Sunbury Industrial School
Encyclopedia
The Sunbury Industrial School located on Jackson's Hill in Sunbury
, Victoria
, Australia
, was a school developed to educate and house destitute children from 1864 until 1879.
A 1000 acres (4 km²) site was put aside in Sunbury following the implementation of the Neglected and Criminal Children's Act of 1864. Destitute or orphan
ed children were sent as wards of the state to learn a trade in the belief that this may then provide them with the skills necessary (once they were old enough), to provide and care for themselves. The school was co-educational although girls and boys were segregated. Boys were expected to learn a trade while girls were expected to handle menial tasks such as washing clothes, cleaning floors and to assist with cooking.
The school consisted of ten large, unheated, bluestone
buildings arranged in two rows of five. Located on the side of Jackson's Hill, they were called the Hill Wards. The open and exposed position of the buildings led to frequent illness and constant poor health of the children. The children were given rancid food, that they ate in their own rooms that by the time they received it, was cold. The children were given only a little water, no bedding, save for a blanket and many affected by Opthalmia
, went untreated, resulting in blindness
. It was estimated that around 10 percent of children died within the first year of operation. This fact alone led to the school gaining the nickname of the Sunbury Slaughterhouse. Eventually, after public outcry, and after numerous Royal Commissions into the Industrial School System, by 1879 the Sunbury Industrial School was closed.
The site was used as an asylum
for the mentally ill from 1894 until around 1912, the patients were referred to as inmates. By 1914 at its peak, the Sunbury Lunatic Asylum
housed 1000 patients. The asylum was renamed a psychiatric hospital and then a mental hospital. By the 1920s the Health Reformation Act came in and improved conditions. By 1968 until 1992, the site was called the Caloola Training Centre for the Intellectually Disabled. Presently, the site is used by Victoria University
.
Sunbury, Victoria
Sunbury is a regional city, located north-west of Melbourne's central business district, in the state of Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume. At the 2006 Census, Sunbury had a population of 31,000...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, was a school developed to educate and house destitute children from 1864 until 1879.
A 1000 acres (4 km²) site was put aside in Sunbury following the implementation of the Neglected and Criminal Children's Act of 1864. Destitute or orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed children were sent as wards of the state to learn a trade in the belief that this may then provide them with the skills necessary (once they were old enough), to provide and care for themselves. The school was co-educational although girls and boys were segregated. Boys were expected to learn a trade while girls were expected to handle menial tasks such as washing clothes, cleaning floors and to assist with cooking.
The school consisted of ten large, unheated, bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
buildings arranged in two rows of five. Located on the side of Jackson's Hill, they were called the Hill Wards. The open and exposed position of the buildings led to frequent illness and constant poor health of the children. The children were given rancid food, that they ate in their own rooms that by the time they received it, was cold. The children were given only a little water, no bedding, save for a blanket and many affected by Opthalmia
Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis refers to inflammation of the conjunctiva...
, went untreated, resulting in blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
. It was estimated that around 10 percent of children died within the first year of operation. This fact alone led to the school gaining the nickname of the Sunbury Slaughterhouse. Eventually, after public outcry, and after numerous Royal Commissions into the Industrial School System, by 1879 the Sunbury Industrial School was closed.
The site was used as an asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
for the mentally ill from 1894 until around 1912, the patients were referred to as inmates. By 1914 at its peak, the Sunbury Lunatic Asylum
Sunbury Asylum
Sunbury Lunatic Asylum first opened in October 1879. Its proclamation as an Asylum was published in the Government Gazette on 31 October 1879....
housed 1000 patients. The asylum was renamed a psychiatric hospital and then a mental hospital. By the 1920s the Health Reformation Act came in and improved conditions. By 1968 until 1992, the site was called the Caloola Training Centre for the Intellectually Disabled. Presently, the site is used by Victoria University
Victoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
.