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Western Australia - Organisation

Sister Kate's Children's Cottage Home (1934 - 1980)

  • The 'Homes' Herald, 1978 [Methodist Homes for Children]

    The 'Homes' Herald, 1978 [Methodist Homes for Children], December 1978, courtesy of Uniting Church (Synod of Western Australia) Archives.
    Details

From
1934
To
1980
Categories
Care Provider, Cottage Care, Cottage Home, Home, Non-denominational, Presbyterian and Uniting Church
Alternative Names
  • Children's Cottage Home, Queen's Park (also known as, 1934 - 1949)
  • Queen's Park Children's Home (also known as, 1934 - 1940s)
  • Sister Kate's Children's Home (also known as)
  • Sister Kate's Home (also known as)

Sister Kate's Children's Cottage Home was established in Queen's Park by mid-1934 when Sister Kate Clutterbuck moved with seven Aboriginal children from the Children's Cottage Home at Buckland Hill in Cottesloe. The Home was funded by the Aborigines Department to house 'fair skinned' Aboriginal children and during World War II the children at the Home were evacuated to Greenbushes Hostel and Memorial Cottage Roleystone. From 1935 it was run by non-denominational management committees and from 1955 by the Presbyterian Church. In 1947, Kenwick Farm was established as a branch of the Home. In 1980, Sister Kate's amalgamated with the Methodist Training Centre at Mogumber and became Sister Kate's Child and Family Services.

Details

Sister Kate's Children's Cottage Home, Queen's Park was established by mid-1934 by Sister Kate Clutterbuck, when she moved with seven Aboriginal children from the Children's Cottage Home. By July 1935 all children remaining at Children's Cottage Home had moved to Sister Kate's Children's Cottage Home. From the outset, the Home received grants and children from the Aborigines Department and subsequent departments responsible for Aboriginal matters in Western Australia. The focus of the Home was on light-skinned children.

In 1935, a non-denominational management committee, Children's Cottage Home Incorporated was formed to govern the Home.

In his 1936 Annual Report (p.16), the Chief Protector of Aborigines gave some history about the development of the Home (which he called the 'Children's Cottage Home Queen's Park): there were two cottages, with 'dormitories, staff rooms, sitting room, bathrooms, verandahs and sleeping-out places' with room for 17 children in each cottage.

In 1939, the Commissioner for Native Affairs (Annual Report 1938, p.15) challenged the belief that children at Sister Kate's were 'mostly the offspring of our trained girls sent out to service and returned to us in trouble'. Such beliefs were, he said, 'hopelessly incorrect to say the least of it'. His next remarks give an insight into removal of children who were sent to Sister Kate's and the authorities' justification of it: 'The fact is that these children come mainly from pastoral stations and have been gathered in often with their mothers to give the little ones a better chance in life than their mothers have had'. This better chance was disputed by 'Millicent' in the Bringing them home report (pp.99-102). Millicent found being placed in Sister Kate's left her with 'an unrepairable scar of loneliness, mistrust, hatred and bitterness'. Oral histories from other people who were placed at Sister Kate's relate a range of experiences, good and bad.

During World War II, children were evacuated to the Greenbushes Hostel from February 1942 until 1946 and Memorial Cottage, Roleystone from May 1942 until 1944. Caretakers remained at the Queen's Park site and children later returned there.

Writing in 1945, the Commissioner for Native Affairs (Annual Report, 1944 p.12) gave a description of the Home. And the assimilation policy it followed:

The Home is more commonly known as Sister Kate's Home. It undertakes the care of quadroon children, and rears them according to white standards. During the year fourteen quadroon children were admitted to the Home, making a total of 146 admissions since the Home was established. Thirteen of these have been withdrawn for various reasons, mainly because of their unsuitability, and seven of the older children are now paid assistants at the Home. Besides these, one child has been adopted, four are in the Forces, and eleven are now engaged in outside employment, leaving a total of 110 children at the Home at the 30th June, 1944, exclusive of the seven paid assistants. Of the 110 inmates, 84 were supported by subsidies from the Department, eight were maintained by the Child Welfare Department, and 18 were maintained by parents either by Court Maintenance Orders or by voluntary payments.

