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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Health and Welfare
Social welfare

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Social welfare

Subject

Ardill, George

Charity and philanthropy

Edith Glanville

Guiterman, Rosine

Hammond, Robert Brodribb Stewart

Sydney City Mission

Sydney Day Nursery Association

The Red Cross in Sydney in World War One

Transcript: Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression

Transcript: Mr John Costa recalls the gypsies who were once common in the Liverpool area

Transcript: Mr William Kennedy recalls collecting the dole at Liverpool Town Hall during the Depression

Transcript: Mrs Amy Everett recalls moving to Chipping Norton during the Great Depression

Transcript: Mrs Constance Jewell remembers economising with meals during the Depression

Transcript: Mrs Lillian Watson remembers her arrival in Hammondville during the Depression

Wayside Chapel

William Chidley at Speakers Corner

Certificate of Exemption

Child Welfare Act 1923

Child Welfare Act 1939

Old Age Pensions Act 1900

Reformatory and Industrial Schools Act 1901

State Children Relief Act 1881

The Confessions of William James Chidley

Goon Yee Tong's meeting rooms

Mission Australia Centre

Myee

Oddfellows Hall Newtown

Oddfellows Hall Ryde

Oddfellows Hall Woollahra

St Magdalen's Retreat

Wayside Chapel

Select Committee on the Condition of the Aborigines 1845

Select Committee on the Condition of the Working Classes of the Metropolis 1859-60

2GB Happiness Club

Actors Benevolent Fund of New South Wales

Anglican Home Mission Society

Anglicare

Australian Aborigines Mission

Australian Council of Social Service

Australian Irish Welfare Bureau & Resource Centre

Australian Jewish Welfare Society

Australian Red Cross

Australian-German Welfare Society

Baptist Churches of NSW and ACT

Becharrie Charitable Association

Benevolent Society of New South Wales

Cambodian-Australian Welfare Council

Centre for Soldiers' Wives and Mothers

Chinese Womens Association of Australia

Church Missionary Society

City Night Refuge and Soup Kitchen

Civilian Widows Association

Communicare Sydney

Coptic Orthodox Society

Council of Social Service of New South Wales

Country Women's Association

Croatian Caritas

Daughters of Temperance

Discharged Prisoners Aid Society

Drapers' Association

Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales

Federation of Ethnic Communities' Council

Foresters Friendly Society

French Benevolent Society

Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council

Gay Counselling Service of New South Wales

Glebe Local Distress Society

Grand United Order of Oddfellows

Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales

Hammond Hotel

Hammondcare

Hawkesbury Benevolent Society

Hebrew Philanthropic Society

Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society

Highland Society of New South Wales

Home Visiting and Relief Society

Homeless Persons' Information Centre

Independent Order of Oddfellows

Italian Benevolent Society

Italian Workingman's Benefit Society

Italo-Australian Welfare Association

Kaiser Wilhelm Spende

Ku-ring-gai Old People's Welfare Association

La Perouse Aboriginal Mission

La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council

Lane Cove Community Aid Service

Latvian Relief Society

Laval Charity Group

Legacy

Life Education Australia

Lord Mayor's Armenian Relief Fund

Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows

Matthew Talbot Hostel

Meals on Wheels

Metropolitan Girls' Shelter, Glebe

Mission Australia

Mission Zone Fund

New South Wales Aborigines Protection Association

New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre

New South Wales Temperance Society

Old Age Pensions League

Open All Night Refuge

Parragirls

Parramatta Benevolent Society

Russian Medical Aid and Comforts Committee

Russian Relief Association of St Sergius of Radonezh

Salvation Army Young Women's Hostel

St Patrick's Total Abstinence Society

Sussex Street Mission

Sydney City Mission

Sydney Female Mission Home

Sydney Female Refuge Society

Sydney Rescue Work Society

Sydney Strangers' Friend Society

Sydney University Settlement Neighbourhood Centre

Ted Noffs Foundation

Thomas Street Asylum

University Women's Society

Vietnamese Women's Association of New South Wales

Wayside Chapel

Wayside Chapel Crisis Centre

Wayside Chapel Drug Referral Centre

Wesley Mission

Women's Christian Temperance Union

Women's Committee of the Sydney Branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation

Young Men's Christian Association

Young Women's Christian Association

Ardill, George Edward (1847-1945)

Arthur, Richard

Backhouse, James

Barnier, Joseph

Booth, Mary

Campbell, George

Charlton, Elizabeth

Cook, Mary

Cooper, Joan

Cowper, William

Crews, Bill

Dexter, Caroline

Dixon, Retta

Djuric, Bonney

Ebbs, AR

Glanville, Edith May

Guiterman, David

Guiterman, Rosine

Hammond, RBS

Hill, Florence

Hill, Rosamond

Holland, Eva

Kerkyasharian, Stepan

Leach, Claudia

Legge, Gertrude

Legge, John Williamson (Jack)

MacKenzie Hatton, Elizabeth

Macarthur Onslow, Rosa Sibella

Moxham, Mary Agnes

Munro Ferguson, Helen

Noffs, Ted

O'Neill, Charles

Playfair, Thomas

Smith, Courtenay

Smith, Shirley (Mum Shirl)

Street, Jessie

Thompson, Alexander

Walker, Alan

Walker, George Washington

Walsh, William Horatio

Hammondville

Parramatta Justice Precinct

'The End of the Odyssey - Children handed over to Child Welfare Department' March 1927

Aboriginal Legal Service, Redfern 1974

Billy Hughes at Hammondville c1935

Boy Scouts' visit to the Royleston Crippled Boys' Home for State Wards, Glebe May 1925

