Organisation Government Reformatory for Protestant Girls (1864? - ?)

With the demise in Victoria of industrial schools and the introduction instead of a system of 'boarding out' neglected children, the girls' reformatory was moved to temporary quarters in Melbourne. It soon relocated again to Coburg, to new premises 'in immediate contiguity' to Pentridge Prison.

The girls' proximity to prisoners, not to the mention to the city, caused the government to consider relocating the reformatory to more appropriate surroundings. The Secretary of the Department reported in 1891 of how the next 'desirable site' for the reformatory would be distant from the prison, the city, and also inaccessible to the girls' relatives and former associates, 'whose visits almost invariably have been found to have an evil influence and very unsettling effect on the girls.

At the reformatory, girls were trained in domestic service, sewing and doing the laundry of private citizens in the area.

In 1890, an editorial in the Age lauded the private reformatory known as Brookside and compared its farm life with the conditions facing girls at Coburg. It posed the question, 'Can no one else be found to emulate this truly noble example?'

Events

1864

The Reformatory for Protestant Girls is situated in Coburg. Location: Coburg

Reports

• Guillaume, George; Connor, Edward C., The Development and Working of the Reformatory and Preventive Systems in the Colony of Victoria, Australia, 1864-1890, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1891. Also available at http://catalogue.slv.vic.gov.au/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1275188. Details
• Mem, Farm Life for Reformatory Girls: being an account of a visit to 'Brookside' Private Reformatory with editorial comments, Reprinted from the Melbourne "Age", January 25 1890, Melville, Mullen & Slade and M.L. Hutchison, Melbourne, 1890. Also available at http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn1471778. Details

Online Resources

• Lynn, Peter, 'Pentridge Prison', in eMelbourne: the city past and present, Encyclopedia of Melbourne online, The University of Melbourne, 2008, http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01132b.htm. Details