The Church of England Girls’ Home was established in 1913 with the purchase of ‘Minden’ at Carlingford as a home for girls ‘in the country’. In 1918 the Church of England Girls’ Home moved to Arden, at Glebe, during which time boys lived at Minden and a second house was added to the site. In 1927 the Girls’ Home moved back to Minden at Carlingford. The Mary McGarvey Home was built in 1930 and Molly Trigg and TA Field Cottages were added in 1957. Church of England Girls’ Home was a home for girls aged 6-18 and closed in the 1970s. Minden was later demolished.
The work of the Church of England Girls’ Homes commenced in Glebe in 1886, where 4 houses were used at varying times for women, girls and boys. These houses were called: Tress-Manning, Avona, Arden and Strathmore.
The Carlingford Homes started with the purchase of Minden, in Carlingford, in 1913, as a girls’ home. At the time the Annual Report of Church of England Homes stated it was an orphanage for ‘frail girls’. In 1915 a family group that included a boy arrived from Orange. Although that boy was placed with his sisters, a separate Boys’ Home was established at Cronulla in 1917.
In 1918 the Church of England Diocese bought Havilah at Normanhurst (or Wahroonga), as a home for small children. It also bought Arden, at Glebe Point, for girls aged six to 18 and in 1920 the girls were transferred to Glebe from Carlingford. At that time, Minden was extended to take boys and the addition was called No 2 Home. This building later became Tress-Manning Home.
In 1921 the Church of England Girls’ Home at Glebe was granted 5 shillings per week for every orphan in its care by the NSW Government. This allowance was extended to a range of private institutions that cared for children.
In 1927 a new Boys’ Home, Buckland House, was built at 756 Pennant Hills Road at Carlingford and the boys were moved there. The girls left Arden and were moved back to the original building, Minden, in 1927. The Mary McGarvey Home was built in 1930 and Molly Trigg and TA Field Cottages were also added.
Carlingford Girls’ Home closed in the 1970s when children were placed in group homes.
Anglicare manages the records relating to Church of England Girls’ Home Carlingford.
According to research done by the staff of the Northern Territory Department of Health, the Church of England Girls’ Home, Carlingford was a place where children from the Northern Territory were sent.
The Carlingford Girls’ Home was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) as an institution that housed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed from their families.
The Church of England Girls’ Home was mentioned in the Lost Innocents Report (2001) as an institution involved in the migration of children to Australia.
From
1913
To
1970s
Alternative Names
Minden
Molly Trigg Cottage
TA Field Cottage
Tress-Manning Home
Carlingford Girls' Homes
1913 - 1918
Church of England Girls' Home was situated at 216 Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford, New South Wales (Building Still standing)
1918 - 1926
Church of England Girls' Home was situated at Arden, on Forsyth Street, Glebe, New South Wales (Building Demolished)
1926 - 1970s
Church of England Girls' Home was situated at Minden, 216 Pennant Hills Road, Carlingford, New South Wales (Building Still standing)
