Adelaide Destitute Asylum

As the school was not fully supported and therefore under-utilised, it started being used for young women arriving in the colony on their own, sometimes as orphans, and around 1850 became the Destitute Asylum.

[3] By 1841 it had had sufficient success to establish that Aboriginal children were every bit as bright and teachable as white students; however the number attending remained small, largely due to indolence on the part of the colonisers.

[4] However this site was dismantled in 1845, on the orders of Governor George Grey, who thought it best to take the children away from their parents, and a new Native School run by the government, which taught only in English, was established near what is now Kintore Avenue.

[3] In October 1848 a contingent of 219 Irish orphan girls arrived by the Roman Emperor[5] and were given temporary accommodation in the under-utilised schoolhouse by Matthew Moorhouse, who had the dual responsibilities of Protector of Aborigines and Immigration Officer.

[6] Roman Emperor was followed in June 1849 by Posthumous, Florentia, Sir Edward Parry, and Inconstant, all within a few weeks of each other, and additional accommodation for those who did not find a placement immediately was provided at the "Native Location".

[7] It was not long before a letter was published in the South Australian Register by one Michael D'Arcy, writing as "Aliquis", alleging that these women were being paid for sex by male colonists.

In 1855 the Asylum had accommodation for 66 inmates, but held 25 males and 46 females, many of whom had been transferred for convalescence from the chronically overcrowded Adelaide Hospital.

[10] In October 1879 ten inmates who were beyond medical help, but whose condition was not contagious and were mentally sound, were transferred to the Home for Incurables in Fullarton, which establishment was later renamed the Julia Farr Centre in honour of its founder.

On 3 February 1867 T. S. Reed, brother-in-law of Chief Justice Hanson, was appointed Chairman, and senior to Holthouse, whose salary was reduced by £80.

Initial trials of their "boarding-out" scheme proved encouraging,[13] and was adopted by Reed, not only as a humanitarian move but for its potential for saving money.

In 1886 the State Children's Council was formed to take over that part of the Destitution Board's responsibilities,[15] then in 1888 a Commission charged with streamlining government recommended abolition of Reed's position.

Chairman was the Chief Justice, (Samuel Way), and members included C. H. Goode; Maurice Salom; W. Haines, W. Bundey (mayor); Henry W. Thompson; C. Proud acted as secretary.

In 1855 Matthew Moorhouse, Protector of Aborigines, had the position of Comptroller of the Destitute Poor Establishment, and also that of Superintendent of the Female Immigrant Depot added to his responsibilities,[20] but had no direct involvement.

Their best hopes of subsequent solvency, if they had no family to return to, lay in marriage or domestic service, otherwise they were destined for prostitution or the Asylum.

It was notorious that many women and children became destitute when their husbands and fathers left without trace, into the country or interstate, out of reach of the authorities and any but the most determined and resourceful of wives.

[52][53] Catherine Helen Spence observed in 1906 that the Destitute Board was so fearful of supporting healthy men who could not find work that it refused sustenance to his wife and children, compelling the man to desert them, a major cause of broken families.

[9][55] "The Commonwéalth old age pension system came into operation in 1909, and there was a drop in the ratio per thousand of population of persons assisted by the State Government from 9.43 in 1908–09 to 9.31 in 1909–10.

The courtroom became the children's ward; a living room with sleeping quarters at each end, and a bathroom (hot and cold water) attached.

Residents of the Female section (established 1851) were mostly single mothers or wives whose husbands had left for the gold diggings in (especially) Victoria.

[10] "Lying-in" is the traditional rest period accorded a woman after she has given birth, when her sole responsibility is to her baby, and has little or no contact with men.

The matron served as midwife, and officiated at all births that did not require use of obstetric instruments, in which case a surgeon would be called from the Adelaide Hospital.

The matron was expected to notify the hospital when a birth was imminent so trainee doctors could observe, however the exchange of knowledge which could have benefited both parties was limited due to professional jealousy.

An abuse of the system, whereby a woman who after giving birth would dispose of the child then hire herself out to a well-to-do family as a wetnurse, was mitigated by requiring her to remain at the home for six months.

It was the duty of the Relieving Officer to visit the homes of those seeking or receiving rations, to check the bona fides of recipients.

[45] A stock of well-thumbed books, whose original covers had been replaced with sturdy buckram boards, was opened every Thursday by Rev.

"[61] "By 1856 a quadrangle of buildings in Kintore Avenue off North Terrace known as the Destitute Asylum was providing indoor relief to many women, men and children in the new colony.

"[64] "This stone building, with its Dutch gables and slate roof, was originally part of the Police Barracks and was granted to the Destitute Board in April 1851.

In November 1917, with demolition of many of the Asylum's buildings imminent,[69] the South Australian Museum took a series of photographs, which the State Library now hold, and have made digital copies freely available.

[70] Having such a prime location on North Terrace, various Government departments found uses for parts of the old Destitute Asylum and the adjacent Police barracks (which had been relocated to the Thebarton Police Barracks on Port Road, on a section of the Park Lands):[71] The Asylum was subject to the following Acts of the South Australian Parliament