The Carramar Children's Home was a government-run Home, located in Townsville. It was previously known as the Townsville Receiving Depot. Children moved into a new building in 1966, possibly as a result of the passage of the Children's Services Act 1965 which required that children be given adequate lodging and that institutions be maintained at all times in a fit and proper state for the care of a child. In 1967, its name changed to the Carramar Receiving and Assessment Centre.
The report of the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions cites a departmental report from 1965, describing the 'shocking condition' of the buildings at Carramar. The report mentioned Carramar's 'ill-ventilated, dark, dingy rooms, holes in the ceilings, walls and floors eaten by white ants, and cockroaches in abundance' (p.65).
The report stated that prior to the new building being completed in 1966, children slept on louvred verandahs. The report mentions how the new buildings at Carramar coincided with new children's services legislation in Queensland, with stricter rules about the maintenance and standard of children's lodgings.
1878 - 1934 Townsville Orphanage
1934 - 1964 Townsville Receiving Depot
1964 - 1967 Carramar Children's Home
1967 - 1995 Carramar Receiving and Assessment Centre
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Carramar (Agency ID2493)', in Queensland State Archives website, Queensland Government, 2004 - 2013, http://www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/Search/AgencyDetails.aspx?AgencyId=2493; Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions, Queensland. Department of Families, Youth and Community Care, Brisbane, 1999. pp. 62, 65.; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. pp.13-15..
Prepared by: Lee Butterworth
Created: 20 July 2011, Last modified: 19 October 2018