Organisation St John's Homes for Boys (c. 1924 - 1958)

St John's Homes for Boys was officially opened on 22 November 1924 by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Harrington Lees.

The Home was situated in Canterbury, on a property donated to the Church of England by the Hindson family. In 1923, Alice Hindson donated her mansion at 16 Balwyn Road, Canterbury ('Shrublands') to the Church, with the condition that the building bear the name of St John the Evangelist.

Timber buildings from St Martin's Home for Boys in Auburn was transferred to the Canterbury site, and were later known as the Kimpton Buildings. The two homes were sometimes referred to as the 'Church of England Homes for Boys'. Older boys were housed at St Martin's, and younger boys at St John's. The combined homes were opened officially in 1926 by the Governor, Lord Somers.

Boys from St John's (and St Martin's) attended the local Balwyn Primary School.

A new wing to the Shrublands mansion opened in 1934.

In 1944, a hostel for working boys was opened on the Canterbury site, known as St Martin's.

From 1949 and into the 1950s, St John's Home was one of the institutions in Victoria to receive child migrants from Britain.

In 1951, a pilot 'cottage' home opened in Sandringham. Designed to house 20 boys, it was known as 'St John's by the Sea'.

In the mid 1950s, the cottage style of care was extended to Canterbury, with four cottages on the site opening on the site.

In January 1956, St John's Homes for Boys was declared an approved children's home under the Children's Welfare Act 1954.

By the mid 1950s, St John's Home was moving away from institutional care and towards the 'cottage system', allowing boys and girls to be accommodated there (and siblings to be kept together). The Home changed its name in 1958 accordingly.

Events

1921

St John's Home for Boys is established in Canterbury. Location: Canterbury

1958

By 1958, St John's Home for Boys began caring for young girls and changed its name to St John's Home for Boys and Girls. Location: Canterbury

Timeline

 1921 - c. 1926 St Martin's Home for Boys
       c. 1924 - 1958 St John's Homes for Boys
             1958 - 1997 St John's Home for Boys and Girls
                   1997 - Anglicare Victoria

Books

• Georgeff, Diana, Delinquent Angel, The biography of poet Shelton Lea, who was adopted and later made a ward of the state, and being sent to Kilmany Park, Turana and other institutions in Victoria., Random House, 2007. Details
• Hutchison, John, Reminiscences of St. John's Home for Boys, St John Old Boys & Girls Association, Ringwood East, 2004. Details

Reports

• James Jenkinson Consulting, Guide to out-of-home care services, 1940-2000, This Guide was originally developed in 2001, and its content revised as a result of DHS's 'Update Project' in 2007-2009, Department of Human Services, Unpublished. Details

Online Resources

• British orphans as new Australians: churches open new homes for boy migrants, The Argus, 9 June 1951, 17 pp, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23069564. Details
• Victoria Government Gazette Online Archive 1836-1997, State Library of Victoria, 2009, http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/. Details
• Da Costa-Adams, Robin, 'History - St John's Boys' Home', in Shrublands website, 2008, http://www.shrublands.com.au/. Details
• Nunn, H.W., 'Social Services (Chapter VIII of A Short History of the Church of England in Victoria 1847-1947)', in Project Canterbury, Issued by the Editorial Committee of the Centenary Celebrations, Melboune Diocese, 1947, Project Canterbury, 1999, http://anglicanhistory.org/aus/hwnunn_victoria1947/08.html. Details
• Senate Community Affairs References Committee Secretariat, Parliament of Australia, Lost Innocents: righting the record - report on child migration, Commonwealth of Australia, 30 August 2001, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/1999-02/child_migrat/report/report.pdf. Details