Mofflyn Children's Home, 1970, courtesy of Uniting Church Archives, Western Australia..
Details
Mofflyn (or Mofflyn House) was the new name given in 1959 to the Methodist Children's Home. It housed children in four cottages (Wesley, Guild, Dowerin and Meckering). In 1984, the Mofflyn campus was closed but the Uniting Church continued to be involved in out of home care through Mofflyn Child and Family Services.
Mofflyn (which was also known as 'Mofflyn House') was the new name given to the Methodist Homes for Children 1959, but it was not until 1961 that the Child Welfare Department (CWD) used 'Mofflyn' in its annual reports.
Mofflyn was on a 12 acre property in Sussex Street, East Victoria Park (government records from the 1970s have the address as 2 Jarrah Road, and 145 Sussex Street, East Victoria Park). It comprised four cottages (Wesley, Guild, Dowerin and Meckering) as well as the larger building, Mofflyn House, which held the Schoolar Memorial Kindergarten and staff offices.
The name 'Mofflyn' was created to honour two early donors: the Mofflins (whose name also appears on the Mofflin Gate at the Claremont Showgrounds) and the Lynns.
Mofflyn was run by the Methodist Homes for Children until 1977, when the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged to become the Uniting Church. It was then run by the Uniting Church Child and Family Care Services, as part of the 'Mofflyn Group' of Homes.
In 1984, the Mofflyn campus was closed. The Uniting Church continued to be involved in out of home care and the Mofflyn name lived on through Mofflyn Child and Family Services.
Sources used to compile this entry: Cattermole, Jean, The History of 'Mofflyn' 1909 - 1995, 1995; 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; Parliament of Australia Senate, Lost Innocents: Righting the Record Report on Child Migration, Community Affairs References Committee, Senate Printing Unit, Canberra, 2001, http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/completed_inquiries/1999-02/child_migrat/report/index.htm; State Records Office of Western Australia, Wards - Director's Approval to Transfer from one Institution to Another and Amend Training, Reference Code AU WA S1099- cons2607 A0191 V4 (p.399, 405) - page numbers refer to PDF page number in digital file held by the Department of Communities (Child Protection and Family Support) in 2017.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 18 July 2012, Last modified: 4 October 2018