Canon Hammond at Hammondville September 1936

Children in fancy dress at the opening of the 50th home at Hammondville 2 December 1934

Clients at the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern 1974

Cover of 'Female immigration considered in a brief account of the Sydney Immigrants' Home' by Caroline Chisholm 1842

Crowd of children walking up May Street to St Peters railway station for their annual Sunshine Club picnic, 17 March 1945

Entrance to the All Night Refuge for Women and Children in Beauchamp Lane, Surry Hills March 1939

Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society's float in St Patrick's Day parade 1930s

Jesus Adam (right), a counsellor at Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1976

Non-sectarian Sydney City Mission, Millers Point c1920

Official opening of Hammond's Hotel, November 1930

Progress of the soldier settlement scheme at Frenchs Forest in the Lone Hand, August 1918

Red Cross stall on Belmore Road, Randwick for World War I 'Australia Day' fundraiser 30 July 1915

Reverend Ted Noffs outside Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1966

Ted Noffs with group of people at Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross, 1966

The Metropolitan Girls' Shelter at the rear of Bidura, Avon Street Glebe 1931

This village stands as one man's memorial 1946

Till Charity Do Us Part 1900

Vickery Mission Settlement and Central Methodist Mission

Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1966

Women's liberationists storm the roof at the Bidura Shelter for Girls in Glebe on International Womens Day 8 March 1974

John Rule, former coordinator of the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre, on social diversity and AIDS in Surry Hills

Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression, interviewed in 1986

Mr William Kennedy recalls collecting the dole at Liverpool Town Hall during the Depression, interviewed in 1986

Mrs Lillian Watson remembers her arrival in Hammondville during the Depression, interviewed in 1986

Reverend Graham Long on the Wayside Chapel

Thelma Crawley on delivering Meals on Wheels to Rosaleen Norton, the 'Witch of Kings Cross' 2007

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Social welfare

Ardill, George

Temperance advocate, evangelist and charity worker, George Ardill was absolutely certain of the validity of his ideas about redemption and rescue of women and children. His later work as a member of the Aboriginal Protection Board, accompanied by similar certainty, led directly to some of the most tragic and damaging results of colonialism for Aboriginal people.

Charity and philanthropy

In nineteenth-century Sydney, charity protected poor people from starvation and homelessness. The introduction of benefits and pensions in the early and mid-twentieth century made it less crucial, though still important. In recent times, as government outsourced many functions previously been assigned to the state, charity regained some of the influence it had in the nineteenth century.

Edith Glanville

Edith Glanville was a leading Sydney philanthropist and pioneering female Justice of the Peace. She supported Armenians, was involved in the beginnings of the League of Nations, and founded the Quota Club and the Soroptimists Club of Sydney.

Guiterman, Rosine

Rosine Guiterman was a Jewish activist, teacher, poet and humanitarian, with apparently inexhaustible reserves of energy, whose commitment to social justice informed her professional and personal life

Hammond, Robert Brodribb Stewart

One of the best-known clergymen in Sydney during the first half of the twentieth century, RBS Hammond was a passionate advocate of temperance and 'practical Christianity'. His philanthropic endeavours, involving housing, feeding and finding employment for the poor, survived him in the suburb of Hammondville, and the institution of HammondCare.

Sydney City Mission

Appalled by the poverty he found in Sydney when he arrived in 1860, Benjamin Short founded the Sydney City Mission in 1862. While some of the problems it addressed changed over the years, the Mission's work for Sydney's most vulnerable people continues in 2009.

Sydney Day Nursery Association

The Sydney Day Nursery Association was established in Woolloomooloo in 1905 as a child care service for infant children of working class mothers. It extended its services to preschool-aged children in 1937, when it changed its name to the Sydney Day Nursery and Nursery Schools Association. In 1999 it became SDN Children's Services.

The Red Cross in Sydney in World War One

A Sydney branch of the British Red Cross was formed in 1913 and it, and a host of new branches, joined the national movement at the outbreak of World War One in August 1914. The earliest activities were training in first aid and home nursing as pre-requisites for membership of Voluntary Aid Detachments. At a local level Red Cross workers undertook sewing, knitting and fundraising, all the while being encouraged to see themselves at 'ministering angels'.

Transcript: Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression

Mr George Bates was born in 1912 was interviewed in 1986 for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960 ' project. Here he talks about a friendly society called the Ancient Order of Foresters, which was active in the Liverpool area during the Great Depression.

Transcript: Mr John Costa recalls the gypsies who were once common in the Liverpool area

Mr John Costa was born in 1928 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project. Here he remembers gypsies who were once common in the Liverpool area.

Transcript: Mr William Kennedy recalls collecting the dole at Liverpool Town Hall during the Depression

Mr William Kennedy was born in 1910 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' He remembers crowds of men gathering to collect the dole at Liverpool Town Hall during the Great Depression

Transcript: Mrs Amy Everett recalls moving to Chipping Norton during the Great Depression

Mrs Amy Everett, interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project, remembers her mother's reaction to moving to Chipping Norton from Artarmon in Sydney's northern suburbs, during the Great Depression.

Transcript: Mrs Constance Jewell remembers economising with meals during the Depression

Mrs Constance Jewell was born in 1896 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' She moved with her husband to Hammondville, a housing settlement for families in difficulty during the depression. She recalls economising with meals during that time.

Transcript: Mrs Lillian Watson remembers her arrival in Hammondville during the Depression

Mrs Lillian Dulcie Watson was born in 1904 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Mrs Watson remembers her arrival in Hammondville, a settlement developed near Liverpool during the depression for families in need.

