St. John's Orphanage, sometimes referred to as the Goulburn Boys Orphanage, was an orphanage located on Mundy Street in Goulburn, a town located in New South Wales, Australia. The architect of the building was EC Manfred. The foundation stone was laid and blessed on 17 March 1912 by Bishop John Gallagher of Goulburn, who also blessed the building during its opening ceremony in late 1913. It was two storeys high, and several extensions were added to the building throughout its early history. The orphanage amalgamated with St. Joseph's Orphanage for girls in 1976, and the remaining orphans were placed into group homes. As a result, the orphanage was closed in 1978 and rented out to the Youth with a Mission Base until they left in 1994. Since then, the orphanage remained abandoned, until its demolition in 2023.
Run by the Sisters of Mercy and the Catholic Church until its closure, the orphanage housed males from the ages of 5 to 16 initially. Its capacity was intended to be 100 children, but this peaked to more than 200 during the Second World War. By the 1970s, the orphanage began taking in female orphans from St. Joseph's because of declining numbers of males. Until its closure, the orphanage took in more than 2,500 individuals for various reasons. Only four per cent of those who stayed there were actually orphans. The orphanage's residents were given a religious education, and were trained in agriculture. Accounts by former residents state that they suffered severe beatings and punishments, and that they were issued a single set of clothing that was rarely washed. Another claims that some residents endured sexual abuse and rape, not only by the staff, but by older boys, and the caretaker. However, others state that the nuns were tough but fair and remained in contact with them.
The orphanage site has been redeveloped as a mixed use development by businessman John Ferrara https://gmc-web.t1cloud.com/T1PRDefault/WebApps/eProperty/P1/eTrack/eTrackApplicationDetails.aspx?ApplicationId=DA%2F0031%2F2526&f=%24P1.ETR.APPDET.VIW&r=P1.WEBGUEST. The building was heavily vandalised, and a series of fires have destroyed much of its infrastructure. Ghost tours have been conducted in the building. It was heritage listed by the Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
Location St. John's Orphanage was located in the southern suburbs of Goulburn, a town in New South Wales. According to the Goulburn Evening Penny Post, the orphanage looks over one of the finest views of the town. The main front part of the building faces north, and the entrance gates are located on Mundy Street. The southern side of the lot connects off Combermere Street. The total size of the lot is 24,000 square metres (2.4 hectares or 5.9 acres).
Architecture
Exterior, interior and surroundings
The building was two storeys high and includes an attic and basement. All walls are made of brick, some of which are hollow (mainly the external ones). The roof tiles were red, and the balconies have iron railings. The exterior design was plain struck brickwork, reassured by red bricks and cut stone. The entrance block was located on the westerly end of the front. Because of a sudden fall in the land, the pavement is several feet above the natural surface which necessitated a flight of stone steps towards the entrance. The main doors to the building had two windows alongside them and form a porch. The easterly end of the building had a balcony and a verandah, which were both . Away from the building, a milking shed existed. In addition, of land was purchased, which contained an ample field suitable enough for all types of gardening.
Interior The entrance hall was with a tiled floor. The reception room was located on the right-hand side of the entrance hall. A moulded archway led to the staircase hall, with the stairs being at right angles to the entrance doors. Rooms formerly accessed from this hallway include the cellar, a sitting room which is in size, a children's study room that is by 6 metres and a children's refectory that was by 6 metres. A back door led to verandahs that were found at the back of the building that allowed access to various other rooms. A second staircase, surrounded by brick walls, acted as an escape route in case of a fire. The staircase floor was the colour of cement and is made out of hardwood with iron risers. The staircase also provided access to the chapel room, which was by 6 metres.
Other rooms on the ground floor include a clothes room, a 6 by community room, a 6 by kitchen, a by 2.1-metre pantry and a by 3.65-metre lavatory. Bathrooms and shower bathrooms were fitted with hot and cold showers that are controlled from the lavatory. The laundry is with copper and tubs; the laundry also had a heater that supplied the whole building with hot water. The block which contained the sanitary requirements for the building was connected by a covered way and is well ventilated by air shafts, latticed doors, and louvres. Underground, a brick, cemented tank was built to collect and store rainwater.
The second floor of the building contained a number of dormitories: a large, by 6-metre dormitory existed with a balcony on one side and a wide balcony on the other. A smaller, 9.1-metre by 6-metre dormitory was also present, as well as a 6-metre by 4.2-metre isolating room. Four bedrooms were designated for the Sisters of Mercy who were in charge of the building; these rooms were 3.65 metres by 3.04 metres and by respectively. The Sisters also had their own private bathroom. Almost every room in the building had a fireplace, surrounded by either bricks or a marble mantel and cement shelf. The ceilings on both floors were 3.96 metres high, and the whole building was fitted with electric lighting. The ceiling on the second floor was made out of plaster, whereas the ceiling on the first floor was made out of stamped steel.
