Organisation Winlaton (1951 - c. 1991)

From 1951 to 1953, Winlaton was a Home for women with venereal diseases, run by the Mission of St James and St JohnAs the discovery and use of penicillin had made the long treatment of venereal disease unnecessary, the Department of Health requested that the Mission withdraw its staff by 30 September 1953, and Winlaton was taken over by the Children's Welfare Department. It became the main state-run institution for female juvenile offenders.

In 1956, the Depatment set out the objectives of Winlaton in its annual report:

Winlaton's objectives are, broadly, to teach a girl:- (i) How to live as a well-adjusted, self-reliant member of the community; (ii) a craft or skill; (iii) how to use her leisure hours; (iv) to know and care for herself and, indeed, to care for others later on as a home-maker.

Girls were accommodated in three cottages at Winlaton, each housing up to 15 girls, in single rooms. The cottages were known as 'Goonyah', 'Warrina' and 'Kooringal'. The Department described the system at Winlaton in 1956: 'Promotion is made from one cottage to another. Conversely, of course, demotion occurs sometimes'.

Before the establishment of Winlaton, 'delinquent' girls who were Catholic were placed at the Abbotsford and Oakleigh convents of the Good Shepherd. Similar placements for Protestant girls were not available at the time. Consequently, these young women were mostly accommodated at the Remand and Reformatory Section of the Department's Royal Park Depot (known as Turana from 1955). In order to reduce over-crowding at Turana, the Department opened its own purpose built institution for 'delinquent girls', the 'Winlaton Girls' Training School' at Nunawading in 1956.

In June 1957, the 'Goonyah' section of Winlaton was declared to be a reception centre for females aged 14 to 21 years. From 1959, the reception centre was in a building known as Winbirra.

The Leawarra Girls' Hostel was added to the Winlaton complex in 1959. The Hostel helped with the overcrowding at Winlaton, and also functioned as a 'privilege' section. The Department described Leawarra in 1960:

Leawarra … has proved itself ideally suited to the accommodation of girls who have completed their training, and are worthy of a trial in private employment to enable them to adjust to proper social standards during a period of unsteadiness until they are capable of managing for themselves, or returning home.

From the 1960s, the general process of de-institutionalisation, combined with a policy commitment to diversion in the field of juvenile justice, led to significant reductions in young people detained.

The Winlaton Youth Training Centre for girls (aged 14 - 21 years) had a population of about 100 in the mid-1970s, which reduced to about 70 in the mid-1980s and about 25 at the time of its closure and relocation to Parkville in 199

Events

1951

The Mission of St James and St John transferrs its Home for women with venereal diseases from Fairhaven in Fairfield to Winlaton. Location: Nunawading

Timeline

 1926 - 1927 The Horseshoe
 1926 - 1927 Ramoth
       1927 - 1951 Fairhaven
             1951 - c. 1991 Winlaton
                   1991 - 1993? Nunawading Youth Residential Service
                         1991 - Parkville Youth Residential Centre

Books

• Davis, Donna with Amy Willesee, Sins of the mothers: a memoir of abandonment, love and redemption, Pan Macmillan, Sydney, 2006. Details
• Willich, Ray, The troubled ones: sexually and emotionally abused children, Hill of Content, Melbourne, 1979. Details

Reports

• Community Services Victoria, Statewide Services Redevelopment Team, Discussion paper on the redevelopment of services for children and young people in Allambie, Baltara and Winlaton, Community Services Victoria, 1986. Details
• 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

• 'Name withheld (submission no 279)', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, Commonwealth of Australia, 2005, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sub279.pdf. Details
• 'Name withheld (submission no 166)', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, This submission describes the author's experiences in a number of Victorian institutions., Commonwealth of Australia, 2005, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sub166.pdf. Details
• Donnelly, Joan, 'Ms Joan Donnelly, Submission no 264', in Inquiry Into Institutional Care: Submissions received as at 17/03/05, This submission to the inquiry describes the author's placement history at a number of institutions in Victoria., Commonwealth of Australia, 18 October 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sub264.pdf. Details
• Smith, R.A., 'Ms Rachel Anne Smith (submission no 293)', in Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care: Submissions received by the committee as at 17/3/05, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sub293.pdf. Details
• Troccoli-Dennis, Nicole, 'Born', in Inside: Life in Children's Homes exhibition blog, National Museum of Australia, Australian Government, 14 December 2009, http://nma.gov.au/blogs/inside/2009/12/14/born/. Nicole Troccoli-Dennis shares a poem she wrote in 1988, at Winlaton Detention Centre, Victoria. Details
• Victorian Government, 'Victorian Government Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care (Submission 173)', in Inquiry into Institutional Care: Submissions received as at 17/03/05, July 2003, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/submissions/sublist.htm. Details