Wayside Chapel

founded by Tedd Noffs, the Wayside Chapel has been a landmark in Kings Cross since 1963, helping locals and visitors and creating several organisations active in drug rehabilitation, life education and other social reform.

William Chidley at Speakers Corner

William James Chidley was a regular speaker in the Domain in the early twentieth century. His odd dress and eccentric views led to his repeated arrest and confinement in mental institutions. Considered a social and moral menace by the authorities of the day, Chidley's struggle for freedeom garnered nationwide support, ultimately exposing social conflicts over censorship and freedom of speech, morality and relations between the sexes.

Certificate of Exemption

A certificate which was granted under the provisions of the Aborigines Protection Act and Regulations 1909-43. It meant that to the recipient was no longer eligible to receive any benefit, assistance or relief from the Board, and had to undertake to provide a proper home for himself/herself and his/her family.

full record »

Child Welfare Act 1923

Legislation to amend previous acts and increase government powers to place children at risk in institutions and the legal framework for those institutions.

full record »

Child Welfare Act 1939

Legislation to consolidate and amend previous laws relating to young people and giving much greater power to the Child Welfare Department including the power to remove Aboriginal children from their families.

full record »

Old Age Pensions Act 1900

Legislation enacted in 1901 to provide a pension to deserving persons in New South Wales. Federal legislation was introduced in 1908 and the state legislation repealed in 1911.

full record »

Reformatory and Industrial Schools Act 1901

Act that repealed the 1866 Reformatory and 1866 Destitute Children's Acts. It retained provisions for offenders under sixteen, and for vagrant and destitute children, and provided a court with the power to commit a child to the care of a relative, a named person, the State Children's Relief Board or to a public industrial school.

full record »

State Children Relief Act 1881

Legislation to allow the boarding out and apprenticeship of destitute children.

full record »

The Confessions of William James Chidley

Autobiography written before 1899 which was not meant to be published until after his death though extracts were used be Havelock Ellis. It was finally published in full in 1977.

full record »

Goon Yee Tong's meeting rooms

Rooms in Dixon Street occupied since 1917 by the Chinese fraternal and mutual support society Goon Yee Tong, thought to be the oldest Chinese society in Australia.

full record »

Mission Australia Centre

Surry Hills facility for drug users and the homeless offering accommodation and health services.

full record »

Myee

Late Victorian residence built for solicitor and Mayor of Rockdale John Horatio Clayton. It became a home for babies and young unmarried mothers who had been committed by the Children's Court to state care. Some mothers retained their babies after they left Myee, but many babies were adopted. From 1977 it was used as a home for secondary school aged boys who were considered to have intellectual disabilities.

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Oddfellows Hall Newtown

Oddfellows Hall constructed for the Loyal William Gane Lodge No.5 which was one of many friendly society lodges established in Sydney in the nineteenth century.

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Oddfellows Hall Ryde

Hall opened in 1869 in Ryde by Oddfellows Lodge Uniting Friends No.48. Since 1917 the hall has been owned by the adjacent Wesley Uniting Church.

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Oddfellows Hall Woollahra

Masonic hall initiated by the Loyal Rose of Denmark, No 39 Lodge of the Manchester United Independent Order of Oddfellows. In the 1880s it also hosted dances.

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St Magdalen's Retreat

Hostel providing accommodation for females over the age of 12 years. It was used by the New South Wales Government as a care institution, as well as accepting voluntary admissions from families who could not care for young women. The building is now a community centre.

full record »

Wayside Chapel

Community and social welfare centre which reopened after extensive redevelopment to provide meeting space, cafe, rooftop garden and dedicated programs for the most marginal in society.

full record »

Select Committee on the Condition of the Aborigines 1845

Committee formed by the NSW Legislative Council to investigate the treatment and condition of Aboriginal people in New South Wales.

full record »

Select Committee on the Condition of the Working Classes of the Metropolis 1859-60

Committee established to assess and assist the underprivileged. Its report on the unemployed, the declines in rates of pay, accommodation, and the existence and extent of juvenile vagrancy in the public streets brought a realisation that the evils of the old world had indeed been transplanted to the new.

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2GB Happiness Club

Radio station club founded by Mrs WJ (Eunice) Steltzer with the motto 'Others First'. Members performed charitable acts for the sick and needy.

full record »

Actors Benevolent Fund of New South Wales

Benevolent society formed during World War II to assist actors and their families during times of hardship.

full record »

Anglican Home Mission Society

Social welfare and support agency.

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Anglicare

The urban mission and community care arm of the Sydney Anglican Church.

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Australian Aborigines Mission

Association formed in 1894 to teach gospel to aborigines.

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Australian Council of Social Service

Advocacy group formed in 1956 to represent the interests of organisations and people involved in social welfare in Australia.

full record »

Australian Irish Welfare Bureau & Resource Centre

Support group for the Irish Australian community in need.

full record »

Australian Jewish Welfare Society

Welfare organisation conceived in 1935 in response to persecution of Jews in Europe, which launched an appeal to save German Jewry through migration on the first day of Passover, 7 April 1936. In subsequent decades the organisation became a major welfare service provider to the Jewish community, in aged care, family services, mental health and other areas.

