Magdalen Home, Mount St. Canice : the early years

Prostitution was rife in nineteenth century Tasmania, and a variety of philanthropic efforts attempted to assist underprivileged girls who were involved or likely to become involved in the trade. Magdalen Home became the largest and most enduring of these endeavours. This thesis studies the early years of the Magdalen Home. Chapter 1 describes the life of Father William John Dunne, whose bequest provided the capital for the founding of the Home. Chapter 2 examines the will of Father Dunne, attempting to illustrate how, with careful execution, it provided funds for the institutiion to commence in 1893, with a substantial land holding and edifice. Chapter 3 looks at the role played by the Good Shepherd Order and the Catholic press in establishing the institution. Chapter 4 deals with the establishment of the commercial laundry and farm, which were to become mainstays of the Home. It also describes the building extensions up to 1900. Chapter 5, analyses the lives of inmates who were Wards of State, and describes the collusive relationship that developed between the Magdalen Home and the Neglected Children's Department in the early twentieth century. Finally, Chapter 6 describes the contribution of the religious and their auxilliaries to the prosperity of the institution, and concludes with the building of the Memorial Church in 1910.