Cobar War Memorial Hostel, 2000?
Details
The Cobar War Memorial Children's Hostel, also known as Cobar Memorial Home for Boys, opened in 1951. It accommodated up to 48 children from a large portion of the Western District Division in an area extending up to 200 miles from Cobar, so they could attend school in in the town. In 2013 it was still listed in the Yellow Pages as a hostel.
Cobar War Memorial Children's Hostel was built as a war memorial in 1950. It was opened by the Minister for Education, RJ Heffron in 1951. The funds to build it were raised from residents of the town and district, who subscribed the £17,000 cost. Bursaries and fees assistance for children from poorer families were provided by various funds and organisations, including Cobar RSL.
Cobar Memorial Home for Boys was mentioned in a 1979 Commonwealth Government report called Why are they in children's homes: report of the ACOSS children's home intake survey.
Sources used to compile this entry: Hanson, Dallas, Why are they in children's homes: report of the ACOSS children's home intake survey, Australian Department of Social Services: Australian Council of Social Services, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1979, 83 pp; Southwell-Keely, Michael, 'Cobar War Memorial Hostel', in War Memorials in Australia, 2000, http://web.archive.org/web/20130503045051/http://www.msk.id.au/memorials2/pages/20054.htm.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry
Created: 9 May 2013, Last modified: 30 August 2013