Public meetings were held and after a flurry of petitions Redfern Municipality was proclaimed on 11 August 1859, the fourth in Sydney to be formed under the Act.

The Town Plan, completed in 1948, was not implemented but involved demolition of all the housing stock and construction of tower blocks set in park land.

The twentieth century saw increased political activism amongst Aboriginal people and the growth of organisations for the achievement of changes to the constitution.

The service helped provide nutrition advice as well as general health care for people who were often living in crowded conditions.

Murawina started as a breakfast program in Newtown in 1972 and became a child care centre in Redfern in 1974 and then grew to take on other roles such as housing referrals and a meeting place for Aboriginal women.

Aboriginal people were actively resisting oppression and successfully organising themselves to overcome poverty, housing issues and poor health care.

The Canberra Times reported in 1980 of a study by sociology students from the University of NSW which demonstrated Aboriginal children were repeatedly fostered in white families and in institutions.

Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services also influenced mainstream policies which led to the current practice known as "kinship care" where priority is given to placing the removed child with family members.

(There were six Wiradjuri women involved in the foundation: Colleen Shirley Perry, Isabel Coe, Jenny Munro, Vilma Ryan and Sylvia Scott).

Colleen Shirley Perry was a Wiradjuri woman born on Erambie Mission, West Cowra, New South Wales, around 1924.

She played a key role in setting up many important organisation in Redfern, including the Aboriginal Children's Services.

In the 1990s she was a member of the Indigenous Advisory Council supporting the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

Her long time indigenous activist and being a proud Wiradjuri woman has seen her being recognised with a 2012 NSW Seniors Week Achievement Award.

In the 1980s Scott also set up a general skills program at Petersham TAFE and worked at the Children's Hospital Camperdown as an Aboriginal health worker.

[1] 18 George Street is a three-storey (split level) Victorian Filigree style gentleman's town house with an attic and additions to the rear.

Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services & Archives provides evidence of cultural and traditional ways of cooperating and caring for each other being translated to an urban setting.

The service is an excellent example of resistance against the policy of removing Aboriginal children from their family, culture and community and successfully establishing kinship ties as an important consideration in child placements.

[1] 18 George Street also houses important historical archives documenting the operation of ACS, including information about each foster child.

[1] Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 13 July 2015 having satisfied the following criteria.

In the case of Aboriginal children the emphasis is placed upon finding culturally appropriate carers, something that was not considered important prior to the establishment of the Redfern ACS.

The service demonstrates the displacement caused by government policy and the success of the Aboriginal community in reclaiming their right to care for their own kin and run their own affairs.

The establishment and ongoing running of the Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services is associated with several influential Aboriginal women whose activism led to social change including Isabel Coe, Ann Weldon, Colleen Shirley Perry (Mum Shirl), Jenny Monroe, Vilma Ryan and Sylvia Scott.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

18 George Street is a multi level free standing town house that demonstrates the Victorian Filigree architectural style and exhibits the aspirations of a gentleman solicitor in 1874.

There are parts of the interior which relate to its use by the Aboriginal Children's Services such as the double sided mural in the entrance hall.

The hundreds of children who passed through the Redfern ACS would be expected to have strong memories of the service as it played a role during their removal from their parents.

[1] Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services provides evidence of cultural and traditional ways of cooperating and caring for each other being translated to an urban setting.

There are substantial archives relating to the complete history of the Redfern Aboriginal Children's Service held on site.

The service is an excellent example of resistance against the policy of removing Aboriginal children from their family, culture and community and successfully establishing kinship ties as an important consideration in child placements.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services and Archives, entry number 1951 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 14 October 2018.