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Australian Red Cross

Voluntary aid organisation formed as a branch of the British Red Cross in Melbourne in August 1914. It was quickly adopted and established in each state by the wives of each state governor.

full record »

Australian-German Welfare Society

Society established by German speaking people to provide emergency support and care.

full record »

Baptist Churches of NSW and ACT

Baptist union of churches which are part of the Australian Baptist Ministries.

full record »

Becharrie Charitable Association

Social and cultural group for migrants and descendants of migrants from Becharrie in North Lebanon, providing activities for youth, families and the aged.

full record »

Benevolent Society of New South Wales

An early charitable society, founded in 1813 and renamed the Benevolent Society in 1818, that became one of Sydney's largest health and welfare providers.

full record »

Cambodian-Australian Welfare Council

Community organisation formed as the Khmer Interagency in 1983 after a meeting at the Cabramatta Migrant Hostel.

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Centre for Soldiers' Wives and Mothers

Support organisation which offered emotional and practical assistance to women during the war. As well as advice about persons missing at war practical help was also given for debt relief, food and rent. Centres existed in both the city and suburbs.

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Chinese Womens Association of Australia

Support and social organisation established by Phyllis Wong, wife of the Consul General, to combat the problems of isolation and loneliness felt by Chinese women. They would meet in the restaurant at the corner of Pitt and Goulburn streets.

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Church Missionary Society

Evangelical Anglican society which was formed in England to spread the gospel. Today Australia has the largest mission organisation with 160 missionaries serving in 33 countries.

full record »

City Night Refuge and Soup Kitchen

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Shelter and soup kitchen established in 1868 at The Judge's House, in Kent Street by a group of businessmen. It was taken over by the Sydney City Mission in 1945.

Civilian Widows Association

Organisation established in 1949 to assist and lobby on behalf of widows not covered by the War Widows Guild.

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Communicare Sydney

Charity organsiation which provides marriage counselling, financial assistance and school holiday programs.

full record »

Coptic Orthodox Society

Organisation of Coptic Orthodox Egyptian migrants providing social welfare support and working for the establishment of a Coptic Church in Australia.

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Council of Social Service of New South Wales

Umbrella body for NSW community organisations formed in 1936 to coordinate efforts to secure improved funding and services for the disadvantaged.

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Country Women's Association

National social and cultural body that works to improve conditions for country women and children. Branches are found in most rural communities.

full record »

Croatian Caritas

Social welfare association for Croatian migrants founded in 1952

full record »

Daughters of Temperance

Social movement urging reduced use, or total abstinence, of alcohol. It began in Australia in the mid 1830s promoting moderation rather than abstinence.

full record »

Discharged Prisoners Aid Society

Organisation established to address the material and practical needs of prisoners and their families. First formed in Melbourne in 1872 it was established in Sydney two years later.

full record »

Drapers' Association

Association to promote the welfare of employers and employees in the mercantile community. As well as the sanitary conditions of workers it was also concerned with the manufactures and imports of the colony.

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Ethnic Affairs Commission of New South Wales

Commission involved in the research and investigation of ethnic affairs with special emphasis on promoting the integration of different ethnic groups.

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Federation of Ethnic Communities' Council

Organisation representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds which provides advocacy, develop policy and promote issues to government and the broader community.

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Foresters Friendly Society

Friendly society which provided financial support to members in need and promoted the moral, social and intellectual improvement of its members. The order began in Victoria in 1849, based on the English model of 1700s.

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French Benevolent Society

Organisation providing assistance to elderly, sick, lonely or vulnerable French-speaking people.

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Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council

Autonomous organisation governed by a board elected by local members every two years to work for Aboriginal community living in the Liverpool area. They assist in matters relating to housing, legal, employment and other day-to-day matters involving Aboriginal people in accordance with functions detailed under the Act.

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Gay Counselling Service of New South Wales

Lesbian women's group established when Sydney lesbians broke away from CAMP New South Wales because of sexism from male members.

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Glebe Local Distress Society

Charitable society which operated from 1914 until the 1930s to provide aid to the poor.

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Grand United Order of Oddfellows

Friendly society which provided financial support to members in need and promoted the moral, social and intellectual improvement of its members. The order began in Australia in 1848.

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Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales

Greek community organisation founded to build a church in the late nineteenth century, and subsequently developing welfare and education functions. It is Sydney's oldest Greek community organisation.

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Hammond Hotel

Charity organisation established by RBS Hammond to feed and house the homeless and unemployed. The first in Newtown was followed by five others in the surrounding suburbs, often in disused warehouses.

full record »

Hammondcare

Housing scheme established by RBS Hammond to provide housing and land to families evicted during the Depression. The scheme changed to also include aged and dementia care and rehabilitation.

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Hawkesbury Benevolent Society

Charitable society established on 31 December 1818 to provide social welfare services in the Hawkesbury district In 1936 the Hospitals Commission of New South Wales acquired supervision of the society as a public hospital under the Public Hospitals Act 1929.

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Hebrew Philanthropic Society

Established in 1833. In 1876 it merged with the Sir Moses Montefiore Jewish Home

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Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society

Church based support network established to provide hospital, sickness and funeral benefits through insurance style subscription.

full record »

Highland Society of New South Wales

Formed in 1877 by the amalgamation of the Caledonian Society and the Gaelic Society as a charitable and cultural organisation.

full record »

Home Visiting and Relief Society

Charitable organisation active between 1863 and 1902

full record »

Homeless Persons' Information Centre

Information and referral agency operated by the Sydney City Council to assist homeless people in Sydney

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Independent Order of Oddfellows

Friendly society established on the English model to provide financial and practical assistance to members, particularly in times of illness or unemployment.

