Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home |
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| Location | 59 Beinda Street, Bomaderry, City of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1908–1988 |
| Architect | United Aborigines Mission |
| Owner | Nowra Local Aboriginal Land Council |
| Official name: Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home; Bomaderry Children's Home (Former); Bomaderry Babies Home; United Aborigines Mission Home | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 17 February 2012 |
| Reference no. | 1874 |
| Type | Historic site |
| Category | Aboriginal |
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The Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home is a very important historical place in Bomaderry, New South Wales. It used to be a home for Aboriginal children. Today, it serves as the office for the Nowra Local Aboriginal Land Council.
This home was built starting in 1908 by the United Aborigines Mission. It was also known by other names like the Bomaderry Children's Home or the Bomaderry Babies Home. The site is now owned by the Nowra Local Aboriginal Land Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 17 February 2012, recognizing its special historical value.
Contents
A Difficult Past: Separating Aboriginal Children
Early Days of Separation
From the very beginning of the European colony in Australia, Aboriginal children were sometimes taken away from their families. For example, in 1814, the first "Native Institution" was set up in Parramatta. Another one started in 1823 in Blacktown. These places often failed because parents didn't want their children to be kept away from home.
Some missionaries also worked with Aboriginal people. However, some, like Reverend Watson, were known for taking Aboriginal children. This made Aboriginal groups, like the Wiradjuri people, hide their children from white settlers.
Laws and Control
As more settlers arrived, there was often conflict and Aboriginal people lost their land. After a terrible event called the Myall Creek massacre in 1838, the first law to "protect" Aboriginal people was created. This was the start of a system where the government tried to control the lives of Aboriginal people. This control became stronger over time, until big changes happened with the 1967 referendum.
Before 1881, Aboriginal people were managed by different government departments. Then, a private group called the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Association was formed. Because of their efforts, the government created the Board for the Protection of Aborigines in 1883.
The Board's main goals were to help the elderly and sick, but also to "train and teach the young." They believed that Aboriginal children needed to be removed from their families and taught "white ways" to fit into society. This idea became the basis for future policies that led to children being taken away.
Training Homes for Children
In 1880, Reverend Gribble started the Warangesda Aboriginal Mission. He created a separate dormitory for girls. This dormitory taught girls housekeeping skills, preparing them for jobs as domestic workers. This model of separating children and teaching them specific skills was later used for government-run homes like the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls and the Kinchela Aboriginal Boys' Training Home.
The Aborigines Protection Board wanted more power to control Aboriginal children's lives. So, in 1909, a new law was passed called the Aborigines Protection Act. This law focused on training Aboriginal children. The Board believed that children needed to be completely removed from their families to become "good" members of society. They thought Aboriginal people were only suited for simple jobs, so girls were trained for domestic service and boys for manual labor.
In 1915 and 1918, the Aborigines Protection Act was changed. These changes gave the Board the power to take "full control and custody" of any Aboriginal child if they believed it was for the child's "moral or physical welfare." This meant they no longer needed a court hearing to remove children. If parents wanted to challenge this, they had to go to court themselves.
Hard Times and New Policies
The 1920s and 1930s were very hard for Aboriginal people due to economic depression and drought. Conditions on Aboriginal reserves were often poor and crowded. This made it easy for the government to claim "neglect" and remove Aboriginal children.
In 1937, a new policy called "assimilation" was created. This policy aimed to absorb "half-caste" Aboriginal people into white society, believing that "full-blood" Aboriginal people would soon disappear. However, Aboriginal people were also organizing and resisting these policies. In 1938, they marked the 150th anniversary of European settlement with a National Day of Mourning, calling for the Protection Board to be shut down.
The Aborigines Protection Board was finally replaced by the Aborigines Welfare Board in 1940. After this, Aboriginal children were covered by the Child Welfare Act of 1939. This law required a magistrate's hearing to prove a child was neglected or uncontrollable before they could be removed. Aboriginal children continued to be sent to homes like Cootamundra, Bomaderry, and Kinchela.
In the 1960s, new ideas about child care emerged. A British psychiatrist named John Bowlby developed "attachment theory." This theory explained that babies and children need a strong relationship with a main caregiver to develop normally. Because of this, fostering children became a more popular option. Following the assimilation policy, Aboriginal children were often fostered by non-Aboriginal families. The Bomaderry home also changed its design because of these new ideas.
A very important event happened in May 1967: a referendum changed the Australian constitution. This led to positive changes for Aboriginal people, including the Aborigines Welfare Board being abolished in 1969.
Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home: Its Story
Founding the Home
The Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home was started by the United Aborigines Mission (UAM). This organization aimed to teach the Christian Gospel to Aboriginal people. UAM set up children's homes, schools, hospitals, and stores across Australia.
