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Western Australia - Organisation
Holy Child Orphanage (1941 - 1962)
Sisters and Working Girls with their young charges in front of the newly opened orphanage building, 1941, 2013, courtesy of Kimberley Community Profile Issue 3, June 2013.
Details
- From
- 1941
- To
- 1962
- Categories
- Catholic, Home and Orphanage
- Alternative Names
The Holy Child Orphanage was established in Broome by the Sisters of St John of God in 1941. It was a Home for school-aged Aboriginal girls and young women up to 20 years of age placed by relatives or the Department of Native Affairs. Holy Child closed in December 1962.
Publications
Books
- Choo, Christine, Mission girls : Aboriginal women on Catholic missions in the Kimberley, Western Australia, 1900-1950, University of Western Australia Press, Crawley, Western Australia, 2001. Vivid memories of life at Holy Child Orphanage are included at pp.138-140, and there is general historical information on pp.136-137. Details
- Lockyer, Betty (Elizabeth), Last Truck Out, Magabala Books, Broome, Western Australia, 2009. Details
Reports
- Western Australia. Child Welfare Department, Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department, Child Welfare Department, Perth [W.A.], 1928-1972. Details
Online Resources
- 'Native Orphan Sends Her Thanks', The Daily News, 28 October 1944, p. 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78763375. Details
- 'Sisters, Pearls and Mission Girls', Rebel Films, Sydney, New South Wales, 2004. Details
- 'Holy Child Orphanage and Ida Kelly', in ABC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 14 December 2010, https://open.abc.net.au/projects/now-and-then-14tm2sh/contributions/holy-child-orphanage-and-ida-kelly-83eR6aM. Details
- 'Holy Child Orphanage - Lifelong friendships', in Catholic Diocese of Broome [website], June 2013, https://broomediocese.org/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2021/09/KCP-2013-03.pdf. Details
- Bringing Them Home: The 'Stolen Children' Report (1997), Australian Human Rights Commission, 2011, https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/publications/bringing-them-home. Details
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies [website], http://aiatsis.gov.au/. Details
- Heritage Council of Western Australia, 'St John of God Convent (fmr), Broome', in inHerit, Western Australia State Heritage Office, Government of Western Australia, 8 February 2015, http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/public/p/5307. There is some history of the Sisters of St John of God’s activities in the Kimberleys in the ‘Register of Heritage Places’ (pp.4-10) including work at Beagle Bay, Bidyadanga and Wirrumanu Missions and the Holy Child Orphanage. Details
- Information Services, Department for Community Development, 'Operating dates published in Signposts relied upon source material that was inaccurate, pp.244-245, Table 17: Female Wards at the Holy Child Orphanage, Broome, 1959-1963', Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920, Government of Western Australia, 2004, https://signposts.communities.wa.gov.au//pdf/pdf.aspx. Details
- National Directory of Records of Catholic Organisations Caring for Children Separated from Families, A Piece of the Story: A Research Project Undertaken by the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission and the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes, November 1999, https://cssa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/A-Piece-of-the-Story.pdf. Details
- State Solicitor's Office of Western Australia, 'p.60', Guide to Institutions Attended by Aboriginal People in Western Australia, Government of Western Australia, 2005, http://web.archive.org/web/20140126131607/http://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/lantu/MediaPublications/Documents/Guide-to-Institutions-attended-by-Aboriginal-people-in-WA-2005.pdf. Details
Photos
- Title
- A big photo album: the archive of the Sisters of St John of God
- Type
- Video
- Date
- 24 December 2010
- Source
- Ben Collins, ABC Kimberley
Details
- Title
- Sisters and Working Girls with their young charges in front of the newly opened orphanage building, 1941
- Type
- Image
- Date
- 2013
- Source
- Kimberley Community Profile Issue 3, June 2013
Details
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Holy Child Orphanage - Lifelong friendships', in Catholic Diocese of Broome [website], June 2013, https://broomediocese.org/wp-content/uploads/securepdfs/2021/09/KCP-2013-03.pdf;
Information Services, Department for Community Development, 'Operating dates published in Signposts relied upon source material that was inaccurate, pp.244-245, Table 17: Female Wards at the Holy Child Orphanage, Broome, 1959-1963', Signposts: A Guide for Children and Young People in Care in WA from 1920, Government of Western Australia, 2004, https://signposts.communities.wa.gov.au//pdf/pdf.aspx;
State Solicitor's Office of Western Australia, 'p.60', Guide to Institutions Attended by Aboriginal People in Western Australia, Government of Western Australia, 2005, http://web.archive.org/web/20140126131607/http://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/lantu/MediaPublications/Documents/Guide-to-Institutions-attended-by-Aboriginal-people-in-WA-2005.pdf.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 15 March 2011, Last modified: 8 January 2019