St Gabriel’s Training Centre (1975–1994)

St Gabriel’s Training Centre history in brief

Originally, this facility was the St Gabriel's Babies' Home in Balwyn, run by the Church of England’s Mission to St James and St John.

In 1975, St Gabriel's Babies Home closed and was sold to the government, specifically to the Mental Health Authority. The home was declared a Training Centre and became a facility exclusively for intellectually disabled children until it was closed in 1994.

Warning about distressing information

This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health or another agency.

Disclaimer

Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, visit the Find & Connect website.

Sources

Guide to out-of-home care services 1940–2000: volume one – agency descriptions, compiled by James Jenkinson Consulting, North Melbourne, November 2001.

Patient information

Please note: patients could be admitted to a Receiving House for short-term treatment and care, but were not permitted to remain longer than two months.
Patients still needing treatment after two months could be sent to a Psychiatric Hospital, in the same institution/complex or elsewhere.
Hence, there could be more than one set of records for any one person. Please check each location for former patient records.

List of records held by the department

For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.

Report books (1975–91)

Volume; Temporary

Content: Report books documenting activities in residential units at St Gabriel’s. There are several sequences of books, some relating to the whole of the centre and some to individual residential units. The sequences relate to units as follows:

• report books: main report, sister station report books, 1975–1990, these books may include observations relating to any or all units at St Gabriel’s
• Banksia, 1983–90
• Cottage, 1976–84
• Flat, 1988–90
• Hansel and Gretel, 1979–84
• Lawson, 1984
• Mitchell, 1984–91
• Wattle, 1984–91
• Willow, 1979–91.

Entries within the books are arranged chronologically. For each date there are day, evening and night reports. In each report there will be a record of the number of children resident, admissions and discharges, records associated with client behaviour and condition, such as incontinence, illness, epileptic fits, achievements, staff on duty and so on. There may be notes and observations to pass onto staff on subsequent shifts.

Within the sequences listed above there are also several communication books and one book labelled as a diary. These have a different function that is primarily to provide a means of communication between staff on different shifts and from senior staff to unit staff. Entries include advice on matters requiring attention (both facilities and for residents) and may include procedural matters and changes to unit routines.

There are several books labelled as staff report books that are not identified against a particular unit.

There are two books relating to Hansel and Gretel unit labelled ‘Staff accounts of the children’s day’. Entries in these books record observations of activities and behaviour for each child.

The nature of report and communication books is that they contain personal and intimate information relating to residents whose lives are documented in the records.

Hospital records, deceased patients (St Gabriel’s Training Centre, St Nicholas Hospital, Sunbury Training Centre, Pleasant Creek Training Centre) (1965–85)

File; Temporary

Content: This collection of 16 files appears to have been maintained by the Paediatrician, Inner Eastern Regional Team. The files all relate to children and some adults who were deceased but who had some prior contact (either as outpatients or residents) of one or more Mental Health Authority institution.

Most had contact with St Gabriel’s but also included are St Nicholas Hospital, Pleasant Creek Training Centre and Sunbury Training Centre (one file dated from 1965). Some of the patients were wards of the state.

The files are identifiable by the name of the patient. Content includes:

• statements of personal details and other admission documentation
• medical and other histories
• correspondence with other health specialists and organisations
• correspondence with family, schools and so on
• nursing notes
• care instructions
• personal correspondence of the patient.

Correspondence, Nursing Administration (1981–87)

File; Temporary

Content: These three files are collections of inward and outward correspondence collected by two individuals.

1. John Jenkins, Charge Nurse, Acting Assistant Head Nurse, 1980–82.

   These files include copies of departmental circulars, memoranda and correspondence, and correspondence with external parties. They cover subjects including nursing administration and patient care, with some residents named. The 1982 correspondence is bundled by subject with individual items listed separately.

2. Thomas Spencer, Nursing Administrator, Acting Assistant Head Nurse, 1987.

   This file is titled, ‘Memoranda 1987, originating from St Gabriel’s’. It contains memoranda and correspondence dealing with nursing matters and staffing and equipment needs.

Discharges (1975–87)

File; Unappraised

Content: A small number of files relating to children admitted to and discharged from St Gabriel’s Training Centre.

Discharges, male and female

Five files contain separate sequences of discharges for male and female children:

• males 1975–84, with some overlap between files
• females, 1975–84 with a gap between 1979 and 1983.

The files each contain a number of ‘discharges’, which comprise a completed application for admission form, signed usually by a parent, attached to a statement of personal details form, for each child. The application forms have written on them the date of discharge and they are arranged chronologically by that date. The discharges are also numbered in a numerical sequence commencing at I1 to higher than I600.

There is a sixth file that contains only three Statements of Personal Details forms, and a report of a social worker’s interview with a parent.

Administrative files (1980–87)

File; Unappraised

Content: Three files, as follows:

1. Intellectual Disability Services meetings, minutes, St Gabriel’s and Inner Eastern Region Head Office, 1987

This file contains copies of a number of different meeting minutes including:

• Community Services Victoria Executive meetings
• Office of Intellectual Disability Services (OIDS) and Victorian Council for Regional Accommodation Services for Intellectually Disabled People (VICRAID) Liaison Meetings
• senior management meetings

2. Charge nurse meetings 1980–82

Contains minutes and papers of meetings. Includes names and information relating to resident children.

3. Memos and policy material

This appears to be a collection of material that outlined policy and routine procedures for staff working with children at St Gabriel’s, c.1982. Some children are identified by name with reference to their condition and care requirements.

Community Services Victoria (and predecessor departments) personnel files (c.1950s–1988)

File; Temporary

Content: The central employee filing system for the department.

These files chart each employee’s history including the following contents: employee's name, date commenced, positions held; leave details, position changes and promotions, salary increases, termination details. Some files include the employee's leave card as well as various employment history details. These records are arranged in alphabetical order by surname.

The files include staff working at the reception centres, training centres and children’s homes.

Correspondence and minutes, Inner Eastern Region (1953–89)

File; Temporary

Content: This collection does not directly relate to St Gabriel’s. Given that the centre was within the Inner Eastern Region, the records include matters, with some references to resident children, relating to administration and program and care delivery at St Gabriel’s.

The collection was transferred to the Archives in 1992 from the Inner Eastern Region’s Balwyn office. It contains a variety of administrative records, primarily copies of outward correspondence to welfare, other government agencies, businesses and individuals in the area. Also included are copies of reports, minutes and other papers. They are predominantly records created by staff employed in the Mental Retardation Division/ Office of Intellectual Disability Services at Balwyn. The records are largely dated between c.1983–89.

There is one file, dating form 1953–1984, containing records dealing with the government relationship with the Box Hill and District Retarded and Spastic Children’s Association (Alkira). The file includes some references to children attending Alkira.