| Swanleigh |
| Years of Operation | Swan Boys’ Orphanage: 1868 – 1942
Swan Homes (Boys and Girls): 1943 – 1959
Swanleigh Hostel (1960 – 1972)
Swanleigh Residential College (1960 - present) |
| Role Of Facility | Swan Boys’ Homes provided residential care for Australian-born children and British child migrants.
Another facility, the Swan Boys’ Delinquent Home appeared to have a short period of operation and is listed separately in Signposts. |
| Sponsoring Agency | Anglican Church |
Other facilities in
Signposts that are
related to the
Sponsoring Agency | See the entry “Anglican Church” in the earlier section of Signposts, “Non-Government Agencies and their Subsidiary Institutions” |
| Address(es) | Middle Swan |
| Aliases | Swan Boys’ General, Special and Delinquent Homes/Orphanages; Swanleigh |
| Brief History | As reported in a History of the Department to celebrate the 150th anniversary of European settlement in WA, “The Venerable Archdeacon Brown, Manager of the Middle Swan Boys Protestant Orphanage, made this comment [in 1884]-
there is on many minds a strong feeling that in contributing towards the maintenance of pauper children somewhat less than two-thirds of their cost of maintenance,…the Government is hardly meeting its obligations…A good lavatory is required…All the clothes washing is done of the premises, and a separate and commodious washhouse is greatly needed. A playroom for the boys in very hot and wet weather is much required.” (Annual Report of the Department for Community Welfare, 1979).
There was a school on-site for primary age children.
Commencing as a boys’ orphanage, Swan Boys’ merged over time with Swan Girls’ [see entry for Perth Girls’ Orphanage] and, in January 1960, the facility became known as Swanleigh. It continues as a Boarding School.
See the separate entry “Anglican Church” in Signposts for an overview of the involvement of the Anglican Church in residential child care in Western Australia.
A limited chronology of the major events at Swan Boys and Swanleigh, and the Swan Boys’ Delinquent Home, including admissions and discharges, is included in Tables 53 and 54. |
| Records | The Battye Library holds a collection of 36 photographs at BA1114 Album in the 3rd Floor Pictorial Library.
It is unknown whether other records exist, but Swanleigh does have an archive on site. See also a book, Noisy Mansions The Story of Swanleigh 1868-1971, by that institution’s long-serving Director, A. Roy Peterkin. Enquiries about Noisy Mansions should be directed to Swanleigh (see contact details below).
Departmental case records for young people placed in Anglican programs by the Child Welfare Department may reside with the Department of Communities. |
| Access | While access to records is restricted to protect the privacy of individuals, people are encouraged to enquire.
The Swanleigh premises continue as a school campus, so any site visits must be pre-arranged. |
| Contact Details | The Director, Swanleigh
58 Yule Avenue, Middle Swan 6056
Telephone: (08) 9374 5600
Facsimile: (08) 9374 5699
Email: admin@swanleigh.wa.edu.au
Web: www.swanleigh.wa.edu.au
Freedom of Information
Department of Communities
Locked Bag 5000, Fremantle WA 6959
Telephone: (08) 6414 3344
Country free call: 1800 176 888
Email: foi@communities.wa.gov.au
Website: www.communities.wa.gov.au
For people wishing to access the Battye Library’s collection of historical material:
The State Library of Western Australia,
Alexander Library Building, State Cultural Centre, Perth WA 6000.
Telephone: (08) 9427 3111 (local) or 1800 198 107 (WA country callers)
Facsimilie: (08) 9427 3256 Email: info@liswa.wa.gov.au
Opening hours for the Battye Library at time of publication are:
Monday-Thursday 9am-8pm; Friday 9am-5:30pm;
Saturday/Sunday 10am-5:30pm |
| back |