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Victoria - Organisation

Swinborn Lodge (1957 - 1979)

  • Elizabeth Fry Retreat (later Swinborn Lodge), South Yarra

    Elizabeth Fry Retreat (later Swinborn Lodge), South Yarra, c. 1977
    Details

From
1957
To
1979
Categories
Home, Hostel and Non-denominational

Swinborn Lodge, South Yarra, was established by the Melbourne City Mission in 1957. It was formerly the Elizabeth Fry Retreat. It accommodated girls aged from 14 to 18. In 1974 the Lodge moved to Carlton, and in 1979 it became a hostel known as Swinborn.

Details

Swinborn Lodge was formerly the Elizabeth Fry Retreat (1884-1957) in South Yarra. It was taken over by the Melbourne City Mission in 1943, and by the 1950s, the Mission began to change the focus of the Retreat.

In 1957 Elizabeth Fry Retreat was renamed Swinborn Lodge to prevent residents being stigmatised by the associations with the Retreat. The laundry operations ceased and the space was used for new bedrooms. Work focussed on the emerging needs of vulnerable young women in the 1950s and '60s.

By the 1960s and early 1970s, Swinborn Lodge was providing hostel accommodation for girls, often coming from Winlaton, and often disturbed and alienated by their life experiences. Living in the hostel setting was difficult for the girls and for the staff, and staff turnover was high.

Girls were referred by the Youth Welfare and Female Probation and Parole Divisions of the Social Welfare Department, policewomen, the Children's Court and other agencies. The centre also provided emergency accommodation for girls who were not Wards of State.

In 1972, the Community Welfare Foundation (the name of the Melbourne City Mission from 1970 to 1979, when it reverted to its original name) proposed a new focus and new location for the hostel.

The Mission's old central office in Carlton was modified and the new hostel opened in 1974. Swinborn Lodge now functioned as a 'specialist hostel' providing professional residential and support services for girls on Children's Court orders with quite serious personal or social challenges. In 1979 the facility's name was changed to 'Swinborn' and the term 'Lodge' dropped.

In 2014, there is a children's playground (Argo Reserve) on the Elizabeth Fry Retreat/ Swinborn Lodge site in South Yarra. The bricks from the main building were reused as part of the playground, retaining walls, boundary walls and a fountain. The 'stables' building at the rear of the site which was used as a morgue is still standing.

Location

1957 - 1974
Location - Swinborn Lodge was located at 83 Argo Street, South Yarra. Location: South Yarra
1974 - 1979
Location - Swinborn Lodge was located on the corner of Owen and Canning Street, Carlton. Location: Carlton

Timeline

 1884 - 1957 Elizabeth Fry Retreat
       1957 - 1979 Swinborn Lodge
             1979 - 1986 Swinborn

Run By

Publications

Books

  • Malone, Betty, Bonds of care: Elizabeth Fry Retreat and its founders, Prahran Historical and Arts Society, Prahran, Vic., 1991, 117 pp. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Elizabeth Fry Retreat (later Swinborn Lodge), South Yarra
Title
Elizabeth Fry Retreat (later Swinborn Lodge), South Yarra
Type
Image
Date
c. 1977

Details

Elizabeth Fry Retreat (later Swinborn Lodge), South Yarra
Title
Elizabeth Fry Retreat (later Swinborn Lodge), South Yarra
Type
Image
Date
c. 1980

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Email from D Hunt & Associates to Find & Connect web resource, dated 25 June 2014.

Prepared by: Rebe Taylor and Cate O'Neill