St John's by the Sea, in Beach Road, Sandringham, was a cottage-style Home for 20 boys. It was run by St John's Home for Boys. It opened in 1951 and was still open in 1954.
The residents of St John's by the Sea included child migrants from Britain.
The Home was St John's first 'cottage-style' accommodation. An article published in 1951 stated that the new Home 'will afford an opportunity of experimenting with a cottage unit' (The Argus 9 June 1951, p.17). (By the mid 1950s, St John's opened more cottage units in Canterbury.)
According to the Finding Records website, St John's by the Sea was in a house rented from the Ministering Children's League. 'Although this cottage accommodated 20 boys, it was a significant change from existing congregate care arrangements operating in most children's homes at the time'.
It accommodated some state wards, but the majority of boys were not wards.
According to the annual report of the Hospitals and Charities Commission, for the year ended 31 March 1953, St John's by the Sea housed 7 boys aged between 4 and 9 years old, 4 boys aged between 10 and 12, 9 boys aged 12 to 14, and 5 boys aged between 14 and 17.
Sources used to compile this entry: British orphans as New Australians Churches open new homes for boy migrants, The Argus, 9 June 1951, 17 pp, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23069564; 'New Boys' Home', The Age, 9 June 1951, p. 10; In the Churches: Boys Home launches appeal for £15,000, The Age, 22 May 1954, 9 pp, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205387150; 'St John's Home for Boys (and girls) (1926-96)', in Finding Records, Department of Health and Human Services, State of Victoria, https://www.findingrecords.dhhs.vic.gov.au/collectionresultspage/St-Johns-Home-for-Boys; Annual Reports, Hospitals and Charities Commission, 1952, 1953.
Prepared by: Cate O'Neill
Created: 14 February 2019
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/vic/biogs/E001103b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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