St Nicholas' Boys' Home history in brief
In 1926, St Nicholas Home was established by the Church of England Mission of St James and St John to accommodate 50 Protestant boys, including wards of the state, aged six to 14 years. They were sent from St Luke's Toddlers' Home in Bendigo.
The adjacent St Agnes' Home for Girls aged six to 14 years was also governed by the Mission of St James and St John, enabling some degree of contact between sibling groups.
In 1956, St Nicholas' was closed. Most of the remaining wards were transferred to St Paul's Home for Boys in Newhaven. (St Agnes’ Home for Girls was not closed until 1963, when its girls were transferred to the Mission's new Blackburn South Cottages.)
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 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.
List of records held by the department
Note for readers of the guide: 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 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(s) relating to this home dates from 1941–56 and includes:
file VH-100-78:
- inspector’s reports, including statistics of wards, 1941 and 1955
- staff member’s dismissal for mistreatment of boys, 1950
- letter to give notice that they are disposing of the dairy herd, 1950
- appointment of new superintendent and matron, 1950
- application for registration as an approved home, gazetted 1956
- list of wards to be transferred to St Paul’s Home prior to sale of Glenroy property in anticipation of move to Blackburn South, 13 February 1956
- declaration revoked following closure of home and removal of all boys to St Paul’s, 4 April 1956.
Reviewed 02 September 2016