Bert Williams Aboriginal Boys Hostel history in brief
Edited excerpt from Department of Community Welfare Services, Annual Report 1978–79, page :
The Aboriginal Youth Support Unit is funded by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. It conducts 'outreach' for metropolitan Aboriginal youth aged 14 to 18 years and liaises closely with the department’s Youth Training Centres and Regional Offices.
Staffed by Aboriginal workers, the unit operates within the Aboriginal community and provides invaluable assistance to case-workers. The unit deals annually with an average of 120 Aboriginal Youth Wards Probationers and 'at risk' young people.
Bert Williams Aboriginal Youth Hostel
The Bert Williams Aboriginal Youth Hostel (21 Normanby Avenue, Thornbury) is run by the Aboriginal Youth Support Unit within the Department of Community Welfare Services, and funded by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
The Hostel employs a manager, four youth officers and a trainee youth officer who are all Aboriginal.
The project combines the skills of human intervention from white man's learning and the supportive enclave and cultural pride which Aboriginal people can provide to their own disadvantaged youth.
The Hostel has a capacity of 10 and works with an average of 40 young Aboriginal offenders each year. It is a statewide service and most residents come from East Gippsland, Goulburn and Murray Valley Regions.
Residents are expected to be attending school, training or employment, or be otherwise actively involved in the community. They work their way through a phased program and transition into normal community living after three to six months.
Residents participate in educational, recreational or survival skills activities in the evenings, drawing on Aboriginal community resources and liaising with Aboriginal service organisations (Health, Legal Service and the Aboriginal Child Care Agency). Community nights attract between 30 and 80 local Aboriginal people and help strengthen young boys’ Aboriginal identity.
The hostel also offers homeless Aboriginal youth with offending or troubled backgrounds up to two weeks emergency accommodation and intensive engagement.
A 1978 State Conference on Aboriginal Juvenile Welfare in Victoria identified "an urgent need for funds to establish a Specialist Girls' Hostel for Aboriginal girls similar to the Bert Williams Specialist Boys Hostel".
In 1978, there were no existing facilities placement and effective care of Aboriginal female wards and probationers, despite critical need.
Warning about distressing information
This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health and Human Services or another agency.
Related guide
For a history of the Children's Protection Society and records relating to its child protection role, managing substantiated and unsubstantiated cases for Community Services Victoria between 1971 to 1985 (some case files were ‘active’ and updated until 1992), see the related guide titled Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (1896–1971) and Children's Protection Society (1971 to current).
Disclaimer
Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & .
Sources
List of records held by the department
For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.
Youth Information
Bert Williams Hostel case history files (1971-96)
File; Unappraised
Content: These are the files (alphabetically arranged by family name) of Aboriginal youth who were in the care of the Bert Williams Hostel.
This hostel was operated by Community Services Victoria until 1989 when its management devolved to the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association Incorporated. Some of the youths were wards, on parole, probationers or voluntary residents.
The files contain progress reports, Children’s Court prosecutions, court reports, file notes, psychologists' reports, progress reports, school reports, case histories and admission/committal forms.
Apart from records associated with the youths’ residency at the Bert Williams Hostel, files may contain records associated with earlier admissions to other institutions or homes.
Youth correspondence (1975-85)
File ; Temporary
Content: This is a single file that contains a collection of correspondence on a variety of subjects concerning the residents of the Aboriginal Youth Support Unit. There is no apparent order.
Aboriginal Youth Support Unit case history files (1979-87)
File ; Unappraised
Content: This unit was attached to the Bert Williams Hostel but as a separate program under Community Services Victoria until 1989, when management was devolved to the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association Incorporated.
These case history files of the young people residing at the unit are arranged alphabetically by family name and represent young Aboriginal people who were living at youth training centres or in the community. The clients were either wards of state, probationers, on parole or voluntarily in the program.
There are youth training classification reports, leave details, and pre-court reports.
Continuity books (1977-87)
Volume; Temporary
Content: These volumes contain information recorded by hostel workers during their shifts to document activities, events, incidents, appointments and any matters that needed to be noted by staff in subsequent shifts. Their primary function was to provide a means of communication between staff, and they include information about hostel residents.
The volumes are arranged chronologically by date range of their content. Entries in the volumes are arranged chronologically and may record information identified by time of day, by staff members’ names or by residents’ names.
Note that this collection contains a variety of records, including some attributed to the Ivanhoe Girls’ Hostel.
Departmental administration
Community Services Victoria (and predecessor departments) personnel files (c.1950s-88)
File; Temporary
Content: This collection comprises the central employee filing system for the department.
These files chart each employee’s history including the following contents: employee's name, date commenced, positions held, leave details, position changes and promotions, salary increases, termination details. Some files include the employee's leave card as well as various employment history details. These records are arranged in alphabetical order by surname.
The files include staff working at the reception centres, training centres and children’s homes.
Personnel files (Bert Williams Hostel and the Ivanhoe Girls Hostel) (1971-89)
File, Temporary
Content: These files were part of a collection of mixed files attributed to both the Bert Williams Hostel and the Ivanhoe Girls Hostel.
The personnel files that relate to the Bert Williams Hostel are identified by names and dates of birth of the staff members, and are arranged alphabetically by staff members’ names.
There are 40 files including one relating to relieving staff.
Staff and resident group meeting records (1975-88)
File and volume, Temporary
Content: These records document two different meetings held at the hostel.
Staff meetings: These were meetings of hostel staff at which matters and issues relating to their employment, duties and activities were discussed. There are two sequences:
- staff meetings, 1975–80
- staff meeting minutes, 1982–88
Staff and residents group meetings: These meetings were a forum for discussion between staff and residents to explore matters and issues associated with living in the hostel. There is one sequence in two books: staff meetings and residents group meetings book, 1978–85.
Administrative records (1970-86)
File, Temporary
Content: These records are administrative files associated with management of the Bert Williams Hostel. There are two files:
- stocktake sheets, 1970s to 1980s
- hygiene inspection reports 1983 to 1986.
Reviewed 10 August 2016