The Farm School, Picton, New South Wales, Australia
In 1929, Barnardo's established the Mowbray Park Farm School at Picton, New South Wales. It was a reception and training home for children, aged from 6 to 15, emigrated by Barnardo's from Britain. Originally, Mowbray Park took boys and girls but later restricted itself to boys. The establishment followed the model adopted by the Fairbridge Farm School founded in 1923 at Pinjarra near Perth, to which Barnardo's had already been sending its children.
The boys at Mowbray Park were trained in farming skills to enable them to obtain employment as farm workers. Girls were prepared for work in domestic service.
Mowbray Park was closed in 1959 and replaced by a smaller establishment at Tooloogan Vale, Scone.
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Barnardo's 'Making Connections' and Family History Services — for enquiries relating the records of children formerly in the care of Barnardo's and those of other organisations absorbed by them.
Bibliography
- Barnardo, Syrie Louise, and Marchant, James Memoirs of the Late Dr Barnardo (Hodder & Stoughton, 1907)
- Batt, J.H. Dr. Barnardo: The Foster-Father of "Nobody's Children" (S.W. Partridge, 1904)
- Bready, J. Wesley Doctor Barnardo (Allen & Unwin, 1930)
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Rose, June For the Sake of the Children: Inside Dr. Barnardo's: 120 years of caring for children (Hodder & Stoughton, 1987)
- Wagner, Gillian Barnardo (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1979)
Links
- The Barnardo's website.
- The Goldonian Website — memories and information from former Barnardo's children.
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
