[1] Until 1881 Aboriginal people were under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Secretary, Police and the Lands Department.

"The objectives of the Board were to provide asylum for the aged and sick, who are dependent on others for help and support; but also, and of at least equal importance to train and teach the young, to fit them to take their places amongst the rest of the community.

The dormitory followed the institutional model of its time, and taught housekeeping skills to the girls to prepare them for respectable employment in menial duties on nearby stations.

Girls were brought in from many places and kept under supervision of dormitory matrons as well as Mrs. Gribble or the wives of later managers.

The Board felt limited by the Act because it only gave them direct control over children over 14 who could be apprenticed.

The Board was of the opinion that the children would only become good and proper members of "industrial society" if they were completely removed and not allowed to return.

[3] The underlying assumption was that Aboriginal people lacked the intellect to undertake anything but menial tasks.

Conditions in the reserves remaining from the soldier settlement land redistribution, were poor, often overcrowded, and it was easy for the government to prove neglect and remove Aboriginal children.

The result was an official assimilation policy formed on the premise that "full-blood" Aborigines would be soon extinct and the "half-caste" should be absorbed into society.

The Sesquicentenary was marked by a National Day of Mourning and a call for the abolition of the Protection Board.

There were no specific homes for uncontrollable Aboriginal children so these were sent to State corrective institutions such as Mt Penang or Parramatta Girls.

[1] In the 1960s the work of British psychiatrist John Bowlby on "attachment theory", began to influence the institutional care of children in Australia.

In accordance with the assimilation policy which was still prevalent, Aboriginal children were fostered with non-Aboriginal parents.

UAM established children's homes, schools, hospitals, and community stores around Australia, as well as undertaking transport and language work.

A newspaper report of the time stated that "quite a number (of children) have been drafted out to comfortable houses".

[1] Under the 1909 Aborigines Protection Act children were removed from their families if they were found to be neglected.

In direct response to the "attachment theory" of childcare, which was prevalent at the time when new buildings were needed, the design of the new dwellings at the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home became focused on a single "family" unit.

Each cottage had four bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, laundry and lounge and were self-sufficient in terms of cooking and cleaning.

People associated with the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home include Harry Penrith (Burnum Burnum), of Woiworung and Yorta Yorta heritage, who was born at Wallaga Lake on the south coast of New South Wales.

[1] There are five existing houses on the property dating from the 2nd phase of the United Aborigines Mission occupancy period from 1964 to 1988.

The interior of the matrons cottage appears to be highly intact and includes evidence of the use by children, such as labelling shelves in a wardrobe.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home, entry number 01874 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 2 June 2018.