Child Welfare Reception Home (1953 - 1972)

Child Welfare Reception Home, 15 August 1954, courtesy of National Library of Australia.
Details

From

1953

To

1972

Categories

Children's Home, Government-run, Home and Receiving Home

Alternative Names

Child Welfare Department Reception Centre (also known as, 1954)
Child Welfare Receiving Home (also known as)

Child Welfare Reception Home was the new name given in 1953 to the Government Receiving Home in Mount Lawley. It gave temporary accommodation to children and young people who were: awaiting placement with foster parents or institutions; staying in Perth for medical or dental treatment; and referred from. Or awaiting appearances at, the Children's Court. In 1973 Child Welfare Reception Home became the Mt Lawley Reception Home.

The Child Welfare Reception Home in Mount Lawley was run by the Child Welfare Department. It had a number of functions. It was a temporary place for children coming into the child welfare system and who went on to placement in an institution or foster home. Children from the country who had no family in Perth might also stay there while they had medical or dental treatment in Perth. The Reception Home also took children who had been referred from the Children's Court, or who were awaiting a court appearance. From 1959 the Reception Home stopped accepting children under 3 years of age, who were instead sent to Ngal-a Mothercraft Home and Training Centre.

In 1954, the Child Welfare Reception Home was criticised by an academic study which found that the facilities were old, inappropriate and depressing; that there was too much (and unnecessary) use of solitary confinement, and that the treatment of juvenile offenders in the State was well behind modern standards of practice.

Events

1953 - 1972: Address - The Child Welfare Reception Home was on the corner of Walcott and Lord Streets, Mount Lawley. Location: Mount Lawley

Related Archival Series

Related Glossary Terms

Ward (1927 - 2004)

Publications

Reports

Western Australia. Child Welfare Department, Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department, Child Welfare Department, Perth [W.A.], 1928-1972. 1953. Details

Online Resources

'Vote - Child Welfare and Outdoor Relief £271,655', in Hansard Archive 1870 to 1995, Parliament of Western Australia, 23 November 1954, https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard1870to1995.nsf/83cc4ce93b5d4e0b48257b33001cfef6/9C2EFADEA26576EF48257B3900261CEB/$File/19541123_Assembly.pdf. ‘Vote – Child Welfare and Outdoor Relief £271,655’ outlines changes made and planned for the Child Welfare Reception Home. Details
'Address-in-Reply', in Hansard Archive 1870 to 1995, Parliament of Western Australia, 20 July 1954, https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard1870to1995.nsf/83cc4ce93b5d4e0b48257b33001cfef6/BEF489556CFA447A48257A41000FF398/$File/19540720_Council.pdf. ‘Address-in-Reply’ is a speech in the Legislative Council that refers to the system for juvenile offending in WA, including facilities at the Child Welfare Reception Home. Details
'State's Treatment Of Juvenile Offenders Is Condemned', The West Australian, 13 July 1954, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52954491. Details
'Mt. Lawley Reception Home's Detention Methods Are Primitive - But They Have A Tough Job', Sunday Times, 15 August 1954, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59693713. Details
'Child Welfare Act Amendment Bill Second Reading [Hansard p2511-2512]', in Hansard Archive 1870 to 1995, Parliament of Western Australia, 17 November 1965, https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard1870to1995.nsf/83cc4ce93b5d4e0b48257b33001cfef6/92FE00C44D52374D48257A41002C8BA0/$File/19651117_Assembly.pdf. Details
'Submission No. 287 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, 23 December 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist. Details
Department for Community Development, State of Western Australia, 'Submission No. 55 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, July 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist. Details
Foster, Darren J, 'Submission No. 347 Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care - Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Senate Community Affairs Committee, Commonwealth of Australia, 3 April 2004, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist. Details
Heritage Council of Western Australia, 'Walcott Centre', in inHerit, Western Australia State Heritage Office, Government of Western Australia, 8 February 2015, http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/public/p/15731. Details
Information Services, Department for Community Development, 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

Photos

Title: Child Welfare Reception Home
Type: Image
Date: 15 August 1954
Source: National Library of Australia

Details

Title: Boys Behind Iron Bars
Type: Image
Date: 15 August 1954
Source: National Library of Australia

Details

Title: Reception Home front door, 1921
Type: Image
Date: 2013
Source: Dr Debra Rosser

Details

Title: Reception Home doors, 1921
Type: Image
Date: 2013
Source: Dr Debra Rosser

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: 'Mt. Lawley Reception Home's Detention Methods Are Primitive - But They Have A Tough Job', Sunday Times, 15 August 1954, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59693713; 'State's Treatment Of Juvenile Offenders Is Condemned', The West Australian, 13 July 1954, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52954491; Information Services, Department for Community Development, 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; Western Australia. Child Welfare Department, Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department, Child Welfare Department, Perth [W.A.], 1928-1972. 1953.; State Records Office Western Australia, 'Unusual Occurrences' Series 3172 Cons 1031 Item 1955/1385 v2.

Prepared by: Debra Rosser

Created: 19 March 2012, Last modified: 10 August 2022

Child Welfare Reception Home (1953 - 1972)