Pleasant Creek Training Centre, Western Highway, off Grampians Road, courtesy of Image courtesy of Travel Victoria.
Details
The Pleasant Creek Colony in the town of Stawell was established in 1937 by the Department of Mental Hygiene. It accommodated older children and young people up to the age of 20 who were classified as 'mentally deficient'. Residents attended Pleasant Creek Special School no. 4549 which was located on the site. Pleasant Creek closed in 1999.
The Pleasant Creek Colony was established when the former Pleasant Creek Hospital was taken over by the Department of Mental Hygiene. Some children transferred to the Pleasant creek colony were wards of the children's welfare department.
Run along the lines of a 'farm colony' (similar to the Janefield Colony at Bundoora), Pleasant Creek accommodated older children and young people, up to the age of 20.
In 1999, the Victorian government announced the closure of Pleasant Creek, in favour of 'community living' options for its residents.
A report from 1991 to the Director-General of Community Services dealt with incidents of sexual abuse of intellectually disabled residents of the Pleasant Creek Training Centre.
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Function VF 249 Intellectual disability services', in Public Record Office Victoria Online Catalogue, Function details, catalogue entry, Public Record Office Victoria, http://www.prov.vic.gov.au; 'Pleasant Creek Hospital, Western Highway, STAWELL', in Victorian Heritage Database, Heritage Victoria, http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/heritage/113169.
Prepared by: Cate O'Neill
Created: 14 January 2010, Last modified: 5 November 2018
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/vic/biogs/E000550b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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