Charles Perkins Hostel

Statement of Significance

Charles Perkins Hostel is significant in being a former Australian Inland Mission Site established by Rev. John Flynn, a notable Australian medical pioneer of the Royal Flying Doctors Service. It is a rare example of the change in the care of Aboriginal people since 1918, from mission hospital to education and employment hostel to group home and
childcare facility. The place is a good representative example of the regional education and employment hostels the Department of Native Welfare established to accommodate Aboriginal children and adolescents in the 1960s and 1970s, and of changing government policies.

Values

Charles Perkins Hostel is significant in being a former Australian Inland Mission Site established by Rev. John Flynn, a notable Australian medical pioneer of the Royal Flying Doctors Service.

Charles Perkins is a rare example of the change in the care of Aboriginal people since 1918, from mission hospital to education and employment hostel to group home and childcare facility.

Charles Perkins Hostel is a good representative example of the regional education and employment hostels the Department of Native Welfare established to accommodate Aboriginal children and adolescents in the 1960s and 1970s.

Charles Perkins Hostel, as an education and employment hostel, is representative of changing government policies of the assimilation of Aboriginal people.

Physical Description

The original Charles Perkins Hostel comprised of three dormitory-style buildings of similar size located parallel to each other. Over its existence smaller cottage-style buildings were added to the property. In the 1990s and 2000s the original dormitory style buildings were slowly demolished and the cottages were extended.

History

Charles Perkins Hostel was located on the second site of the Halls Creek Mission (Australian Inland Mission), established by Rev. John Flynn. While the hospital continued under the control of the AIM, the larger mission site that
surrounded it closed as a mission in 1960. By the mid-1960s it was known as Charles Perkins Hostel and operating under the Department of Native Welfare as an education and employment hostel. In 1971 Charles Perkins Hostel accommodated “90 boys and girls receiving primary level education in the town” alongside seven staff members. Attendance in the 1980s gradually declined with 55 children accommodated in 1982 and 30 children in 1983. By 1995, Charles Perkins Hostel was no longer considered an education and employment hostel and was more closely associated with “the care and protection programme area”. In 2000 the hostel was renamed Yurag-Man-Gu Taam-Purru Placement and Support Centre and later Yurag-Man-Taam-Purru Hostel in 2007. The front lot is still used as a group home, renamed Yurag-Man-Taam-Purru Group Home in 2013. The rear property, Ningkuwum-Ngamayuwu Halls Creek Children & Family Centre, provides child day-care and community and family services.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.