Verandah-dormitory, "Shuna", Leura, N.S.W., c. 1947, courtesy of Australian Red Cross Heritage Archives.
Details
Shuna Red Cross Home was situated in Eastview Ave, Leura and was opened as a home for girls in 1925 by the Australian Red Cross. In either 1945 or 1946 the girls were moved to Kippilaw, also at Leura, while boys stayed at Shuna. Shuna closed in 1950 and was later sold to the Church of England for youth activities.
Shuna was loaned to the Red Cross, rent free, by Dame Eadith Walker, a noted philanthropist and Red Cross executive member.
Shuna had the same aims as Juong at Faulconbridge. It was a home for children from tuberculosis-affected families, which were sometimes called Preventoriums.
In either 1945 or 1946 the girls were moved to Kippilaw, also at Leura, while boys stayed at Shuna. Shuna closed in 1950 and was then bought by the Church of England for youth activities.
Shuna burnt down in the catastrophic Leura bushfires of 1957. Two houses have been built on the site and one of these has been named Shuna.
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Red Cross to sell Shuna Home', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW), 23 November 1950, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18187937; Correspondence with Shirley Evans, September 2012.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry
Created: 7 February 2013, Last modified: 12 April 2016