Organisation St Joseph's Receiving Home (1902 - 1985)

St Joseph's Receiving Home was established by Margaret Goldspink in 1902. The Home offered shelter to many thousands of pregnant women and also provided short term residential care to children. The Receiving Home was open to women of any denomination (in 1911, 20% of mothers at the home were non-Catholics).

Its first location was in Barkly Street, Carlton, from 1902 to 1905. This property was situated in close proximity to Mrs Goldspink's own home, and the Women's Hospital.

As an 'approved carer' under Victorian legislation, Goldspink also accommodated children deemed to be neglected at the Barkly Street home.

The Archbishop organised a management committee to assist Mrs Goldspink in the running of the Home in May 1902.

In 1905 the Receiving Home moved to Grattan Street, Carlton, when it came under the management of the Sisters of St Joseph. This property, at 90 Grattan Street, was even closer to the Women's Hospital.

Barnard and Twigg write of the expectation that mothers could seek refuge at the Receiving Home for the last months of pregnancy, have the baby at the Hospital, return temporarily to the Receiving Home before moving on to St Joseph's Foundling Hospital in Broadmeadows.

However, many of the mothers and babies did not take up this option. In 1906, Barnard and Twigg demonstrate, the most popular (36%) path for women was to return home (or to a domestic 'situation') with their baby. As they point out however, the difficulties then faced by single mothers trying to support a child may well have resulted in the child going into some form of 'care'.

In 1906, 20% of women at the Receiving Home placed their baby in the care of a private nurse. (After the passage of the Infant Life Protection Act 1907, placements of this nature had to be made through the Department for Neglected Children.)

10% of the mothers went from the Receiving Home to the Foundling Hospital at Broadmeadows, along with their babies. None of the mothers from 1906 sent their child alone to the Foundling Hospital.

From their analysis of these 1906 records, Barnard and Twigg conclude that many women at the Receiving Home did not wish to be separated from their babies.

They point out that in the early years of operation at the Receiving Home, the Sisters kept detailed records of their residents, including the women's background and circumstances. Later, the recordkeeping changed as the Sisters 'became conscious of a need to provide anonymity'.

Extensions to the property were made in 1913, and Archbishop Carr laid the foundation stone in May 1914.

The Receiving Home closed in 1985 and the Sisters established a new service in Glenroy, known as St Joseph's Babies' Home.

In 1997, records of the Sisters of St Joseph were transferred to MacKillop Family Services. These included records of the various orphanages, homes and other residences run by the Sisters of St Joseph. While custodianship of the records about people in 'care' became the responsibility of MacKillop Family Services at this point, it was formally agreed that the intellectual property in these records would not change hands.

Events

1902 - 1905

St Joseph's Receiving Home is situated at 166 Barkly Street, Carlton. Location: Carlton

1905 - 1985

St Joseph's Receiving Home relocates to Grattan Street, Carlton. Location: Carlton

Books

• Barnard, Jill; Twigg, Karen, Holding on to Hope: a history of the founding agencies of MacKillop Family Services 1854-1997, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, 2004. Details
• Murray, Suellen, John Murphy, Elizabeth Branigan, Jenny Malone, After the orphanage: life beyond the children's home, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2009. Details