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Italian Benevolent Society

Social welfare organisation for members of the Italian community active 1882-1902

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Italian Workingman's Benefit Society

Social welfare organisation for members of the Italian community active 1891-1902

full record »

Italo-Australian Welfare Association

Social welfare organisation for members of the Italian community during the 1950s and 1960s, merged in 1968 with the Italian Welfare Committee (CoAsIt)

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Kaiser Wilhelm Spende

Charitable organisation assisting German immigrants in the 1890s

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Ku-ring-gai Old People's Welfare Association

Independent non profit organisation to provide care and accommodation for older community members.

full record »

La Perouse Aboriginal Mission

Protestant mission established in 1885 to provide food, shelter, education and religious instruction to the Aboriginal community already living in the area.

full record »

La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council

Aboriginal organisation given title to Yarra Bay House, La Perouse and the adjacent Reserve in 1984 following a successful land title claim.

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Lane Cove Community Aid Service

Voluntary organisation devoted to the welfare needs of the Lane Cove community.

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Latvian Relief Society

Community support organisation.

full record »

Laval Charity Group

Charitable organisation serving the Mauritian community in Sydney

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Legacy

Philanthropic organisation formed to provide services to dependants of veterans.

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Life Education Australia

Philanthropic organisation which provides health education to young people to empower them to make informed decisions about a safe and healthy lifestyle.

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Lord Mayor's Armenian Relief Fund

Philanthropic organisation to raise funds and goods for the survivors of the Armenian massacres in Turkey in 1915, based on the model of a British fund formed in that year.

full record »

Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows

Friendly society established on the English model to provide financial and practical benefits to members in times of illness or unemployment.

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Matthew Talbot Hostel

Homeless men's hostel established by the St Vincent de Paul Society in 1938, which has functioned at various sites in Sydney, and is still a centre for services to the homeless.

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Meals on Wheels

Community organisation which originated in Britain but which spread rapidly across Australia from the early 1950s. It provides meals and support to frail aged people who wish to remain in their own homes.

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Metropolitan Girls' Shelter, Glebe

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Government receiving home and shelter for girls awaiting court hearings. Treatment and discipline were harsh and frightening for the girls assigned there. The terrace building in which it was housed was demolished in 1978.

Mission Australia

Non denominational Christian community organisation established when nine local mission organisations amalgamated in 1997.

full record »

Mission Zone Fund

Anglican care program aimed at meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of people in the inner city through parish-based welfare services.

full record »

New South Wales Aborigines Protection Association

Association established in 1880 to provide reserves of land for Aboriginal settlements and support training and education opportunities.

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New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre

Counselling service for anyone in Australia who has experienced or is at risk of sexual assault, family or domestic violence.

full record »

New South Wales Temperance Society

Organisation promoting abstinence from the consumption of alcoholic beverages, which also lobbied governments to restrict the sale of alcohol.

full record »

Old Age Pensions League

Organisation formed to lobby government to provide a pension for the aged poor at a time when there was over 3000 adults crowded in to dirty and unsuitable institutions.

full record »

Open All Night Refuge

Refuge opened in 1884 to provide meals and beds for homeless women and children. The refuge opened at 403 Sussex Street but operated in many different locations until its closure in the 1950s.

full record »

Parragirls

Support group formed by former Parramatta Girls to provide a contact register and support network for former occupants of the Parramatta Girls Home and their families.

full record »

Parramatta Benevolent Society

Charitable society established in 1838 to provide social welfare services in the Parramatta area

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Russian Medical Aid and Comforts Committee

Organisation formed in 1941, a few weeks after Russia became an ally in the European war effort, to provide medical and humanitarian aid to the Russian people. This included over 165,000 dressed sheepskins sent in 1942.

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Russian Relief Association of St Sergius of Radonezh

Russian aid organisation which extended its services to aged care.

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Salvation Army Young Women's Hostel

Support organisation for single working girls to provide safe budget accommodation in the city. The premises in Elizabeth St opened in 1924 and another was established at Surry Hills from 1927 to 1973.

full record »

St Patrick's Total Abstinence Society

Moral movement to promote abstinence from intoxicating drinks which was active during the 1840s.

full record »

Sussex Street Mission

Charitable mission established in 1896 by the Congregational Church

full record »

Sydney City Mission

Philanthropic organisation formed to provide welfare to Sydneysiders living in poverty, which was absorbed by the umbrella organisation Mission Australia in 1996.

full record »

Sydney Female Mission Home

Charity run home established to provide spiritual guidance and material support to abused women and girls.

full record »

Sydney Female Refuge Society

Society established to assist prostitutes to abandon their work and learn needlework and laundering skills under strict moral guidance.

full record »

Sydney Rescue Work Society

Organisation founded in 1890 to provide practical care and support to destitute children and families.

full record »

Sydney Strangers' Friend Society

Nineteenth century charitable group offering social welfare and assistance to those in need

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Sydney University Settlement Neighbourhood Centre

Philanthropic and social support organisation established to assist 'anyone requiring and deserving help', it today works primarily with the Aboriginal community and other disadvantaged groups in Chippendale, Redfern, Darlington and Waterloo.

full record »

Ted Noffs Foundation

Founded by the Reverend Ted Noffs in 1970 the foundation provides essential services for young people and their families who are experiencing drug and alcohol problems and related trauma.

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Thomas Street Asylum

Asylum established by the Benevolent Society to resume the duties of care conducted by Benevolent Asylum which had been resumed for railway expansion. It took in destitute women and children until the 1920s, and provided handouts to struggling families for much longer. Its forbidding façade has been incorporated into a hotel.

full record »

University Women's Society

Charitable association established to assist 'anyone requiring and deserving help', whose members worked at hospitals, asylums, children's centres and schools.

