People who are
interested in finding out more about residential, out-of-home child care in
Western Australia can also consult (from the 1980s on) the Annual Reports of
the principal Non-Government agencies involved.
Government Departments and Hospital records may exist from the earliest
years surveyed by this project.
Generally, application
to view these Annual Reports should be made to the agencies themselves, who may
hold historical records, but some are also held by the Department for Child Protection. The website, www.wa.gov.au/agencies.html ,
provides a list of current government agencies and is a good starting place to
begin a search.
In addition, the
British and Australian Governments have both held Parliamentary Inquiries which
involved extensive historical research relating to the experiences of children
in alternative, out of home care and unaccompanied child migrants. The Australian Senate conducted such an
inquiry in the 1980s, and again in 2003-2004.
Information can be obtained through the Parliamentary website (www.aph.gov.au ). In the UK, the House of Commons Select Committee on
Health undertook an inquiry into child migration from Britain and details can be accessed through the House
of Commons website (www.parliament.uk
).
Archival information
exists in both countries, and interested persons are referred to the Public
Record Office in the UK via their website (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk ), the State
Records Office in Western Australia (www.sro.wa.gov.au
), and the National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au
).
Indigenous students
who were placed in subsidised Education Hostels by parents and who were
Commonwealth Secondary Grant holders, may have Commonwealth records. The National Archives of Australia may be the
best source for tracking these.
Another useful source of information for
people wanting to know about a range of records held by various agencies on
people from Indigenous backgrounds is the Department for Child Protection’s publication, Looking
West (www.lookingwest.communitydevelopment.wa.gov.au ). Contact Release of Information, Department for Child Protection, PO Box 6334, East Perth WA 6892.
Telephone: (08) 9222 2555
Freecall (STD) 1800 000 277
Website: www.childprotection.wa.gov.au
The Western Australian Genealogical Society
Inc. may also be able to provide help in tracking down records and
information. The postal address for the
Society is 6/48 May Street, Bayswater WA 6053.
Telephone: (08) 9271 4311 Facsimile (08) 9370 1572
Website: www.wags.org.au
and follow the directions to other useful links, which are graded by users, on
this site.