla Station was purchased by the Department of Native Affairs on a ‘walk in – walk out basis’ from Mr Darcy Ryder on 27 December 1944, according to the department’s annual report in 1945 (p.8). However, the department did not immediately occupy Udialla, which continued to be worked by Mr Ryder. The purpose of Udialla as described in the 1945 annual report (pp.7-8) was to provide a ‘Government institution’ for the ‘reception of coloured people as distinct from full-blood’. The government needed a ‘modern type of institution’ for the ‘education and training of the Broome coloured people to other means of livelihood away from the pearling industry and its Asiatic influences’. Udialla Stati

Halls Creek Mission was run by the Australian Inland Mission from 1943. Children at the Mission were under the guardianship of the heads of the departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare. In 1955, some people from Moola Bulla Station moved the Mission when the Station closed. Halls Creek Mission closed in 1960. From 1948 to the mid 1950s the town of Halls Creek gradually moved from its first site near the old gold mine to its present site approximately 13km to the West. The Australian Inland Mission at Halls Creek also made this move, opening its hospital and hostel in the new township in June 1954. Halls Creek Mission was converted to the government-run Charles Perkins Hostel by 1962.

The United Aborigines Mission, Halls Creek, was established in 1957. Until 1963, children at the mission were under the guardianship of the Commissioner of Native Welfare. The mission was closed in 1967.

‘Wotjulum 1955’ is an image published in Mowanjum: 50 years community history (p.79). It shows the Wotjulum site, which is made up of a series of small shacks located along a dirt track.

Wotjulum, near Yampi, was established as a mission station by the Presbyterian Church in 1951, with people transferred from Kunmunya Station and the government station at Munja. Children at Wotjulum were under the guardianship of the Commissioners responsible for Aboriginal welfare. Wotjulum closed in 1956 and residents were transferred to Mowanjum, near Derby. Wotjulum, near Yampi, was established as a mission station by the Presbyterian Church in 1951, with people transferred from Kunmunya Station and the government station at Munja. Children at Wotjulum were under the guardianship of the Commissioners responsible for Aboriginal welfare. In his report to the Department of Native Affairs in 1952, the superintendent of Wotjulum reported that all school-age children undertook correspondence lessons ‘under white supervision’. Older children were given ‘technical training in carpentry, boatwork and engineering or stockwork’ but this was ‘not as thorough as was planned’ due to staff

Wotjulum, near Yampi, was established by the United Aborigines Mission in 1934, with people transferred from Sunday Island. In 1937 Wotjulum closed and the mission returned to Sunday Island. Children at Wotjulum were under the guardianship of the heads of the departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare. In 1951, the Presbyterian Church opened a mission on the Wotjulum site, but the two missions were not related even though they shared the same name. Wotjulum, near Yampi, was established by the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) in 1934, with people transferred from Sunday Island. According to the Minister for the North-West in 1945, the Sunday Island Mission had moved from the island to Wotjulum on the mainland and back to Sunday Island again because the ‘adult natives were not willing to stay at Wotjulum’. Children at Wotjulum were under the guardianship of the heads of the departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare. Young people from Wotjulum could be placed out at se

‘Map West Kimberleys’ is an image published in Mowanjum: 50 years community history (p.23). It shows a map of the West Kimberley region, with names of communities and landmarks along the coast from Bigge Island to King Sound identified.

Sunday Island Mission was re-established by the United Aborigines Mission after a brief period at Wotjulum (1934-1937). It returned to the original site of the Sunday Island Mission (1899-1934). Children at Sunday Island were under the guardianship of the heads of the departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare until 1963. Sunday Island Mission closed in 1964.

This photograph was taken by Gavan McCarthy while visiting Ellensbrook. It shows the building that was Ellensbrook Farm Home.

‘Homestead from the north’ is an online image that is published on the State Heritage Register entry for Place No. 00115, Ellensbrook. Ellensbrook Farm Home was a Home for Aboriginal children from 1899-1917. This photograph was taken by Penny O’Connor.

