Orphanage and
children’s home records
Research Guide to orphanage and children’s
home records at Queensland State Archives
DR26509 - Diamantina Receiving Depot, Kedron Pk Wooloowin, 1948
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Queensland State Archives (QSA) is the official repository for Queensland Government records selected for
permanent retention because of their continuing value. The archived public records are from state government
departments, state courts, local government authorities and statutory authorities. The records are in our facility
at Runcorn, Brisbane, and open records are available for viewing in the Reading Room, free-of-charge.
QSA holds records of orphanages and children’s homes created by the Department of Children, Youth Justice
and Multicultural Affairs and its predecessor agencies.
The main finding aid for records held at QSA is the Queensland State Archives’ online catalogue (known as
ArchivesSearch).
The following citation abbreviations are used throughout our catalogue:
ITM QSA Item (describes the item)
PR Physical Representation (generally the original or microfilm copy)
DR Digital Representation (for a digital image)
S Series ID (for a series of records)
A Agency ID (for the creating or responsible agency).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that our catalogue contains images, names
and voices of people who have died.
Orphanages, Reformatory Schools and Industrial Schools
Diamantina Orphanage (later Warilda)
From 1865 children were admitted to the Diamantina Orphan School, later named the Diamantina Orphanage.
It ceased to function as an orphanage in 1893, however the renamed Diamantina Receiving Depot continued
its role of reception, care and boarding-out of children to foster care.
Index to admission registers to Diamantina Orphanage and Receiving Depot
Circa 1/1/1865 – 31/12/1905
ITM268112, DR7319 Section A to DR7344 Section Z in S6867
The entries in this index record name, page number in admission register and admission number.
Admission register to Diamantina Orphanage and Receiving Depot
Circa 1/1/1865 – 31/12/1908
ITM268111, DR29897 Part 1 to DR29905 Part 9 in S6866
The entries record name, number, when and where born, when, why and on what terms admitted, when
discharged and to whom, name, occupation, religion and residence of parents, and remarks.
Industrial and Reformatory School for Girls, Toowoomba
The Industrial and Reformatory School for Girls, Toowoomba was established on 1 April 1881, and was
renamed the Industrial School for Girls, Toowoomba in 1890. The Industrial School for Girls, Toowoomba
closed on 14 October 1903.
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Letterbooks - Industrial and Reformatory School for Girls, Toowoomba
13/04/1881–7/9/1895
ITM104863 and ITM104864 in S16295
Letters include details of girls at the school, court matters, character assessments, license details for girls in
service, general administrative matters, finance and the purchase of goods and services.
Diary of discharges
21/4/1882–25/9/1903
ITM104862, DR8716–DR8836 in S16294
The diary entries record details of girls discharged from the school including name, date, number, and remarks.
Admission Registers - Industrial School for Girls, Toowoomba
1/4/1881– 31/12/1903
ITM212557, DR56900 in S6594
These entrance books include name, number, name of ship and year of immigration, where born, religion,
trade, age, height, build, complexion, colour of hair and eyes, education and remarks.
Meteor Park Orphanage (later St Joseph’s Home, Neerkol)
Meteor Park Orphanage, near Stanwell, Rockhampton was licensed under The Orphanages Act of 1879 on 11
December 1885. It was later renamed St. Joseph's Home, Neerkol. Government funding for this home ceased
in 1985.
Admission Registers - Meteor Park Orphanage, Rockhampton
11/5/1885 – 10/5/1909
ITM313140, DR66346 in S16533
These registers include child’s name, admission number, place and date of birth, date of admission, reason for
admission, date of discharge, to whom discharged and why, details of parents, religion of parents.
Registers of Children Hired Out from Meteor Park Orphanage and St. Joseph's Home, Neerkol
29/7/1882 – 28/2/1978
ITM313142, DR58723 and ITM1453387, DR8069–DR8071 in S16535
Meteor Park Orphanage Case Files
29/3/1886 – 30/1/1986
S19362
Registers of children released on probation from Meteor Park Orphanage, Neerkol
21/7/1915 – 15/1/1930
S19368
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Rockhampton Orphanage (later Birralee)
The Rockhampton Orphanage was established in 1870. It was re-named the Rockhampton Receiving Depot in
1894. On 17 Dec 1964, the Depot was re-named Birralee and from 1967/68 acted as a Receiving and
Assessment Centre until Birralee Hostel was opened in 1981.