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Vietnamese Women's Association of New South Wales

Support organisation founded to represent and provide the settlement needs and address concerns of Vietnamese women and their families in NSW.

full record »

Wayside Chapel

Chapel that pioneered outreach and support for Kings Cross's homeless, disadvantaged and drug-affected residents.

full record »

Wayside Chapel Crisis Centre

Organisation to deal with drug overdoses, potential suicides and other youth related problems in Kings Cross.

full record »

Wayside Chapel Drug Referral Centre

First drug referral centre established in Australia in 1967 by Ted Noffs at the Wayside Chapel.

full record »

Wesley Mission

Evangelical organisation which grew out of the York Street Methodist chapel in 1884 when it was decided to actively undertake conversion and charitable work among the city's outcasts, poor, and working class.

full record »

Women's Christian Temperance Union

Women's movement begun in the United States of America which strove to reduce the destructive power of alcohol in the community. It continues to promote a drug free lifestyle and Christian values.

full record »

Women's Committee of the Sydney Branch of the Waterside Workers' Federation

Committee established to assist in the national waterfront strikes during the 1950s and 1960s. It mostly made up of wives of the striking wharf workers and performed volunteer help for their communities.

full record »

Young Men's Christian Association

The YMCA is a worldwide organisation which provides community development and spiritual support. Formed in England in the 1840s, it started in Sydney in 1853.

full record »

Young Women's Christian Association

Christian women's support association established in Sydney by Mary Jane Barker.It provided migrant accommodation, an employment agency, an early savings bank for women and the first women's gymnasium in 1912, and continues at the forefront of women's advocacy.

full record »

Ardill, George Edward (1847-1945)

full record »

Evangelist and social worker who was the founder of refuges for women and children including the Sydney Rescue Work Society. His later work as a member of the Aboriginal Protection Board led directly to some of the most tragic and damaging results of colonialism for Aboriginal people.

Arthur, Richard

Doctor, politician and social reformer who campaigned for returned servicemen's homes, child endowment and unemployment relief.

full record »

Backhouse, James

Naturalist and Quaker missionary who travelled extensively and reported to several colonial governments on prison reform and transportation in Australia and South Africa.

full record »

Barnier, Joseph

Anglican minister held in high regard by his parish for his aid to those less fortunate.

full record »

Booth, Mary

Physician, welfare officer and feminist who lectured on hygeine and campaigned vigorously for immigration and many issues to improve the lot of women.

full record »

Campbell, George

Congregational minister at Burwood who was first president of the council of Sydney City Mission.

full record »

Charlton, Elizabeth

Charity worker who filled the position of Mayoress of Granville while her son, James Robert Charlton, served as mayor. Her father played an instrumental role in the opening up of coal mines in the Illawarra district. She was the first president of the Granville branch of the New South Wales Red Cross.

full record »

Cook, Mary

Charity worker who was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to the Red Cross. She was also the wife of the sixth prime minister of Australia.

full record »

Cooper, Joan

Aboriginal woman who worked tirelessly for Legacy after her husband, a soldier in World War II, died in 1978. After her death the Blue Mountains City Council recognised her contribution by naming the Auntie Joan Cooper Bridge after her.

full record »

Cowper, William

Anglican minister who arrived in 1809 and over nearly 50 years, preached, founded schools, churches and religious societies and worked with convicts and Aboriginal people.

full record »

Crews, Bill

Uniting Church minister who founded the Exodus Foundation to help homeless youth.

full record »

Dexter, Caroline

Feminist and writer whose independence and interest in social reform startled society in Sydney, and Melbourne where she eventually settled.

full record »

Dixon, Retta

Missionary and evangelist who assisted dispossessed and semi-urban Aborigines by founding missions and large revivalist rallies.

full record »

Djuric, Bonney

Woman whose family poverty lead to her incarceration as a 15 year old child in harsh and abusive welfare institutions.

full record »

Ebbs, AR

Anglican minister.

full record »

Glanville, Edith May

full record »

A strong and opinionated woman, Edith was a highly talented activist, feminist and lecturer who travelled extensively in the Middle East, was involved in the formation of the League of Nations and fought throughout her life for the poor and oppressed.

Guiterman, David

American businessman of German descent who suffered from the social repression at the start of World War I.

full record »

Guiterman, Rosine

Jewish activist, poet and humanitarian whose commitment to teaching, social action and the theatre seemed inexhaustible.

full record »

Hammond, RBS

full record »

Anglican minister who worked with drunks and the poor, and founded a number of charitable enterprises aimed at rehabilitating the destitute of Sydney.

Hill, Florence

Social reformer and writer who visited Sydney in the 1870s.

full record »

Hill, Rosamond

Social reformer and writer who visited Sydney in the 1870s.

full record »

Holland, Eva

Deaconess who administered a mission house at Woolloomooloo for many years from 1905.

full record »

Kerkyasharian, Stepan

Armenian born leader who has worked tirelessly for racial harmony and cultural understanding.

full record »

Leach, Claudia

Alderman and community leader who worked to establish the Community Aid program in Lane Cove to provide home nursing, child minding and meals to the needy in the community.

full record »

Legge, Gertrude

Socialist who continued the activist role of her parents.

full record »

Legge, John Williamson (Jack)

Biochemist who carried out physiological research in the field of chemical warfare, including mustard gas. He and his wife were active members of the Communist Party.

full record »

MacKenzie Hatton, Elizabeth

Missionary who worked with Pacific Islanders and Aborigines in Queensland before she was invited to help with Aboriginal children in Sydney, establishing a home for girls at Homebush.

full record »

Macarthur Onslow, Rosa Sibella

Third of eight children, and the only surviving daughter, of Captain Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of James Macarthur. Known as Sibella, she inherited her mother's considerable estate at Camden Park (963 acres) and 20,000 pounds. She became a prominent charity worker, being on the executive of the New South Wales branch of the Red Cross.

full record »

Moxham, Mary Agnes

Charity worker who became president of the Parramatta branch of the New South Wales Red Cross. She was also president of the Parramatta auxiliary of the Crown Street Women's Hospital. She was the wife of the politician, Thomas Robert Moxham.

full record »

Munro Ferguson, Helen

full record »

President and founder of the Australian Branch of the British Red Cross Society. She was also the wife of Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, Governor-General of Australia in 1914-20. In 1918 she was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) for her work during World War I.

