A girl making a bed in a dormitory, Home of the Good Shepherd, Ashfield, 8 October, 1963

It is estimated that for around 50 years in the early to mid-20th century, around 400,000 Australian born children were removed from their families and placed in accommodation and welfare institutions, often known as ‘homes’. Reasons for removal included poverty, abuse and the absence of adult guardians. These children lived in homes alongside migrant children who had been sent to Australia, mostly from the United Kingdom, but also from Malta. From around 1912 to the late 1960s, approximately 7000 child migrants were sent to institutions throughout Australia.

Life in institutions was very difficult for children. Sometimes children’s names were changed, or they were given numbers instead of names. Children were not allowed to own things or contact their families. Many children were neglected, abused and made to do dangerous work. If they told an adult about their treatment, they were not believed.