St John's Orphanage, Thurgoona (1882 – 1978)

St John's Orphanage history in brief

In 1882, St John's Orphanage was founded by the Sisters of Mercy Albury Foundation at Thurgoona on the outskirts of Albury on the New South Wales-Victoria border.

It was also known as St John's Home, Wirlinga. The orphanage first housed girls aged 5 to 16 years and later accommodated 30 British war orphans. In later years it cared for both boys and girls.

From 1976, St John's Orphanage was replaced by group homes and closed in 1978. 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.

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 & Connect.

Sources

Find and Connect

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.1985)

File; Permanent (VPRS 18069 / P0002)

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 St John’s (VH-099-78), Lavington, is dated 1976 and includes:

• letter from Upper Murray Regional Office to Children’s Homes Section regarding a ward (named) being transferred from St Anthony’s to St John’s, Lavington (which is located in NSW but they are contemplating opening a family group home in Wodonga) and the department agrees to make payments, 1976
• agreement as to how the payments for the ward placed at St John’s will work, and indications that further children may also be placed there, 1976.