The United Aborigines' Mission (UAM) was an interdenominational Mission organisation established in New South Wales in 1895. In South Australia, the first UAM children's Home was established in Oodnadatta in 1924. In 1927 the UAM established Colebrook Home in Quorn, residents of which included the residents and matron of the former Oodnadatta Children's Home. The UAM was later renamed the United Aboriginal Ministries.
The United Aborigines Mission ran residential institutions for the care, education and conversion to Christianity of Aboriginal children, mostly on Mission stations and in children's Homes. The institutional care provided by the UAM was closely tied to Government funding and policy in the area of Indigenous affairs.
The United Aborigines Mission was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) as an institution that housed Indigenous children removed from their families.
Sources used to compile this entry: Barry, Amanda et al, Evangelists of Empire? Missionaries in Colonial History, The University of Melbourne, 2008; George, Karen, Finding your own way, Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc., 2005, http://nunku.org.au/resources/; Gerard, A E, United Aborigines Mission (of Australia): an outline of the history of the mission particularly in South Australia, Adelaide, 1950; Haebich, Anna and Doreen Mellor, Many Voices: Reflections on Experiences of Indigenous Child Separation, National Library of Australia, 2002.
Prepared by: Ann McCarthy
Created: 15 February 2011, Last modified: 5 September 2017
Last updated: 15 February 2019
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/sa/biogs/SE00139b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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