Illoura Children's Home history in brief
llloura was originally the Frances Barkman Children's Home, owned and operated by the Australian Jewish Welfare and Relief Society.
In 1964, the home was among many the Social Welfare Department established as children’s homes to accept children from Allambie. The first children were admitted in August 1965.
llloura accommodated up to 36 children, many in sibling groups: boys around five to nine years and girls around five to 15 years in three self-contained units within the large two-storey building.
By 1971, the home had four completely self-contained units housing children from four to 16 years of age on the first floor, and from 12 months to 15 years on the ground floor.
By the early 1980s, llloura's capacity was 24 but averaged 18 residents. llloura closed in 1984.
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
- Guide to out-of-home care services 1940–2000: volume one – agency descriptions, compiled by James Jenkinson Consulting, North Melbourne, November 2001.
- Victorian Government gazette, no. 53, 7 July 1965, p. 2191
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.
Departmental children’s homes (1963-83)
File ; Permanent VPRS Number 18072 / P0001 [Open Consignment] ; 18072 / P0002 [Closed consignment]
Content: The files record interaction between the various departmental homes and the department. This filing system was created in 1975, combining earlier correspondence and other records to create one system with DH prefixes.
The specific file(s) relating to this home date from 1963–83 and include:
- declaration of establishment as an approved children’s home on 27 November 1963
- declaration of institution as an approved children’s home on 6 July 1965
- progress reports on individual children, c.1970
- authority for consent to surgical or other operations upon wards on 2 September 1965
- names and ages of residents, 1982–83
- review November 1981 to January 1982 and recommendations
- statistics, staff lists
- monthly reports, 1970
- ward names, numbers, vacation list, 1971–73
- staff files, 1965–76
- holiday placements, 1976.
Advance account ledger (1982-84)
Volume; Unappraised
Content: This collection contains a variety of records from several centres in the Inner Eastern Region including financial records relating to Illoura. The specific record is an advance account ledger attributed to the Illoura for the period 1982–84.
Community Services Victoria (and predecessor departments) personnel files (c.1950s-88)
File; Unappraised
Content: This series 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 and 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.
Reviewed 10 August 2016