Vaughan House Remand Home, Enfield, 1994, courtesy of State Library of South Australia.
Details
The South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre, SAYRAC, was the new name given to Vaughan House in 1979. Located in Enfield, this government-run Centre provided secure care and assessment for boys and girls aged 10 to 18. It also accommodated children who had not committed offences. SAYRAC closed in 1993 when the Cavan Training Centre opened. Older children were then placed at Cavan and younger children at the Magill Training Centre.
In 1979, as part of a restructuring of the institutional care and programs for young offenders, the government changed the name of Vaughan House to The South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre (SAYRAC). Whereas Vaughan House had provided accommodation for girls only, the new government-run centre provided secure care and assessment or boys and girls aged between 10 and 18. SAYRAC remained in the same building in Enfield.
Four units operated at SAYRAC. Two were for girls on remand or undergoing training, while the other two units were for boys on remand. Children who had not committed an offence, but had been placed under the care of the government for their own protection were also accommodated at the Centre for assessment. At SAYRAC staff from the Education Department provided instruction in music, craft and physical education.
SAYRAC closed in 1993 when a new purpose built facility was erected at Cavan. Older boys and girls were moved to the new Cavan Training Centre while younger children were accommodated separately at the Magill Training Centre.
1881 - 1891 Girls Reformatory, Magill
1891 - 1898 Girls' Reformatory, Edwardstown
1897 - 1922 Redruth Girls' Reformatory
1922 - 1947 Barton Vale Girls' Home
1947 - 1979 Vaughan House
1979 - 1993 South Australian Youth Remand and Assessment Centre
1993 - 2012 Magill Training Centre
2012 - Adelaide Youth Training Centre
Sources used to compile this entry: George, Karen, Finding your own way, Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc., 2005, http://nunku.org.au/resources/; Mullighan, the Hon E.P., Children in State Care Commission of Inquiry: Allegations of sexual abuse and death from criminal conduct, presented to the South Australian Parliament by the Hon. E.P. Mullighan QC, Commisioner, Children in State Care Commission of Enquiry, Adelaide, South Australia, 2008, 564 pp, https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/107201/children-in-state-care-commission-of-inquiry-introducation.pdf.
Prepared by: Karen George and Gary George
Created: 10 February 2011, Last modified: 13 February 2014
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/sa/biogs/SE00081b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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