Admission register to Rockhampton Orphanage and Receiving Depot
18/12/1871 – 3/6/1909
ITM313131, DR63731 in S16525
Receiving depot admission registers
20/11/1875 – 28/5/1919
ITM313129, DR58710–DR58718 ; ITM313130, DR63730 ; ITM313128, DR9698–10486 in S16524
Register of children hired-out
9/7/1881 – 26/6/1905
ITM313132, DR58720 in S16526
Register of applicants
21/2/1910 – 3/1/1959
S16527
Register of illegitimate children
1/1/1915 – 22/5/1923
S16529
Register of nursing homes
11/6/1906 – 13/11/1918
S16530
St. Joseph's Orphanage, Mackay
St. Joseph's Orphanage, Mackay was licensed on 14 April 1880 under The Orphanages Act of 1879. The
children of St. Joseph's Orphanage, Mackay were transferred to Meteor Park Orphanage, Rockhampton on the
22 December 1885.
Admission register to St. Joseph's Orphanage, Mackay
11/5/1880 – 4/8/1884
ITM313137, DR9505–DR9660 in S16531
St Vincent's Orphanage, Nudgee
On 15 December 1866, Roman Catholic children previously at the Diamantina Orphanage were placed in a
newly established Roman Catholic orphanage at New Farm. In 1869, St Vincent's Orphanage moved from
New Farm to Nudgee. St Vincent's Home, Nudgee ceased to receive funding as part of the Licensed
Residential Care Program when the program was discontinued in 1991. Funding continued as part of the
Alternative Care and Intervention Program under the name St Vincent's Home, Nudgee until 1994.
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Index to admission register to St Vincent's Home, Nudgee
14/12/1866 – 26/4/1905
ITM268102, DR82102 in S6862
Admission register to St Vincent's Home, Nudgee
Circa 1/1/1866 – 31/12/1908
ITM268099, DR29906–DR29916 in S6859
Townsville Orphanage (later Carramar)
The Townsville Orphanage was established on 30th August 1878 by order of the Executive Council. Under the
Orphanages Act of 1879, orphanages were charged with the care, teaching and training of children whose
circumstances included death of one or both parents, desertion by parents and neglect. The Act also provided
for the boarding-out, hiring-out and apprenticing of orphanage children.
Index to admission register
Circa 1/1/1879 – 31/12/1911
ITM823062, DR17816–DR17843 in S5150
Admission Registers to Townsville Orphanage and Townsville Receiving Depot
17/05/1879 - 11/06/1908
ITM823066, DR61051 in S5152
17/05/1879 - 19/10/1911
ITM823075, DR17844–DR17955 in S5152
11/07/1895–31/12/1917
ITM823067, DR61052 in S5152
15/02/1912–20/06/1918
ITM823069, DR59536–DR59537 in S5152
Register of children hired out from the orphanage
4/7/1883 – 20/07/1896
ITM104865, DR66347 in S16296
Committee minute books
19/8/1885 – 15/1/1924
S5146
Treatment Books
5/12/1916 – 8/6/1935
S5148
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Westbrook Training Centre
In 1881, the Reformatory School for Boys - Hulk 'Proserpine' closed and moved to a new premises at Signal
Hill, Lytton. On 1 October 1900 the Diamantina Reformatory School for Boys was opened at South Brisbane
and the boys from the Reformatory School at Lytton were moved to Diamantina. In 1919, the Westbrook
Reformatory for Boys changed its name to the Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook. On 26 May 1966 the Farm
Home for Boys was renamed the Westbrook Training Centre.
Admission register to the Industrial and Reformatory School for Boys
16/3/1871 – 6/9/1906
ITM532416, DR57731 in S986
Discharge Register
14/3/1872 – 6/9/1916
ITM512131, DR52066 in S550
Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook Case Files
1/3/1890 – 20/8/1953
S19337
Visiting Medical Officers' Journals
18/2/1873 – 19/4/1990
S989
Visitors' Books
18/2/1873 – 9/7/1984
S988
Visiting Justice's Minute Book
16/9/1874 – 29/3/1916
S1773
General Correspondence
26/6/1885 – 29/11/1941
S998
Papers Relating to the History of Westbrook
22/2/1892 – 31/12/1992
S1223
Superintendent's Punishment Registers
14/1/1924 – 17/6/1988
S549
Administration Files
Circa 1/1/1959 – 31/10/1994
S997
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Visiting Psychiatrist's Journal
3/7/1962 – 25/8/1966
S991
Matron's Daily Report Book
10/12/1968 – 2/10/1990
S993
Record of Tetanus Injections Administered
1/11/1977 – 26/2/1990
S994
Visiting Medical Officer's Record of Hospital Treatment
28/3/1979 – 23/9/1985
S992
Isolation Register
21/11/1993 – 13/6/1994
S996
Handcuff Register
25/11/1993 - Circa 4/7/1994
S999
Home Secretary’s Office (later Health and Home Affairs Department)
Register of state children employed in the Kilcoy Police District
29/7/1916 - 6/9/1922
ITM532271, DR8715 in S940
Nursing Home Roll Registers
10/2/1912 – 28/10/1946
S5147
Register of Illegitimate Children
22/10/1915 – 6/6/1927
S343
Correspondence, Papers & Newspaper Clippings re Child Welfare
Circa 1/1/1904 – 31/12/1926
ITM18189 in S8400, Special Batches
Correspondence, Printed Reports & Newspaper Clippings re Benevolent Societies & Institutions A–Ch
Circa 1/1/1885 – 31/12/1932
ITM18280 in S8400, Special Batches
