Adoption is the legal process by which a person legally becomes a child of the adoptive parent(s) and legally ceases to be a child of his/her existing parent(s). The first adoption law to be passed in Australia was in the Colony of Western Australia in 1896, and other jurisdictions followed with their own legislation. However,…
This image shows a map of Applecross and surrounds, highlighting the site of the Bridgewater Care and Assessment Centre and bus routes to the Centre. It includes an inset of a more detailed map of the Bridgewater site, showing the locations and names of buildings, including four cottages, the kindergarten, and administration building. This map…
Annexe is a term used to describe a smaller residential facility that is part of a larger institution. For example, the Victoria Park (Riverbank) Annexe was part of the youth detention facility, Riverbank, even though it was located many miles distant. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
The Children’s Homes Files collection is a collection of records about Western Australian Salvation Army-run Homes, now held by the Salvation Army Historical Records Department. The files include documents, photographs, newspaper articles and correspondence relating to children’s Homes run by the Salvation Army in WA. There are no personal records held in this series but…
Private Hostel was a term from Western Australia to describe a place that provided residential accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities which was not operated by or on behalf of the Western Australian or Commonwealth government. Private hostels were licensed by the Minister for Health and could be funded and regulated by government. The term…
Custodial Care describes a model that was historically used on many people with intellectual disabilities or mental illness. In a custodial care model, a person was not given any treatment to help them improve from their condition at admission. Many children with intellectual disabilities in psychiatric hospitals up to the 1960s suffered as a result…
Receiving Agency was the name given to the organisation named as the custodian of children who were sent to Australia as migrants from the United Kingdom or Malta. The term is used mostly for post-World War Two migration, but includes some organisations that were responsible for children who came earlier in the century. Click here…
A Scatter Cottage was a model of out of home ‘care’ where a group of children lived in a cottage with houseparents. Scatter cottages were run by institutions but were not located on the same property as main institutional buildings. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
The Farm School was a model of residential ‘care’ for children, based in a rural area, which trained children (typically boys) in agricultural duties. A Western Australian newspaper article from 1935 described the purpose of farm schools: The policy has been to remove unemployed youth from the scrap heap of idleness, train them, and place…
Dec 17, 2025
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