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Abstract

The School was founded in June 1862, originally as the Hobart Town Female Refuge to provide a home for neglected girls and train them in washing, sewing and domestic work. It was managed by a committee of ladies elected by subscribers, usually under the patronage of the Governor’s wife, but five gentlemen were elected as governors and formed an advisory committee. The School occupied various temporary houses until 1873 when the committee leased buildings in the Barracks, which premises were extended in 1879 when the School took the protestant girls from the Queen's Orphan School, New Town, which was being closed. In 1892 it moved to 'Kensington House, Davey Street (now the Trades Hall) and finally in 1924 it moved to 'Maylands , Pirie Street, New Town. The School took 30 to 40 girls, usually between 6 and 14, but occasionally younger, and the committee liked to keep them beyond their committal period until they were 16 and trained for service, unless there were suitable relatives. They were usually referred by a magistrate and supported by the Government, by relatives or by donations and the little earned by laundry and sewing work. The children were looked after by a matron and sub-matron and ladies of the committee visited in turn. As well as instruction in domestic work the children were given some basic education, by a Schoolmistress appointed after the transfer of the Orphan School girls in 1879, and after 1925 attended state school, and also received religious instruction from local ministers or Sunday school teachers.
In February 1945 the School was transferred to the Salvation Army.
These records are the committee records only. There are no personal records of the girls or their background or committal orders. Nor has any of the secretary’s correspondence survived. However the minutes of the monthly committee meetings dealt with bills, expenses, staff matters and the welfare of the children, and note briefly admissions and decisions on discharge of girls to service or to relatives, if any. There is an admission register noting name, date of admission and usually age and the name of the J.P. or other authority committing the child and the period of detention, with occasionally a note of discharge to service or the name of a parent, if known, but this volume was apparently not used regularly after about 1880. In 1902 a special record was begun, for the committee's use, of girls in the institution, noting where they were sent into service so that the committee could keep in touch with them. The amount of information noted varied.
Private Deposit G3 & G3/9-1

Item Type:	Other
Authors/Creators:	Girls Industrial School, Hobart
Keywords:	Tasmania, van diemens land, social history, history, colony, colonial, Australia, indexes, University of Tasmania, Library, private deposits, archives, Collections, catalogue, Special, index,
Publisher:	University of Tasmania Library Special and Rare Materials Collection
Collections:	Other Special Collections
Additional Information:	University of Tasmania Library, Special and Rare Materials Collection - Private Deposit G.3
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