Sister Kate died in 1946. After her death, the Home continued under the leadership of Ruth Lefroy. In 1947 a farm school for older boys from Sister Kate's opened. It was called 'Kenwick Farm', was located on Spring Road and closed in 1961.

In 1948, 'Sister Kate's Children's Home Inc' was the new legal name given to the Children's Cottage Home Incorporated to honour its late founder.

In 1955, Ruth Lefroy arranged for Sister Kate's to be transferred to the Presbyterian Church. The first official step in this direction was achieved in 1955 when a provisional council was appointed by the Presbyterian Church and in May 1956 the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church became the controlling body. At that time, there were nine cottages on a 23 acre site at Queen's Park.

In June 1977, all Children's Homes controlled by the Presbyterian Church came under the control of the Uniting Church. Sister Kate's Home was one of these. In 1980, Sister Kate's amalgamated with the Methodist Training Centre at Mogumber and became Sister Kate's Child and Family Services.

Sister Kate's Home was mentioned in the Bringing Them Home Report (1997) as an institution that housed Indigenous children removed from their families.

Events

1934 - 1980
Location - Sister Kate's Children's Cottage Home was located at Hamilton Street, Queen's Park. Location: Queen's Park

Timeline

 1933 - 1935 Children's Cottage Home
       1934 - 1980 Sister Kate's Children's Cottage Home
             1980 - 1988 Sister Kate's Child and Family Care Services
                   1988 - 2002 Manguri

Run By

Related Concepts

Related Glossary Terms

Related Organisations

Publications

Books

  • Morgan, Sally; Mia, Tjalaminu; France, Victor, Echoes of the past : Sister Kate's home revisited, University of Western Australia School of Indigenous Studies, Nedlands, Western Australia, 2002. Details
  • Whittington, Vera, Sister Kate: a life dedicated to children in need of care, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, Western Australia, 1999. p. 433; 439-440. Details

Journals

  • Uniting Church in Australia (WA Synod), Department of Media (ed.), Western Impact, 1977-2007. Details

Online Resources

Photos

Sister Kate and children, ca.1930
Title
Sister Kate and children, ca.1930
Type
Image
Date
1930?
Source
Photographs of Miss P.K. Lefroy and people at or connected with Sister Kate's Parkerville, State Library of Western Australia
Note
‘Sister Kate and children [picture]’ is included in Vera Whittington’s book, Sister Kate (p.377) and the text suggests it includes children from Sister Kate’s Children’s Cottage Home, around 1936

Details

Sister Kate Finds a Haven for her Kiddies
Title
Sister Kate Finds a Haven for her Kiddies
Type
Image
Date
1 March 1942
Source
National Library of Australia

Details

Kenwick Farm Boys at Work
Title
Kenwick Farm Boys at Work
Type
Image
Date
5 March 1949
Source
National Library of Australia

Details

The 'Homes' Herald, 1978 [Methodist Homes for Children]
Title
The 'Homes' Herald, 1978 [Methodist Homes for Children]
Type
Document
Date
December 1978
Source
Uniting Church (Synod of Western Australia) Archives

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: 'Women's Varied Interests', The Daily News, The Daily News, 7 December 1934, p. 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86017405; 'Home for Quarter Caste Children', The West Australian, The West Australian, 2 August 1935, p. 9, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32869673; Heritage Council of Western Australia, 'The Chapel of the Guardian Angel', in inHerit, Western Australia State Heritage Office, Government of Western Australia, 8 February 2015, http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/public/p/4607. p. 7.; The 'Homes' Herald, 1978 [Methodist Homes for Children] [Document], Date: December 1978; 'Western Australia Protectors Reports 1899-1959', in To Remove and Protect: Aboriginal Lives Under Control [website], Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, National Library of Australia, http://aiatsis.gov.au/collections/collections-online/digitised-collections/remove-and-protect/western-australia. Annual Report of the Chief Protector of Aborigines for the Year Ended 30th June, 1936, p.16; Annual Report of the Commissioner of Native Affairs for the Year Ended 30th June, 1944, p.12; Annual Report of the Commissioner of Native Affairs for the Year Ended 30th June, 1938, p.15.; Whittington, Vera, Sister Kate: a life dedicated to children in need of care, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, Western Australia, 1999. p. 433; 439-440..

Prepared by: Debra Rosser