Ellensbrook Farm Home, near Busselton, was a government-run ‘farm home’ established in 1899 by the Aborigines Department. Up to 11 Aboriginal women and children were admitted for education and training. It closed in 1917. Ellensbrook Farm Home, on the south-west coast, was a ‘domestic-scale’ farm home for Aboriginal children and women. There is some doubt about when it was established. In his 1900 report, the Protector of Aborigines, Henry Prinsep, says that he established the instutition. Tilbrook, however, says it was established in 1879 by the Church of England. As Prinsep’s report (p.4) says that the ‘lady in charge’ was ‘well experienced in the treatment of natives’ it is possible that Ellensbrook was operating with support from the Church of England from 1879, as Tilbrook suggests. However, it is likely that Ellensbrook started to operate ‘officially’ only from 1899. The lady in charge was Prinsep’s niece, Edith Bussell. Prinsep said in his report in 1900 that the childr

This is a digitised copy of a negative and is part of the pair of images titled ‘Infectious Diseases Hospital under construction, Subiaco, February 1938 [picture]’ held at the State Library of Western Australia. The image shows the outside of the Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital while it was under construction.

Gnowangerup Mission was established in 1926 by Hope and Hedley Wright on behalf of the Australian Aborigines’ Mission, on a 6.5 acre Government Reserve just outside Gnowangerup. In 1929 the Australian Aborigines’ Mission became the United Aborigines Mission and the Wright’s continued to run the Mission on their behalf. The Mission moved two miles out of Gnowangerup to a 190 acre plot in 1935. The mission closed in 1973. Gnowangerup Mission was originally established on land provided by Gnowerangup Shire Council one mile southwest of Gnowangerup on Tambellup Road by Hope and Hedley Wright. The Mission was run under the auspices of the Australian Aboriginal Mission, and later the United Aborigines’ Mission. The Mission included a school. During the early 1930s there was much concern about the location of the Mission and in 1935 a new Mission Station was opened two miles north-east of Gnowangerup. The official opening happened in November 1935. The buildings were transferred to the

The Metropolitan Infectious Diseases began 1938 in Subiaco (later known as Shenton Park). It was previously the Victoria Hospital for Infectious Diseases. The Hospital offered rehabilitation for patients with polio and paraplegia. From 1956 it was known as the Shenton Park Annexe. After 1938 the focus of the Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital encompassed the rehabilitation of patients with polio and paraplegia. From 1956 it was known as the ‘Shenton Park Annexe’ and then the Royal Perth Rehabilitation Hospital in 1966.

This is a digitised copy of a slide and is part of the group of six images titled ‘Gnowangerup Mission run by the United Aboriginal Mission, January 1958 [picture]’. The image shows young children outside at Gnowangerup Mission.

‘The First Home, 1894’ is a copy of an image of the Salvation Army Home for Neglected Girls at its first location in Claisebrook Road, Perth, in 1894.

The Salvation Army Home for Neglected Girls was established in 1894 in Claisebrook Road, Perth (East Perth), for women and girls with a range of needs. The Home moved to Summers Street, East Perth in 1895. In 1898, new premises were built and the Home moved to Cornelie House in Lincoln Street (North Perth, Highgate). The Salvation Army Home for Neglected Girls began on 27 December 1894 at Claisebrook Road, after Cheriton Street, East Perth. It was also known as the Salvation Army Rescue Home. The Home was established by J and H Fuller, female Salvation Army officers, who came to Western Australia from Melbourne and Adelaide for this purpose. In a memoir recalling the Home, J Fuller reported that the first house, in Claisebrook Road, was a ‘nice cottage but the conveniences and water supply were a fair distance from the home’ with a deep well from which water could be drawn with difficulty, and had to be strained before it was fit to use. At first, ‘girls and women were not eager

‘Cornelie Home, exterior’ is a digital copy of an item held in the Cornelie Court social homes closed lever-arch file at the Salvation Army Heritage Museum WA. The item is an undated photocopy with ‘Graceville’ written on the caption. This may mean the photograph was taken after 1903, when the Cornelie Home’s name was changed to Graceville.

Cornelie Home was the name given in 1898 to the Salvation Army’s rescue Home when it moved to North Perth (Highgate) from Perth (East Perth). It accommodated single mothers, pregnant women, elderly women and women who had been released from prison. In 1903 the maternity program transferred to The Open Door, (which later became ‘Hillcrest’), in North Fremantle and Cornelie was renamed ‘Graceville’. Cornelie Home was the name given in 1898 to the Salvation Army’s rescue Home when it moved to North Perth (Highgate) from Perth (East Perth). The 1900 report of the Aborigines Department showed that the Salvation Army Rescue Home received grants of £3 5s. It is likely that this referred to the Cornelie Home. The Chief Protector, Henry Prinsep referred in the report (p.4) to the ‘occasional help in the care of children’ given by the Salvation Army’. The Cornelie Home was a fifteen-room house, purpose-built as a Rescue Home for women and maternity home for ‘unmarried girls’ on land gr

