| Wirrumanu (Balgo Hills Mission) |
| Years of Operation | 1939 – 1975 (the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies website www.aiatsis.gov.au records Balgo operating from 1931). |
| Role Of Facility | Residential child care for girls and boys of Indigenous backgrounds aged 4 to 18 years. |
| Sponsoring Agency | Catholic Diocese of Broome / Pallottines |
Other facilities in
Signposts that are
related to the
Sponsoring Agency | See the entries “Catholic Diocese of Broome” and “Pallottines” in the earlier section of Signposts, “Non-Government Agencies and their Subsidiary Institutions” |
| Address(es) | Balgo (which is in the south-western desert region of the Kimberley). |
| Aliases | Rockhole, Balgo Hills Mission, Billiluna |
| Brief History | “A Piece of the Story”, the National Directory of Records of Catholic Organisations Caring for Children Separated from Families ( www.catholicsocialservices.org.au/storage/A%20Piece%20of%20the%20Story.pdf ) reports that “Balgo Mission was administered by the Diocese of Broome and staffed by the priests and brothers of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines). They were joined in 1956 by the Sisters of St John of God. Both religious orders cam to the Kimberley region chiefly to work amongst the Aboriginal people of the area. In 1939, the mission was set up in the area covering the Rockhole and Billiluna Stations."
For more information about the Pallottines, see entry for Pallottine Centre, Rossmoyne in Signposts.
Annual Reports of the Department for Community Welfare note Mission Grants in Aid 1973 for extensions, additions and re-equipping of the dining hall; in 1974 for a laundry; in 1975 for a group home, laundry, sewing room and ablution facilities; in 1977 for the final contribution to the ablution/laundry; in 1978 for renovations to the Recreation Centre; in 1981 for furniture and equipment for the new Recreation Hall, and playground equipment.
Now an Aboriginal Community, Wirrumanu is not used by the Department as a placement service, but children may be placed with foster parents who live in that community. |
| Records | Departmental records for children placed by the Department of Community Welfare or the Department of Native Welfare may exist.
Additionally, the Department for Child Protection’s Aboriginal Index and the guide, “Looking West”, should be consulted for information.
Church related documents and correspondence are held by the Catholic Diocese of Broome.
Records may also be held by the Pallottine Order.
According to the The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies website www.aiatsis.gov.au , the State Records Office in Western Australia “holds extensive records relating to missions.” Contact details are below. |
| Access | While access to records is restricted to protect the privacy of individuals, people are encouraged to enquire. |
| Contact Details | For information about personal records:
Freedom of Information
Department of Communities
Locked Bag 5000, Fremantle WA 6959
Telephone: (08) 6217 6888
Country free call: 1800 176 888
Email: foi@communities.wa.gov.au
Website: www.communities.wa.gov.au
The Archivist, Pallottines Centre
60 Fifth Ave, Rossmoyne WA 6148
Telephone: (08) 9354 0208
Facsimile: (08) 9457 0344
Email: archives@pallottine.org.au
Web: www.pallottine.org.au
For information about church related documents and correspondence:
The Archivist, Diocesan Office,
PO Box 76, Broome WA 6725
Telephone: (08) 9192 1060
Facsimilie: (08) 9192 2136
Email: info@broomediocese.org |
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