History
Background and planning In 1905, an orphanage located nearby Kenmore Asylum was proposed at a general meeting of parishioners to replace an older orphanage that had been operating for more than 25 years on Clinton Street. The orphanage, which had catered to girls only, cared for approximately 50 girls per year, and the of land on which it was situated proved insufficient for the orphans. Thus, of land was purchased in nearby Kenmore for the proposed orphanage. Shortly after, the foundation stone was laid and blessed on the site. EC Manfred was the building's architect, and the contractors were Messrs. King and Armstrong. It was described as "severely simple Gothic" and cost £6,000 to build. All of the girls from the old orphanage were removed, and boys aged eight and older were moved there and waited for a permanent home. An effort was made for people from Albury, Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga, Young and other places to take charge of the orphanage, but this was unsuccessful. Instead, the orphanage was established in Goulburn.
Opening ceremony
On 17 March 1912, the foundation stone of the orphanage was laid and blessed by Bishop Gallagher of Goulburn. However, the orphanage was not opened officially until December 1913, when the opening ceremony was held on a Sunday afternoon, and the building was opened and blessed by Bishop Gallagher. The ceremony attracted a large audience, many of whom were not members of the Catholic Church. By 3:30p.m., the Australian Light Horse Band began marching towards the orphanage from a cathedral on Verner Street. The priests and the bishop brought up the rear walking behind several Catholic acolytes. While many attendees remained at the orphanage, hundreds walked along with the procession. Children who had marched with the procession were divided and formed a guard of honour. The bishop, who was accompanied by Father Cahill, entered the building and blessed it; a crucifix was subsequently placed in the main dormitory of the building. After the blessing, the bishop addressed the attending crowd from the front verandah, and discussed the use of the building. In addition, the Bishop went on to say that Pagan civilisations consign orphans to death or slavery:
Later history and closure
The orphanage was run by the Sisters of Mercy and the Catholic Church until its closure in 1978. Shortly after opening, the orphanage experienced an increased demand for admission leading to the construction of a west wing and chapel in 1919. However, it remained unfurnished for some time due to lack of funding, and the Sisters of Mercy subsequently refused admission. A new wing for the building was constructed in 1924 dedicated to the memory of Bishop Gallagher. The new wing was opened and blessed by Reverend J. Barry; additional classrooms and dormitories were built, being by in size, followed by furnishing, painting and connection of sewer lines. The total cost was approximately £2,676. In 1932, a milking shed and hall were built, and in 1938 new additions to the orphanage were added, costing £2,575. This included a modification and extension to the south wing. The orphanage endured minor damage in 1943 when a fire broke out just after midnight and destroyed quantities of firewood and two panels of fencing.
Throughout its 66 years of operating, the orphanage took in approximately 2,500 individuals. Approximately four per cent of all boys who stayed there were orphans, whereas the remainder had living parents; most of them either came from poor or troubled families who were unable to afford to look after them. The orphanage also took in child migrants. Only boys from the ages of 5 to 16 were taken care there. However, the Sisters of Mercy sometimes took in families in need or individuals who were 3 years old or younger. One of the Sisters of Mercy's aims was to keep brothers together if possible, and if they had sisters, they would be housed at the St. Joseph's Orphanage. Although the building could only house up to 100 boys, the capacity rose to between 140 and 250 boys during the Second World War, far above the suitable capacity of the building.
In 1975, the orphanage began taking in girls from the St. Joseph's Orphanage due to declining numbers of boys, and, in 1976, amalgamated with the orphanage; this formed the St. John's Home, which would close in 1987. After 66 years in operation, the building closed in 1978. The remaining orphans were put into group homes. The Sisters of Mercy continued to care for these orphans until those homes closed in 1981. From 1979 to 1994, the building was leased to the Youth with a Mission Base, where people travelled from overseas to pursue discipleship training courses. The building has since been abandoned and left to deteriorate. In 2007, a proposal was made by former orphanage resident Jim Luthy to erect a memorial in Victoria Park for "all children who lived all or part of their lives" in a Goulburn orphanage or a church institution.
Daily routine and life
A school day at the orphanage would start at 6:00a.m. with many morning chores to be completed, predominately cleaning. A mass would be held at 7:15a.m., and breakfast would follow. Boys at the orphanage would then go to school. All boys over 14 were given a religious education at the Brother's Cathedral School, whereas the younger boys attended the infants' school at the Convent. All boys were also trained in technical education. Before leaving, the orphanage trained the boys in all classes of agriculture. This was so the boys were well educated and had the knowledge to become sufficient farmers when they left the orphanage.