Seaside Garden Home for Boys history in brief
Two homes operated at Newhaven on Phillip Island in the 1920s and 30s: the Seaside Garden Home for Boys, and St Paul's Training School for Boys.
In 1934, the Seaside Garden Home for Boys was handed to the Mission of St James and St John and renamed St Barnabas. It became attached to the Mission’s existing and adjacent St Paul's Training School for Boys established in 1928.
St Barnabas was closed in 1939, although St Pauls continued.
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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 & .
Sources
- Guide to out-of-home care services 1940–2000: volume one – agency descriptions, compiled by James Jenkinson Consulting, North Melbourne, November 2001.
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 Seaside Gardens Home for Boys dates from 1931–73 and includes:
- list of Catholic boys at Seaside Gardens, 1931
- maintenance payments, running costs and so on, 1931–34
- Mission of St James and St John assumes responsibility for Seaside Gardens, 1934
- inspector’s report includes comparison of conditions at Seaside Gardens and St Pauls; references to corporal punishment, 1934
- list of wards at St Pauls and St Barnabas, 1935
- doctor’s report on a visit, no evidence of undue punishment, 1936
- list of boys transferred from depot, 1939
- approval under Children’s Welfare Act 1928 as an institution to care for neglected children, 1939
- report of boys involved in local crime, 1944
- staffing arrangements, 1951, 1956, 1963
- list of boys and their IQs, 1944
- private resident to hospital with polio, 1952
- school reports for boys, 1953, 1954
- documentation of allegations with investigation and reports, 1954
- attendance at Wonthaggi secondary schools, 1954
- relocation of St Nicholas Boys Home boys to St Pauls and return some boys to Royal Park Depot, 1956
- declaration of St Pauls as an approved children’s home, 1956
- inspector’s report, mentions new arrivals from St Nicholas, corporal punishment, pocket money and relationship with local community, 1956
- correspondence regarding use of corporal punishment and consequences, 1956
- psychological report on boys, 1956
- inspector’s reports (positive reports), 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970
- discussion on unsuitability of St Paul’s and suggestion that it be used as Turana was at capacity, 1960
- report advises that St Pauls will accept Aboriginal and disabled children but not offenders; relations with local community improving, 1963
- inspector’s report states that staff relations damaged after actions of new superintendent, 1970
- external complaint and investigation, 1970
- documentation of allegation, investigation and result, 1971
- report and press clipping regarding partial closure of St Paul’s, 1973
- undated information relating to the St Paul’s Discovery Centre, c.1979.
Note that this entry is duplicated in the St Paul’s Training School / Boys Home list of records held by the department.
Reviewed 10 August 2016