A Government Industrial School was established in 1893 at Claisebrook, and moved to Subiaco in 1897. It was originally for girls, and was then used for older children and for the ‘temporary reception’ of children awaiting other placements. By 1902 it was called the ‘Government Industrial School and Receiving Depot’ and by 1907 it was known as the ‘Government Receiving Depot’. A Government Industrial School was established in 1893, after the passage of the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Act 1893. Although originally intended for young girls, the Government Industrial School was soon admitting older children and was increasingly used for the temporary reception of children awaiting more permanent placements, or while parents were unable to care for them. This ‘reception’ function soon became part of the institution’s title, persisting until 1980. The ‘Report by the Superintendent of Public Charities and Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, 1902’ (p.16) noted

‘Government Industrial School for Boys and Girls’ is an image included (p.26) in the Report by the Superintendent of Public Charities and Inspector of Industrial and Reformatory Schools, etc., for the year ending 31 December 1900. This image shows a long single-storey stone building, with an elaborate central front entrace flanked by small turrets on each side. Several dozen children in white uniforms are standing on the lawn in front of the building, behind a white picket fence.

The Female Home, or Poor House, began in 1851, and was then named the ‘Servants’ Home’. From 1854, destitute or orphaned children under 10 years of age were admitted. It was first run by the Ladies’ Friendly Society, but by the mid-1850s was government-run. From 1902, children were instead admitted to the Government Industrial School and Receiving Depot. The Female Home (Women’s Home) in Perth closed in November 1909 and moved to Fremantle. The Female Home, or Poor House, began in 1851 as a Servants’ Home’, a temporary Home for female servants who had left one position and were searching for another, run by the Ladies’ Friendly Society. Mrs Fitzgerald, the wife of the Governor, stimulated interest in the venture. Later in 1851 the Governor, wideneing its function to include a reception home for ‘immigrant’ servants awaiting work in the colony, used public funds to pay for a matron and staff, and purchase a building on the corner of Pier and Goderich Streets. Children were admitted,

‘Wanslea Hostel (1943-1946) 30 Bulwer Street, in 2013’ is a copy of a digital image from Google Street View, showing 30 Bulwer Street, the site of the former Wanslea Hostel (1943-1946).

Wanslea Hostel was established in North Perth (Mt Lawley) in 1943 by the Women’s Australian National Service (WANS) for young children who could not live at home due to parental sickness or war-related absence. It closed in 1946 and was replaced by a larger children’s Home, Wanslea (Cottesloe), in January 1947. Wanslea Hostel was established in North Perth (Mt Lawley) in 1943 by the Women’s Australian National Service (WANS) for ‘the children of sick mothers who were wives of servicemen’. The hostel was at 30 Bulwer Street, in a building which had previously been the Lister Private Hospital and Nurse Harvey’s Maternity Hospital. Renovations were undertaken, including repainting in pastel shades, and the construction of children’s hot and cold showers, playground and child-size beds. When the hostel was officially opened on 8 November 1943, 30 children were living there and by December 1943, there were 87 children in residence, 53 being children of servicemen. It closed in 1

Carrolup, near Katanning, was a government-run ‘native settlement’ which had been closed in 1922 and was and re-opened by the Department of Native Affairs in 1939. By 1944, there were 129 boys, girls and older children in government ‘care’ at Carrolup. In 1951, the government withdrew most of the children from Carrolup and it was re-opened as a Marribank Farm School. Carrolup, near Katanning, was a government-run ‘native settlement’ which had been closed in 1922 and was and re-opened by the Department of Native Affairs in 1939. By 1944, there were 129 boys, girls and older children in government ‘care’ at Carrolup. Children at Carrolup were under the guardianship of the Commissioner for Native Affairs. The Sunday Times reported in 1947 that Native Affairs Minister Ross McDonald said ‘much interest was evidenced in the recent exhibition of drawings of children of Carrolup school for natives exhibited in Perth. All the pictures were purchased and realised £74, which will be

Cawley House was one of the group Homes in the grounds of the government-run Walcott Centre in Mt Lawley. In 1984, Cawley House was replaced by the Bedford Park Hostel. Cawley House was a government-run group Home, created when the Walcott Centre was divided into two separate Homes, Andrew House and Cawley House. Cawley House was staffed by a senior group worker, and four groupworkers, one on each shift. The purpose of group Homes at this time was to offer ‘behaviour management and social skills’ programs. Some of the children or young people at Cawley House may also have attended the Walcott School, on the campus. In January 1984, the Cawley House program moved to the Beford Park Hostel, in Bedford.

