Penal ward before leaving, 1940s - 1970s, courtesy of Salvation Army Heritage Museum WA, Seaforth photos file.
'Penal ward before leaving' is a digital copy of an undated photograph held in the Seaforth photos file at the Salvation Army Heritage Museum WA. A handwritten caption reads, 'Penal ward before leaving'. This image is attached to a piece of paper with another image showing a female Salvation Army officer with a toddler in her arms. It is unlikely that the image relates to the Seaforth Salvation Army Boys' Reformatory, as the conditions there had been condemned in a 1953 investigation.It is more likely that the image shows the Seaforth Salvation Army Girls' Home, which had closed by 1945. It is also possible that the image is from the Salvation Army's maternity home, Hillcrest, the Salvation Army Girls' Home, Cottesloe, or the Salvation Army Boys' Home, Nedlands. The inclusion of the words, 'before leaving' in the caption suggest that there was a staged attempt to introduce young people to different conditions before they left the institution.