St. John's Orphanage

St. John's Orphanage
Goulburn Boys Orphanage

St. John's Orphanage, Goulburn, northwestern aspect
General information
Status Closed
Type Orphanage
Architectural style Federation
Address 52-56 Mundy St
Town or city Goulburn, New South Wales
Country Australia
Coordinates 34°45′42″S 149°42′37″E / 34.761641°S 149.710339°E / -34.761641; 149.710339Coordinates: 34°45′42″S 149°42′37″E / 34.761641°S 149.710339°E / -34.761641; 149.710339
Completed 1905
Opening 17 March 1912
Technical details
Floor count 3
Design and construction
Architect EC Manfred
Other information
Seating capacity 100

St. John's Orphanage (also known as the Goulburn Boys Orphanage) was an orphanage located in Goulburn, a town located in New South Wales, Australia. It housed only males, with a capacity of approximately 100 children from the ages of 5 to 16. The orphanage was known as a foundling orphanage, which means orphans who were placed in the orphanage had at least one parent alive. The Goulburn Boys Orphanage was opened in 1912 and closed in 1975 after decades of operation.[1]

St. John's Orphanage was one of the two orphanages in Goulburn. In the 1970s the orphanage started to take in girls, rather than being a boys only orphanage.[2] The other orphanage was the St. Joseph's Girls Orphanage which opened in 1906 which replaced a previous orphanage, with its foundation stone being laid much earlier than the St. John's Orphanage (27 August 1905). EC Manfred, a prominent architect for many buildings in Goulburn, designed the orphanage.[3] Notable politicians such as Jim Fraser, a member of Australian Parliament visited the orphanage to entertain the children who stayed in the orphanage.[4]

During its years of operation, young or older children were always subject to beatings, labour, abuse, and neglect. limited clothing that were only washed once a week, and limited resources and facilities such as small amounts of toilets.[5][6] Orphanages including St. John's by the 1970s period all began to shut down as children were now mainly under foster care.[7] It was proposed in 2007 to erect a memorial in Victoria Park for all children who lived all or part of their lives in a Goulburn orphanage or church institution.[8]

History

The Orphanage was opened in 1905 by the Sisters of Mercy and the Catholic Church, with the foundation stone laid and blessed on 17 March by Bishop Gallagher of Goulburn. It was one of the first orphanages to be built in Goulburn. From 1905 until 1912 St. Johns housed both males and females. In 1912 St. Joseph's House of Prayer was opened which became Goulburn's girls orphanage.

St. John's orphanage had many extensions after it was established. A west wing and a chapel was added in 1919, then a new east wing and a rear room during the 1920s. A hall was then constructed and completed in 1932, and an extension to the south wing in 1938. The total size of the property by then was to be around 2.4 hectares (5.9 acres).[9]

In 1930, sister Mary Alphonsus Liguori took charge of the St. John's Orphanage. In the Second World War, the capacity of the orphanage rose to 200 boys, far above the suitable capacity of the building. Sister Liguori organised reunions to promote a sense of solidarity. In 1945 she was transferred to the St. Joseph's Orphanage for Girls, but returned to St. John's Orphanage for three years in 1952. These reunions continued on even after her death on 3 February 1968, until the orphanage closed down several years later.[1][10]

After 71 years in operation, the building closed in 1976. The orphanage site is listed as a heritage conservation area under Goulburn Mulwaree Council's Local Environment Plan.[11]

It was used from the late 1970s to the late 1990s as Youth With A Mission Base Goulburn, where people young and old came from all over the world to do discipleship training courses and to serve on staff in this Christian Interdenominational Organisation.

A notable nun who taught at the St. John's Orphanage, Sister Madeleine Lawrence died on 16 June 2013 at the age of 110. She was buried in the town of Young, New South Wales.[12]

The building today

The lot is owned by businessman John Ferrara, but the orphanage has no current operation. St. John's Orphanage does not have any caretakers. Nocturnal ghost tours are sometimes conducted around the building, with the tour guide explaining what life was like in the orphanage. Goulburn Ghost Tours previously ran tours around the orphanage. but were stopped after Goulburn Heritage Council and commercial owners in Goulburn became outraged at the Tour Group taking upon itse;ves to redesign the Heritage buildings frontage walkway entry, where they had cut and sawed off and replaced Heritage wood with softwood without obtaining permission or Safety Construction permits, (the same tour group is under fire from NSW State Premier Mister Mike Baird for other atrocities).[13]

building complex

The St. John's Orphanage is a large building which contained multiple facilities. However, due to its status, restorations have been heavily considered by the owner and the Goulburn City Council, who are holding him accountable for allowing damage at the orphanage, while he has come up with many development projects on the lot.[14] The orphanage grounds were the largest part of the complex, with the total lot including the building and other facilities being at 24,000 square metres (or 2.4 hectares or 5.9 acres).[9] The orphanage was designed in a federation architectural style.

