Nathalia Student Hostel history in brief
The collection guide refers to the following available records held by the department:
- 1963, a document from the Aborigines Advancement League (Victoria) and the Australian Aboriginal Girls’ Hostel Committee, seeking a grant for the Aboriginal secondary school Children’s hostel at Nathalia (about 60 kilometres east of Echuca).
- 1963, a letter from department stating that if more than three children under 14 are to be accommodated, the facility needs to be approved under the Act
- 1963, application for declaration as an approved children’s home
- 1963, report on a visit
- 1963, correspondence advising that as there are only three people under age of 14 there is no need to be declared a children’s home
- 1968, file note regarding the possibility of the hostel accommodating state wards
- 1968, record of the hostel’s decision not to proceed with registration as an approved children’s home, and indicating that it would consider taking in wards if the need arose.
Excerpt taken from Smoke Signals, Vol. 6, No. 2, May 1967: THE WORK OF THE ABORIGINES ADVANCEMENT LEAGUE:
‘At Nathalia, a students’ hostel is maintained for secondary and upper primary school children.’ ‘Apart from the Nathalia hostel, an Education Trust Fund has been established to assist in providing additional education facilities through the provision of bursaries for Aboriginal children attending secondary schools in Victoria.’
Nathalia Student Hostel appears to have closed in 1968, although this date cannot be confirmed.
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.
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 & .
Source
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.
Voluntary children’s homes files (c.1930-c.85)
File; Permanent VPRS Number 18069 / P0001
Content: The files record interaction between the various voluntary homes and the government. This filing system was created in 1975, combining earlier correspondence and other records to create one system with ‘VH’ prefixes.
The specific file relating to the Nathalia Students’ Hostel is dated from 1963–68 and includes:
File VH 086 78:
- letter from Aborigines Advancement League (Victoria) and the Australian Aboriginal Girls’ Hostel Committee regarding Aboriginal secondary school Children’s hostel at Nathalia, seeking grant, 1963
- letter from department stating that if more than three children under 14 are to be accommodated, needs to be approved under the Act, 1963
- application for declaration as an approved children’s home, 1963
- report on a visit, 1963
- correspondence advising that as there are only three people under age of 14 there is no need to be declared a children’s home, 1963
- file note regarding the possibility of the hostel accommodating state wards, 1968
- hostel decides not to proceed to be registered as an approved children’s home, but would consider taking in wards if the need arose, 1968.
Reviewed 24 August 2016