ILWA, which stands for 'I love, worship and adore', was an acronym used by girls in the Parramatta Girls Home, and in other state institutions, to express their feelings for other girls. Girls in Parramatta wrote it into notes, tattooed it onto their bodies and scratched into the walls of the institution. Since 2003 Parragirls has made use of this acronym in textiles and artworks to tell stories of the emotional survival of former residents of the institution.
Sources used to compile this entry: Djuric, Bonney, Abandon All Hope: a history of Parramatta Industrial School, Chargan, Georges Terrace, 2008, 238 pp; Parramatta Female Factory Precinct, 2006-, http://www.parragirls.org.au/.
Prepared by: Naomi Parry
Created: 12 May 2014, Last modified: 13 February 2018
Last updated: 4 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nsw/biogs/NE01598b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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