Correspondence, Printed Reports & Newspaper Clippings re Benevolent Societies & Institutions Ci-K
Circa 1/1/1872 – 31/12/1929
ITM18281 in S8400, Special Batches
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Correspondence, Printed Reports & Newspaper Clippings re Benevolent Societies & Institutions L–S
Circa 1/1/1899 – 31/12/1931
ITM18282 in S8400, Special Batches
Correspondence, Printed Reports & Newspaper Clippings re Benevolent Societies & Institutions T–Y
Circa 1/1/1897 – 31/12/1929
ITM18283 in S8400, Special Batches
State children, reformatories other than Westbrook
Circa 1/1/1897 – 31/12/1925
ITM279894 in S8400, Special Batches
State children, generally
Circa 1/1/1900 – 31/12/1939
ITM279892 in S8400, Special Batches
State children, generally
Circa 1/1/1912 – 31/12/1938
ITM279893 in S8400, Special Batches
Westbrook (Reformatory School for boys)
Circa 1/1/1899 – 31/12/1915
ITM279901 in S8400, Special Batches
Westbrook (Reformatory School for boys)
Circa 1/1/1906 – 31/12/1915
ITM279902 in S8400, Special Batches
Westbrook (Reformatory School for boys)
Circa 1/1/1899 – 31/12/1937
ITM279903 in S8400, Special Batches
Indexes to State Children’s allowances
Circa 1/7/1910 – 31/1/1914
S6577
The general correspondence and special batches of the Colonial Secretary’s Office (later Home Secretary’s
Office) under tabs headings such as Reformatories, and the Department of Public Instruction may also be
useful. For more details, please view our Research Guide to Colonial Secretary’s correspondence 1859–1903.
Labour and Tourism Department
This series comprises batch files about staff, the Apprentices and Minor's Acts, Police, Queensland
Government Tourist Bureau, Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Acts, state enterprises, relief assistance,
income (state development) tax, cases filed in the Industrial Court, Machinery and Scaffolding Acts, factories
and shops, profiteering prevention and tourist resort proposals.
General correspondence batches
Circa 1/1/1921 – 31/12/1974
S9187
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To find specific records during the period 1964–1971 refer to the records below.
Girl's Remand and Assessment Centre, Wilson Youth Hospital
14/4/1965-7/1/1971
ITM294239
Institutional Care, Rehabilitation of Teenage Children, Ministerial visits to these Homes
Circa 1/1/1965 – 31/12/1967
ITM294240
Periodic detention for young offenders
Circa 1/1/1964 – 31/12/1967
ITM294242
Children's Court records
Records held at Queensland State Archives were created by children’s courts in jurisdictions including District
Courts, and regional Courts of Petty Sessions. These records are about serious offences alleged to have been
committed by juveniles under 17 years, such as arson, burglary and stealing, entering premises with intent to
commit an indictable offence, breaching probation orders or community service orders. The records are subject
to a restricted access period of 100 years. View our Using ArchivesSearch videos to learn how to search and
apply for access to these closed records.
For additional sources of information other than records held at QSA, and for support services, please
see details on the following page.
Need more information?
Check our online catalogue ArchivesSearch.
Phone us on (07) 3037 6777 or you can email an archivist.
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Sources of information other than Queensland State Archives records
Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs - Time in Care Information Access
Service (TICIAS)
Information about the service is in the Information sheet (PDF, 162 KB)
Phone: 1800 809 078 (freecall)
Email: rti@cyjma.qld.gov.au
National Redress Scheme
The National Redress Scheme is in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child
Sexual Abuse. Applications may be made before 30 June 2027. Find out more at www.nationalredress.gov.au
or call 1800 737 377.
Support for Forgotten Australians
This Queensland Government web page Support for Forgotten Australians provides a list of organisations and
support services for people who grew up in orphanages, children's homes, institutions and foster homes.
Find and Connect Australia
This web resource was created by the national government for Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants
and anyone with an interest in the history of out-of-home care in Australia. Find out more at
https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ or call 1800 16 11 09.
Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN)
Care Leavers Australasia Network advocates and campaigns for justice and redress for all Care Leavers. Find
out more at https://clan.org.au/ or call 1800 008 774.
Alliance for Forgotten Australians (AFA)
The Alliance for Forgotten Australians is committed to recognition and healing for Forgotten Australians and
encourages their active engagement in the development of policy and services. Find out more at
https://forgottenaustralians.org.au/ or call 0488 460 646.