Noffs, Ted

Methodist minister who reached out to the most marginalised in society through his work at the Wayside Chapel and Lifeline.

full record »

O'Neill, Charles

Civil engineer who co-founded the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Australia.

full record »

Playfair, Thomas

full record »

Butcher, charity worker and politician who campaigned for slum clearance and improved sanitation and water supply for the city. He was also responsible for the establishment of the Homebush saleyards in 1882. He served as Mayor of Sydney in 1885.

Smith, Courtenay

Charity worker on behalf of alcoholics.

full record »

Smith, Shirley (Mum Shirl)

Aboriginal activist whose welfare work began by visiting Aboriginal prisoners. Over many years she also provided a home for over 60 children.

full record »

Street, Jessie

Feminist activist who campaigned for every major social justice issue of the twentieth century, including women's and children's rights, Aboriginal rights, peace, civil liberties, economic equality and more.

full record »

Thompson, Alexander

Teacher and administrator whose knowledge and interest in social and child welfare shaped his successful career in public instruction.

full record »

Walker, Alan

Methodist minister, superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission, founder of the Lifeline counselling service. Knighted in 1981.

full record »

Walker, George Washington

Shopkeeper, Quaker missionary and humanitarian who travelled with James Backhouse for nine years through the Australian and South African colonies assisting Aborigines, convicts and prisoners.

full record »

Walsh, William Horatio

Church of England clergyman who used his friendships with members of the upper classes to promote his parochial and educational work among the underprivileged.

full record »

Hammondville

South-western residential suburb established in 1932 by Anglican minister Robert Hammond. Inner-city, rent-paying families evicted during the Depression were provided with homes through a rent-purchase program.

full record »

Parramatta Justice Precinct

Legal campus comprising judicial and administrative functions, community service health and welfare related needs.

full record »

'The End of the Odyssey - Children handed over to Child Welfare Department' March 1927

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168682028 via Trove]

(Truth (Sydney) 20 March 1927 p 12)

Aboriginal Legal Service, Redfern 1974

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A8739, A2/8/74/15]

Billy Hughes at Hammondville c1935

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a218026 / PXE 789 (v.17), 53]

Boy Scouts' visit to the Royleston Crippled Boys' Home for State Wards, Glebe May 1925

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Sydney Mail, June 3, 1925, p19)

Canon Hammond at Hammondville September 1936

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_13224 / Home and Away 13224]

(Mitchell Library)

Children in fancy dress at the opening of the 50th home at Hammondville 2 December 1934

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_01205 / Home and Away 1205]

(Mitchell Library)

Clients at the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern 1974

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[NAA A8739, A2/8/74/22]

Cover of 'Female immigration considered in a brief account of the Sydney Immigrants' Home' by Caroline Chisholm 1842

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

Crowd of children walking up May Street to St Peters railway station for their annual Sunshine Club picnic, 17 March 1945

full record »

By

Ivan Wilfrid Ive

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 017/Item 085]

Entrance to the All Night Refuge for Women and Children in Beauchamp Lane, Surry Hills March 1939

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 026/Item 040]

(Mitchell Library, courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd)

Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society's float in St Patrick's Day parade 1930s

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_29888 / Home and Away 29888]

(Mitchell Library)

Jesus Adam (right), a counsellor at Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1976

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A6180, 30/1/76/38]

Non-sectarian Sydney City Mission, Millers Point c1920

full record »

Contributed By

Private collection

Official opening of Hammond's Hotel, November 1930

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-article16733389]

(Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 1930, p18 via Trove)

Progress of the soldier settlement scheme at Frenchs Forest in the Lone Hand, August 1918

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Lone Hand. Auguse 1918, p385 via Trove]

Red Cross stall on Belmore Road, Randwick for World War I 'Australia Day' fundraiser 30 July 1915

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Reverend Ted Noffs outside Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1966

full record »

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A6180, 30/1/76/36]

Ted Noffs with group of people at Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross, 1966

full record »

By

William (Bill) Brindle

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn4590878]

The Metropolitan Girls' Shelter at the rear of Bidura, Avon Street Glebe 1931

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Truth (Sydney), 31 May, 1931, p1)

This village stands as one man's memorial 1946

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[news-article47505391]

(The Australian Women's Weekly, 22 June 1946 p18, via Trove)

Till Charity Do Us Part 1900

full record »

The separation of Darby and Joan, as practised at present by Mr Bumble of NSW alleged Charities Department

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Bulletin, 28 July 1900 p16 via Trove]

Vickery Mission Settlement and Central Methodist Mission

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_09540 / Home and Away - 9540]

Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1966

full record »

By

William (Bill) Brindle

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1200, L54993]

Women's liberationists storm the roof at the Bidura Shelter for Girls in Glebe on International Womens Day 8 March 1974

full record »

Contributed By

Australian History Museum at Macquarie University

[Image 42000127]

John Rule, former coordinator of the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre, on social diversity and AIDS in Surry Hills

full record »

By

Courtesy:

City of Sydney Council

(From the Oral History Collection)

Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Mr George Bates was born in 1912. He was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960 ' project. Here he talks about a friendly society called the Ancient Order of Foresters, which was active in the Liverpool area during the Great Depression.

