They meant well. They probably did some good, they undoubtedly caused some harm. Content warning – this article discusses children who were separated from their biological parents, as well as some words used at the time to describe children of different developmental levels. In the period 1865 – April 1867 that this article covers, thereContinue reading “They meant well.”
Category Archives: Orphanages
Tales from the Proserpine: the orphan who lived long and prospered.
The Proserpine was converted from a cattle ship to a prison hulk in 1863, and was repurposed again in 1871 to “to receive boys of the criminal class.”[i] The criminal class included children who had been brought before the Bench as neglected. Neglected children are held, by the sixth clause of the Act, to meanContinue reading “Tales from the Proserpine: the orphan who lived long and prospered.”
Alas, poor Hamlet.
One of the more plaintive entries in the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum Admission Book reads: “I can’t remember anything about my early history – I was put in Diamantina Orphanage when an infant. I was there 11 years. Then was employed by Thomas Allen, Greenmount, 4 years. Then put in Toowoomba Hospital 3 years. Last 2Continue reading “Alas, poor Hamlet.”
Moreton Bay and More 