The orphanage had its own care taker quarters. Other facilities include multiple extensions throughout the building. Reasons why include to have a higher capacity, especially during World War II.[10] The building had its own hall where children would meet, along with a chapel. There is usually one main entrance which is in front of the main building. The main building is three storeys high, which it has its own attic and basement. There are multiple stairs which lead to most rooms. When the St. John's Orphanage and the St. Joseph's Orphanage both closed down, responsibility for children at these two orphanages were passed to St John's Home until it closed in 1987, which left the infrastructure of the orphanages to deteriorate.[15]

Daily routine and life

A school day at the orphanage would start at 6 am with many chores to be completed, most of them were cleaning, tending to cows, chickens including milking, laundry and kitchen duties.Older boys were responsible to the care of the younger boys and babies. A mass would be at 7:15 am, and breakfast would follow after. At the end of the day, and depending on the weather status in Goulburn, boys would play sport, go boxing, play other leisure activities, or have hockey or rugby league training. Weekends were mainly revolved around sports. Hockey, rugby league, and other sports were a common sport to be played during the winter times. The boys of the orphanage were proud and had a well known reputation for their sports.[5][16] Apparently all children were given a dose of Epson salts in the morning, and toilets were limited. Other accounts claim that the result of such limited amount of toilets that boys would "shit in the urinals, drains, on the grass and in our pants". Belting's would proceed if they did this.[6]

An account by a boy who stayed at the orphanage claimed when you entered the orphanage your clothes were taken and were only issued with one set of clothes and no underwear that were only washed once a week. Beatings and other punishments were a common practice in the orphanage.The only time you received a new pair of shoes that may actually fit and have laces was when you left. Being locked in rooms and floggings as punishment and cold showers, neglect of proper medical care even when injured or sick. Meals were spartan and not often appealing. Education was based on religion and Latin and only the academic boys were afforded education past 5th class and not on premises. .[5]

Status

The building is now being used by a local ghost tour company. An occasional caretaker was in place until the Catholic Church sold the building to business man John Ferrara.[17]

The building remains abandoned. It has been heavily vandalised, with most of its windows completely smashed. Walls have also been smashed as well. Recently though, the owner of the building has planned to re-develop it into residential units.

The development is known as the Glebe Gardens, with a pool, a large carparking space and a slight remainder of the original building left. However, there has been no contact of the owner, and the plans have been dropped.[17] In 2009, the proposed retirement village was planned to be developed again, with full reparations of the former orphanage. Ferrara proposed two metre walls to prevent vandals from getting into the complex.[18] Developments sparked up again in 2012 with a plan to build 76 units and houses in seven stages which would span for several years. Peter Madew, who undertook a project with Ferrara claimed the restoration of the orphanage would "cost millions" to restore, even though the property only cost $450,000 when purchased.[19]

In late 2013, the owner of the orphanage, John Ferrara has attempted to develop a 15-lot residential plan on the orphanage grounds. However, the Goulburn Mulwaree Council has demanded that Ferrara must schedule repairs to the orphanage before any approval should be granted.[9]

On 4 November 2015, at 3:50pm there was reports from a man travelling along the Hume Hwy of smoke coming from the roof of the building, he quickly reported this to authorities and by 4:10pm it was up in flames. Emergency services from surrounding areas were dispatched, and called in to control the blaze. By 5:15pm, authorities had the blaze under control.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "St Johns Boys Orphanage (Goulburn)". Care Leavers Australia Network. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "St John's Home, Goulburn (1905 - 1978)". Find & Connect - History & information about Australian orphanages, children's homes, & other institutions. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "St Josephs Orphanage (Goulburn)". Care Leavers Australia Network. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Jim Fraser entertaining children from the Goulburn Boys Orphanage, Goulburn, New South Wales, 1956". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Hume, Nic. "St Johns Foundling Orphanage". Australian Paranormal Phenomenon Investigators. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. 1 2 Penglase, Joanna (1 December 2007). Orphans of the Living - Growing up in 'care' in twentieth-century Australia. Fremantle, Western Australia: Fremantle Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-1920731663.
  7. ↑ Swain, Sherlee. "History of Adoption and Fostering in Australia by Sherlee Swain." History of Adoption and Fostering in Australia. Oxford University, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.
  8. ↑ Thrower, Louise (3 September 2012). "History of orphanages". goulburnpost.com.au (Goulburn Post). Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Thrower, Louise (11 November 2013). "Orphanage owner shown little mercy". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  10. 1 2 McGrath, Sophie. "Vale, Mary (1887–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "St John's Orphanage (Former)". NSW Government Environment & Heritage. Government of Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Willis, Louise (26 June 2013). "Australia's oldest Catholic nun Sister Madeleine Lawrence buried in Young". ABC News. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Goulburn Ghost Tours
  14. ↑ "Legislation, Council Plan, Strategies and Policy Impacts" (PDF). http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/. Ballarat/Victorian Government. Retrieved 9 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  15. ↑ "St John's Home, Auburn Street Goulburn (1976 - 1987)". http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/. Find & Connect. Retrieved 9 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  16. ↑ "History". St. John's Orphanage for Boys, Goulburn. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  17. 1 2 Thrower, Louise (11 January 2004). "Heritage issues vital in 'Glebe' orphanage plans". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  18. ↑ Cole, David (29 October 2009). "Orphanage revamp 'will stop vandals'". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  19. ↑ Thrower, Louise (2 February 2012). "Looks can be deceiving". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.