Katherine Mary Clutterbuck facts for kids
Katherine Mary Clutterbuck (born October 1860 in Wiltshire, England – died 31 July 1946 in Nedlands, Western Australia), known to many as Sister Kate, was an Anglican nun. She was a pioneer in setting up a "cottage home" system to care for orphan babies and children in Western Australia. She later became well known for her work with Indigenous Australian children. These children were sometimes chosen based on their skin colour and sent to her homes. The idea was to help "nearly white" children fit into the white community. These children are now understood to be part of the Stolen Generations.
Katherine Clutterbuck came from a wealthy family. She was given an award, the Order of the British Empire (MBE), on 1 January 1934. This was for her great work helping children who were in need.
In December 2006, West Australian newspaper listed her as one of the "100 Most Influential Western Australians." This list was put together by a group of important historians.
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Starting Homes for Children
In 1881, Katherine Clutterbuck joined a group of nuns called the Community of the Sisters of the Church. This group was started in London in 1870. She became known as "Sister Kate." For 17 years, until 1901, she worked with orphans in the poor areas of London.
In 1901, Sister Kate and some other sisters were sent to Western Australia. Their job was to start a girls' school and a home for orphans. She arrived in Western Australia in December 1901 with Sister Sarah and 22 orphaned English children. The children were between 6 and 10 years old.
While other sisters started a church school (now Perth College), Sister Kate and Sister Sarah focused on creating a home for orphaned babies. They used a temporary place in William Street, Perth while looking for a permanent home in the countryside. The nuns bought a 20-acre block of land at Parkerville in the Darling Range.
In 1903, Sister Kate moved to Parkerville with eight children. They lived in an old hut and a barn with a bark roof. She called this place The League of Charity Homes for Waifs and Stray Babies. It later grew into the Parkerville Children's Home. By 1905, 45 children were being cared for. Thanks to a kind helper named Walter Padbury, a large stone nursery was built. Other improvements included a big water tank and 120 acres of land with fruit trees. The state government also provided some money. By 1911, 100 children were living there. Two more sisters came from England, and the buildings were made bigger to include a dining-room, schoolhouse, and kitchen.
Sister Kate ran the Parkerville home for almost 30 years. More than 800 children who needed help passed through her care. In 1927, the home was taken over by the Diocese of Perth. In 1930, at the age of 70, she retired. She received her MBE award the next year.
Today, Parkerville still operates as Parkerville Children and Youth Care. It offers many services to help children and young people who have experienced difficult times.
A small river near the home is named Clutterbuck Creek, in her honour.
Helping Indigenous Children
After retiring, Sister Kate continued her work. Her friend, Ruth Lefroy, was also very interested in helping Aboriginal children. In 1932, Ruth Lefroy bought a property in Bayswater called the Children's Cottage Home, which Sister Kate ran. Another house was bought in Mosman Park for holidays. The homes received money from the government and from fundraising events like sales and donations.
At this time, A. O. Neville was the government's Chief Protector of Aboriginals. He created a plan to care for and educate Aboriginal and part-Aboriginal children under 16. The goal of this plan was to help young Aboriginal children fit into white society by separating them from their families. This separation process has since been widely criticized. A report in 1997 called Bringing Them Home described these children as the Stolen Generations.
As part of Neville's plan, young Aboriginal children and babies were sent to the Children's Cottage Home run by Sister Kate.
In June 1934, Sister Kate and Ruth Lefroy moved the home with ten school-aged children to a new place in Queens Park. The new home, called "Myola," had six rooms and was built with help from private sponsors. Because of a measles outbreak, the cottage was soon made bigger to create a special room where sick children could be kept separate and cared for. In 1935, a kitchen and a second cottage, "Friendly Cottage," were built to house younger children. Queens Park was a quiet suburb then, but the home was well-located near a school and the train station.
Towards the end of 1936, Neville helped Sister Kate buy more land next to the home. An extra 5.25 acres (2 hectares) were bought in January 1937 using money donated by a kind person. This same person also gave money to make the second cottage bigger and to build a third cottage and a chapel. The third cottage was called "Nursery Cottage," and the chapel was named the "Chapel of the Guardian Angel."
Sister Kate loved the chapel. She held church services, Sunday School, and daily prayers there. She believed the chapel should be open to everyone, so it wasn't officially dedicated until after her death. In 1937, a group called the "Virgillians," led by Mary Durack, helped raise more money. Between 1938 and 1941, a kindergarten and another cottage were built.
During World War II, most of the children were moved to a hotel in Greenbushes for safety. Some children needed special medical care in Perth hospitals, so Ruth Lefroy bought a cottage in Roleystone. After the war, the Roleystone property was sold, and the money was used to build "Memorial Cottage."
In 1946, money from the Lotteries Commission helped build "Gran's Cottage" (as Sister Kate was known by then) as a private home for her. However, soon after, she died suddenly at Tresillian Hospital in Nedlands at the age of 86.
Many of her foster-children were with her from when they were babies until they grew up. They called her "Mum" and later "Gran." She was known for her kindness and quiet strength, which earned her respect from everyone.
After Sister Kate
After Sister Kate's death, a committee managed the home. Ruth Lefroy became the Superintendent Matron. The Queens Park complex, which had seven cottages, a chapel, and a kindergarten, was renamed "Sister Kate's Children's Cottages" to honour her work. Ruth Lefroy died in 1953. In her will, she arranged for the property to be given to the Presbyterian Church, which is now part of the Uniting Church in Australia.
Dean Collard became the Director of the Cottages in August 1987.
In 1988, the cottages were renamed "Manguri." The organisation still provides childcare services for Aboriginal children today.
A street in the Canberra suburb of Macquarie is named Clutterbuck Crescent in her honour.
People Who Lived There
Some notable people who lived at Sister Kate's homes include:
- Ken Colbung, an Indigenous leader
- Polly Farmer, an Australian rules footballer
- Sue Gordon, a Perth Children's Court magistrate
- Hannah McGlade, an academic, human rights advocate, and lawyer
- Rob Riley, a director of the Aboriginal Legal Service
