Clark Cottage, c. 1963, courtesy of Annual Report of the Children's Welfare and Public Relief Board, 1963.
Details
Clark Cottage was opened at Clarence Park by the Children's Welfare and Public Relief Department in 1963. It accommodated up to ten children who were wards of the State in cottage -style living. They attended local schools and churches. Clark Cottage closed in 1979. The site was then used for the Southern Region Admission Unit.
Clark Cottage at 28 William Street, Clarence Park, was acquired by the Children's Welfare and Public Relief Department in1962. It was one of a number of properties purchased by the government in the 1960s to be used as cottage style accommodation for State children. Departmental Annual Reports from the period stress the belief that cottage style care would enable greater individual attention for each child and that children living in cottage style accommodations would be less conspicuous as 'State' children.
After some renovation, Clark Cottage was opened on 31 January 1963 and accommodated up to ten children. Children attended local schools and churches. Miss EM Dobbin was the first cottage mother. Clark cottage was named after Miss CE Clark who was an early member of the State Children's Council.
Clark cottage closed on 24 May 1979. The site was then used for the Southern Region Admission Unit.
1963 - 1979 Clark Cottage, Clarence Park
1979 - c. 1990 Southern Region Admission Unit
c. 1990 - c. 1992 Clarence Park Assessment Unit
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: Melissa Downing
Created: 11 February 2011, Last modified: 7 February 2014
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/sa/biogs/SE00093b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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