Transcript:

GEORGE: In those Depression days I joined that very good Ancient Order of Foresters. Now that used to take the place of what Medicare does today. They done it for the goodness of people and everything like that. And I joined that Ancient Order of Foresters, raised to the honour of, right up to the general of it, the headmaster of it. And one thing I got a great distinction from that of getting the Ancient Order of Foresters and that was renowned in the Depression days round Liverpool. You joined the Foresters, a subscription to it, and if you had doctors, sickness or anything like that it covered like Medicare does today, and that was renowned the Ancient Order of Foresters. Even recently I had reason to be working for the St Vincent de Paul here in Hillview, paying their accounts, being the treasurer, and a lady noticed that I was paying an account and she said 'you are Mr Bates'? I says 'yes'. She said 'my godfather, good luck to you. I can remember you helping my mother in the Ancient Order of Foresters forty years ago, helping with that family and it gives me great distinction to say hello to you, you helped them and you're doing that to this day. Great credit to you'. And it gave me a great privilege for her to say that to me.

INTERVIEWER: How many people belonged to the Foresters in Liverpool?

GEORGE: Approximately, well say, for instance, if you joined up all the area around Liverpool, it'd be up to approximately fifty families.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Detail from interview with George Bates, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mr William Kennedy recalls collecting the dole at Liverpool Town Hall during the Depression, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Mr William Kennedy was born in 1910 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' He remembers crowds of men gathering to collect the dole at Liverpool Town Hall during the Great Depression.
Transcript

WILLIAM: The point of issue for the dole was the old police station. It was taken over then by the Department of Labour and Industry, they administered it. Then there was that many coming on to the dole that they had to move then to Liverpool Town Hall. And the crowds kept increasing. More and more were coming on the dole. You were issued with a dole ticket, not money. You had to wait until your name was called and you'd walk up through the crowd of people, get your dole ticket which was worth five shillings, later it increased to seven [shillings] and sixpence. Then you could only get the items that were listed on that ticket: bread, meat and so forth. Then on the other side of the ticket was a list of alternate items if the others weren't available. Men would be sitting around the Town Hall in the hundreds and they'd be addressed at different times by agitators. There were always these people coming along. And the names of some of the leading Communists that came along at that time were [Tom] Payne, [Jack] Sylvester, and Bella Weiner, she was a woman, a Jewess. Men were more receptive to listening because of their position, they listened very attentively to these fellows and a lot of them thought that was where their hopes lay.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mr William Kennedy, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Mrs Lillian Watson remembers her arrival in Hammondville during the Depression, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Mrs Lillian Dulcie Watson was born in 1904 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Mrs Watson remembers her arrival in Hammondville, a settlement developed near Liverpool during the depression for families in need.
Transcript

LILLIAN: We got to Liverpool and we found out there was no bus, no transport, nobody knew where Hammondville was. So I said to my husband, 'What do we do, do we go back?' He said 'No, we've come this far, we might as well go the rest of the way.' So we decided to walk to Hammondville.

Well, we got, now, there was a factory where Leyland's factory is now, along the road. From then on it was practically a dirt track, horses and carts used to come out along the road, there was no traffic along the road, it was bush, and there was a few scattered houses. And we got along the road there and there was a dairy there. Mr Smith was the dairyman at the time, and we asked him where Hammondville was. 'Oh' he said, 'You've got a quite a long walk yet, you better keep going,' he said, 'You'll come to it.'

Well, we eventually got to Hammondville and it was just bush Ã¢â‚¬â€œ there was houses built along Walder Road where the school is now Ã¢â‚¬â€œ there was one room, was the school, and a little shop. And the office [for Hammondville Homes] was there. So we went into the office and he brought us down to look at this place here. There was a great big log right across the front of it, no fences, and I gave one look at it and I thought 'Oh boy'. Anyhow we eventually made up our minds we would come and give it a go.

We had a fuel stove, had to chop our own wood. The kids thought it was fun though, they were only little babies really, and they thought it was terrific, look out the back door and all you could see was bush. The house next door was nearly finished. Well we thought it was great for a week and of course it started to get very boring because there was no lights, only kerosene lamps, and no transport; the bus used to go to Liverpool of a morning and come back in the afternoon.

After a week I was going back to Bexley rain, hail or shine; no way was I going to stay in this place. Because it was so different, you know what I mean, there was nobody to talk to, you didn't know anybody. And then they had a chap used to come out here from St Barnabas' church [in central Sydney], a minister, an old chap, a Mr Morris and he was a lovely old chap, and he said 'Well, you've not been here very long. Give it a good three months at least'. Well, in the end I had to stay. We had no alternative 'cause we really had no money.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mrs Lillian Watson from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Reverend Graham Long on the Wayside Chapel

full record »

Reverend Graham Long, Pastor and CEO of the Wayside Chapel, talks about the origins of the chapel, the Life Education program and their visionary founder Ted Noffs.

By

Courtesy:

City of Sydney Council

Thelma Crawley on delivering Meals on Wheels to Rosaleen Norton, the 'Witch of Kings Cross' 2007

full record »

By

Courtesy:

City of Sydney Council

(From the oral history collection)

Health and Welfare

Adoption

Charity and Philanthropy

Child services

Disability services

Employment services

Family services

Income support

Social work