Phillip Island. Newhaven. St. Paul's Discovery Centre, 11 November 1984, by John T. Collins [1907-2001]
Details
The St Paul's Home for Boys was established in 1955 by the Mission of St James and St John. It was located at Newhaven, Phillip Island, on the site of the former St Paul's Training School. In 1979, it ceased to be a Home and became the site of the St Paul's Discovery Centre, a holiday camp for 'disadvantaged' children.
In 1955, St Paul's Training School as a 'home for the care of delinquent boys' was closed, due to insufficient numbers of 'delinquents' (more government-run Homes were opening during this period), and also because of changing ideas about the care of young offenders. Eleven remaining state wards were returned to the 'care' of the Department.
From this point, St Paul's thus became eligible as a boys' home. At this time, some boys were transferred from the soon-to-be-closed St Nicholas' in Glenroy to St Paul's. With this change, according to Cole, St Paul's became 'an entirely different kind of place'. From 1956 to 1969, it was known as St Paul's Home for Boys.
In August 1957, St Paul's Home for Boys was declared as an approved children's home under the Children's Welfare Act 1954.
In 1973, the Mission implemented the partial closure of St Paul's, again due to a drop in numbers. Many boys were now accommodated at Andrew Kerr Memorial Home or the Blackburn South Cottages.
St Paul's ceased operation as a children's home in 1979 and was re-established as the St Paul's Discovery Centre, delivering programs for socially disadvantaged children.
In 1997 the Mission of St James and St John became part of Anglicare Victoria. At this time, records of the Mission were transferred to Anglicare Victoria. These included records of the various orphanages, homes and other residences run by the Mission. The custodian of these records is Anglicare Victoria.
1928 - 1955 St Paul's Training School
1955 - 1979 St Paul's Home For Boys
![Newhaven: Views of a chicory kiln opposite the Information Center and the St. Paul's Home for Boys [picture 2]](../objects/thumbs/tn_D00000383 Newhaven opposite St Pauls jc012852.png)
![Newhaven: Views of a chicory kiln opposite the Information Center and the St. Paul's Home for Boys [picture 1]](../objects/thumbs/tn_D00000382 Newhaven opposite St Pauls jc012851.png)
![Phillip Island. Newhaven. St. Paul's Discovery Centre [chapel interior]](../objects/thumbs/tn_D00000385 Newhaven chapel interior jc013386.png)
![Phillip Island. Newhaven. St. Paul's Discovery Centre [chapel exterior]](../objects/thumbs/tn_D00000386 Newhaven chapel jc013387.png)
Sources used to compile this entry: Cole, Dr Keith, Commissioned To Care: The Golden Jubilee History of The Mission of St. James and St. John 1919-1969, first edn, The Ruskin Press Pty Ltd, North Melbourne, Australia, 1969; Monk, Joanne; O'Donoghue, Gina, Billylids and 'Home Kids': The Story of The Mission of St James and St John 1919-1994, The Mission of St. James and St. John, Surrey Hills, Victoria, 1994.
Prepared by: Rebe Taylor
Created: 3 April 2013, Last modified: 25 June 2015
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/vic/biogs/E000824b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
![Newhaven [chapel]](../objects/thumbs/tn_D00000384 Newhaven chapel jc012853.png)