Mount Henry Hospital in the Perth suburb of Manning was used as a residential facility to accommodate young people with disabilities in a nursing home environment in 1997. The government-run hospital closed in mid-1998.

This is a digital copy of an image that was part of the Mental Health Museum WA Inc’s collection of images. The image shows the Pyrton complex of buildings.

Pyrton was a government-run Home for children diagnosed with profound intellectual disabilities. It opened in 1966 in Eden Hill (Lockridge) with children transferred from Claremont Hospital. Pyrton provided long-term accommodation and short-term respite ‘care’. From 1973, young people could be employed in an onsite Training Centre. No children were admitted to Pyrton after the 1980s. Pyrton residents were moved into community-based hostels or to Mount Henry Hospital by 1997 and Pyrton was closed by 1998. Pyrton opened on 12 December 1966. It was established and run by Mental Health Services. Pyrton was built on land once owned by the Drake-Brockman family, and took its name from the village in England where Elizabeth Drake-Brockman had once lived. The first building at Pyrton was the Primary Unit, later called ‘Myoora’. It had four dormitories. The Secondary Unit (‘Pindarra’) had a two metre high fence and no gardens. A Tertiary Unit (‘Carramar’) was built in 1975 to provide a mo

St Gerard’s Hospital was a maternity hospital for ‘unmarried women’ run by the Sisters of Mercy. St Gerard’s opened in 1944 and closed in 1971 or 1972. The building that was St Gerard’s was refurbished as a group home called ‘Davis House’, which was part of the Catherine McAuley Family Centre. The Foundation Stone for St Gerard’s was laid in 1938 but a heritage study has found that the hospital was not opened until 1944.

The Phoebe Holmes Hostel in Subiaco was run by the Slow Learning Children’s Group from 1961 as accommodation for young people with developmental disabilities.

The Union Street Hostel was established by the Slow Learning Children’s Group in 1959 in Subiaco. It was used for short-term accommodation for young women with special needs. In 1960 the property was set up as a ‘training centre’ and in 1961 became the Phoebe Holmes Hostel.

The two storey Meath Wing was added to the Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home in 1909. The home stood on the corner of Warton Street and Swanbourne Terrace (now Marine Parade) and provided care for those recovering from a serious illness. It is now the site of the Wearne Hostel.

The Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home was established at Cottesloe Beach in 1897 for adults. A few children were admitted as paying inpatients during the early years of the Home, but thereafter were only admitted to the Convalescent Home during 1943, when 50 children from rural WA came to stay as part of a Country Women’s Association holiday program.

This is a digitised copy of a negative and is part of the group of four images titled ‘King Edward Memorial Hospital [picture]’. Held at the State Library of Western Australia. The image shows the outside of the main building of the King Edward Memorial Hospital.

King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) has been Western Australia’s principal public maternity and gynaelogical hospital since 1916. Many young women in out of home care were admitted there, and many babies were adopted from KEMH. In 1958, following overcrowding in the maternity wards of KEMH, the state government purchased Kensington House, at 91 Hensman Road. This was a former private maternity hospital which was converted into an annexe of KEMH known as Kensington Annexe. This was primarily used as a maternity facility, including as a place where women stayed prior to giving birth and their babies being adopted out. In 2023, KEMH apologised for its role in past forced adoption practices, noting that “there has been a myriad of painful enduring conseqences…we are deply sorry for the trauma and heartbreak that resulted for all those who have been affected by this practice”. King Edward Memorial Hospital was mentioned in the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adopti

St Anne’s Nursing Home was a maternity and general hospital run by the Sisters of Mercy from 1937 in the Perth suburb of Mount Lawley. Many babies were adopted from St Anne’s. Around 1958, the Home became known as St Anne’s Maternity Home. St Anne’s Nursing Home was mentioned in the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices Inquiry (2012) as an institution that was involved in forced adoption.