In 1907, a baby girl came into the care of two missionaries. Then, in 1908, an Aboriginal woman died, leaving six orphaned children. These seven children became the first residents of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home, which opened in 1908.
The home began in a small three-bedroom cottage on a piece of land near the Shoalhaven River. It is often called the "first children's home" because it opened before others established under the 1909 Act. It was meant for orphaned and neglected children. As more children arrived, the cottage was made bigger, and another cottage was built nearby. By 1913, there were 17 children living there, aged from 3 to 12 years old.
The cottages were in a bushy area with a path leading to the river. In 1914, a building was moved from Roseby Park to the home to become the boys' dormitory. By 1916, there were three cottages and 29 children, aged from two to sixteen. The home received donations of furniture, clothing, and food from the community.
Role in Child Removal
Under the 1909 Aborigines Protection Act, children were removed from their families if they were considered "neglected." The Act was changed in 1915 to allow younger children to be taken and to give the Board more power to act without parents' permission.
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1921 quoted an official from the Aborigines Protection Board. He said their main work was "rescuing" children over 14 from reserves and taking children from parents who were deemed neglectful. Children old enough for "training" were sent to the Board's own institutions like Cootamundra or Kinchela. However, if children were taken very young, or as babies, they were often sent to the Bomaderry Children's Home first. The United Aborigines Mission supported the Aborigines Protection Board by caring for these young Aboriginal children.
In 1922, there were 45 children at the home. The two oldest were being trained by the mission. The site had three buildings, with a fourth being built. The number of children at the home usually stayed around the upper 30s. Until the 1960s, children at Bomaderry lived in dormitory cottages. There was a separate cottage for the kitchen and dining area, and another for the sisters (missionaries) who looked after them.
Changes and Significance
By 1964, the dormitory cottages were in poor condition and had to be removed. Volunteers started building new cottages. Many local businesses donated materials, and furniture came from a company in Sydney.
Because of the new ideas about "attachment theory" in childcare, the new buildings at Bomaderry were designed as "family" units. Each new cottage had a parent figure or couple who looked after a group of up to nine children, sometimes including siblings. Each cottage had four bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and lounge. They were self-sufficient, meaning each cottage did its own cooking and cleaning.
Today, the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home is extremely important to the people who lived there as children. It is a place linked to strong emotions, including both pain and affection. One famous person connected to the home was Harry Penrith, also known as Burnum Burnum. He was taken from his family and lived at the Bomaderry home before being moved to the Kinchela Boys Training Home.
What the Site Looks Like Today
The property is on a corner block and slopes gently. It has a long front along Brinawarr Street and Beinda Street. The main entrance today is from Beinda Street, but the original entrance was from the other side. Some parts of the original fence can still be seen along Brinawarr Street. The site has some exposed rock and large trees, including two big gum trees that appear in old photos. There is still thick plant growth along the northern edge.
In an open area between the current houses and Brinawarr Street, you can still see signs of the original cottage dormitories, like old pathways and parts of their foundations. These older cottages were taken down and burned between 1964 and 1972 because they had termites.
There are five houses on the property today that were built between 1964 and 1988. They are made of fibro/asbestos sheets with aluminum windows and corrugated metal roofs. One of these houses is now used as an office by the Nowra Local Aboriginal Land Council. There is also an original cottage from the first phase (1908-1964) that was moved to its current spot during the second phase. It still has many original windows and doors but has been changed inside for office use.
Two smaller weatherboard buildings, which were originally used as wood sheds, are located between the houses. There are also two large and one smaller colorbond sheds that have been built since 1996 at the northern end of the site.
Condition of the Site
The dormitory buildings from the 1908-1964 period are gone, but their paths and some foundations can still be seen. This area is considered an archaeological zone, meaning it might hold important historical remains underground.
The five houses built between 1964 and 1973 were in good condition as of 2011. The inside of the matron's cottage (where the person in charge lived) seems very original. It even has labels on shelves in a wardrobe, showing how children used it. The inside of the Land Council house has been changed, and the other three houses were not checked.
The buildings from after 1960 are very well preserved. The buildings from before 1960 were taken down, but their foundations can still be seen in the grass.
Changes to the Site Over Time
- 1964 - 1972: The original dormitory cottages were taken down, and five new houses were built.
- 1964: The house named "Ebenezer" was built.
- 1968: The house named "Maranatha" was built.
- 1970: The house named "Bethel" was built. Matron Kennedy and children lived there.
- 1972: The house named "Bethesda" was built. A couple, their son, and three teenage boys lived there.
- 1973: The house named "Salem," which was the converted Sisters cottage, was occupied by a couple, their daughter, and children from the home.
- 1988: The children's home officially closed.
