Orphan School, South Wing, 2009, courtesy of Friends of the Orphan School and St John's Park Precinct.
Details
The New Town Rest Home, run by the government, replaced the New Town Infirmary in August 1934. It provided accommodation to children and adults placed there for many different reasons. In 1936, New Town Rest Home became St John's Park.
The government changed the name of the New Town Infirmary to the New Town Rest Home in an attempt to avoid the stigma of poverty associated with the institution.
The Home provided temporary accommodation to state wards and permanent accommodation for people who were elderly and infirm, with chronic illnesses, or who were certified under the Mental Deficiency Act 1920.
1833 - 1879 Queen's Orphan Asylum
1879 - 1912 New Town Charitable Institution
1912 - 1934 New Town Infirmary
1934 - 1936 New Town Rest Home
1936 - 1994 St John's Park
Sources used to compile this entry: Social Services and Children of the State Department: Report for 1934-5, Social Services and Children of the State Department, Hobart, 1935; Social Services Department: report for the year ended 30th June 1936, Social Services Department, Hobart, 1936; Pearce, Kim and Doyle, Susan, New Town: a social history, Hobart City Council, Hobart, 2002, 144 pp.
Prepared by: Caroline Evans
Created: 8 December 2011, Last modified: 4 September 2013
Last updated: 4 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/tas/biogs/TE00298b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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