Devonleigh, in Peppermint Grove, was a former maternity hospital that was used by Mental Health Services (MHS) to accommodate children with intellectual disabilities from 1979 until it closed in 1987. On the closure of the Devonleigh Maternity Hospital it was proposed to use the facility to accommodate up to 32 children with moderate intellectual disabilities, who were to be transferred from Pyrton Training Centre. It was also proposed to repurpose the on-site nurses quarters into an independence training home for 6 to 8 people, as well as using the former matron’s quarters as a training day centre for adults. Mental Health Services took control of Devonleigh Hospital in November 1979, and it is likely that the first residents moved into Devonleigh in 1980. In 1981 a visiting physician spoke about the impersonal nature of Devonleigh, where children wore ‘clothing stamped with MHS in large letters’. Devonleigh was mentioned in the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Force

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

This is a copy of a photograph within the Rica Erickson collection held by the State Library of Western Australia. It shows the exterior of Devonleigh Hospital, a number of cars and a person (presumably a doctor).

This is a a digital copy of a photograph held on the Australian Heritage Database. It shows the building and grounds of ‘Nulsen Haven’ a Home for children with intellectual disabilities. At the time this photograph was taken, the building was no longer being used to accommodate children.

Nulsen Haven was a home for children with intellectual disabilities. It was run by the Mentally Incurable Children’s Association (MICA) in the Perth suburb of Redcliffe from 1956. In May 1975 a new dormitory was opened at Nulsen Haven. In 1986, MICA became the Nulsen Haven Association Inc (known as ‘Nulsen’). By 1992, the Home was closed and the now-adult residents were transferred to community-based Homes.

Hawkevale was started by the Slow Learning Children’s Group (SLCG) on a property in Maida Vale in 1957. It was a ‘farm village’ for adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities, and offered accommodation, employment and recreation. Hawkevale was replaced by a new facility in High Wycombe in 1970. Hawkevale was named after the Premier, Mr Bert Hawke and Maida Vale, the suburb where it was first located. Construction at Hawkevale started in September 1956. Originally, it was planned to house 20 men who were over the age of 18 at Hawkevale but in fact it started up with four adolescent boys (aged 16-19) and one young adult (aged 29). In July 1960, the Commonwealth government announced that it would be reclaiming the Hawkevale land for the new Perth airport. In December 1961 the SLCG purchased 290 acres of land further east along Kalamunda Road in High Wycombe. Construction work began in April 1964 and a residential workshop was run there after the Maida Vale site closed. On

Thyis is an image showing the exterior and gardens of Heathcote Hospital in Applecross, Western Australia.

Heathcote began in 1929 on Point Heathcote at Applecross. It was first known as the Heathcote Reception Home, and was a government hospital for people with ‘recent and recoverable’ mental illness. Heathcote sometimes housed Children and adolescents. It closed in 1994. The Royal Commission into Lunacy recommended in 1922 that a new hospital be built to treat people with acute ‘mental disorders’. The Commissioners believed there was ‘no marked line dividing sanity from insanity; there are degrees intervening which must be recognised and provided for…there is, so to speak, nothing between sanity and Claremont’. They described a movement away from the custodial model to a more active treatment model of care: ‘insanity is a disorder insidious in character and slow in onset; that more often than one can accurately estimate, the patient goes through a period – varying in each case – during which skilled treatment, properly administered, will prevent an impending attack or successfully de

This is a digital copy of a photograph held by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. It shows Fairholme from the driveway in front of the porch. The photograph was taken by Melissa Maiden.

Fairholme was established in 1952 as a home for 32 children ‘of all ages’ with intellectual disabilities who were transferred from the Claremont Mental Hospital. Fairholme, with Earlsferry, made up the Nathaniel Harper Homes owned and run by the government of Western Australia. Fairholme continued to provide out of home care in the Guildford premises, with residents gradually being relocated into modern premises from 1982. All children had been relocated by 1984. The Fairholme property is no longer used for out of home care. Fairholme was one of two Nathaniel Harper Homes owned and run by the government of Western Australia. It was opened by the Minister for Health, Dame Florence Cardell Oliver, on 27 September 1952. Nathaniel Harper, whose child had Down Syndrome, donated money to the Mental Hospitals Department to stimulate what has been called a ‘modest beginning of a new era in service provision’ by the State for children with intellectual disabilities. Nathaniel Harper Homes

This is a digital copy of a photograph held by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. It shows Earlsferry from the rear, facing the Swan River. It is part of Earlsferry’s 1999 heritage assessment. The photograph shows Earlsferry in its restored condition, not as it was when used as a hostel for people with intellectual disabilities. This photograph was taken by Sian Ferraz.