The Infants' Home Child and Family Services

[2] On 23 July 1873, the Sydney Morning Herald, after proclaiming that 'Infanticide has now risen to an enormous and characteristic evil', concluded that 'there is no way to meet desertion, which commonly includes infanticide, whether or not intended, but by providing a Foundling Asylum'.

A Mrs EB Parnell raised concerns about the Benevolent Society's requirement for a woman to be interviewed by a committee (of men) before she could be admitted to the Asylum[5] Born from this public concern about 'forty ladies of Sydney' met to discuss how there existed a gap in the existing charitable institutions of Sydney to meet the 'special requirements of this child of immorality and distress – and hence, it might be inferred, the lamentable frequency of infanticide'[6] From this initial meeting The Sydney Foundling Institution was founded in May 1874[7] as a non-church affiliated refuge for abandoned babies and single mothers, run by a committee of women.

This number is disposed of as follows: Deaths, 24; adopted by well-to-do respectable childless couples, 3; left with their mothers, 9; and present in the institution on 1 June 1876, 21: total 55.

In 1877, the hospital was moved out of Paddington into new premises, following Thomas Walker donating a 4.5 acre property in Henry Street, Ashfield named Gorton.

[12] Matron Louise Taplin is a pivotal figure during this time, at which her dedication is epitomised by building expansions, improvements to the health and sanitation and fundraising initiatives.

[15] This Act made the Infants' Home, Ashfield a statutory corporation (a body specially set up by Parliament) with its land protected by law.

This enabled The Infants' Home board to be able to sell any of the land and be able to use the profits to reinvest into the organisation as well as giving legitimacy and leverage for official negotiations.

[16] World War Two brought financial difficulties to the Home as well as record numbers of attendance with 1941 reporting 309 children being admitted to the Home[17] In the late 1940s it was agreed that the organisation would need to employ more nurses, maintenance staff and for the first time a social worker, an important indication of the changing nature of charities at this time from volunteers to paid professional workforce.

In 1965, The Infants' Home was adopted by the crew of HMAS Sydney[19] in memory of the men who lost their lives on the Royal Australian Navy destroyer Voyager.

In 1974 the Australian Federal government introduced a family day scheme, whereby childcare would take place in private homes for small groups of children.

[9] The 1996 budget decision to withdraw operational subsidies from community based long day care[22] impacted The Infants' Home, the staff and board agreed that's fees should not be raised out of concern for the financial situation of local families and from this tension came the introduction of sessional care was brought in to allow families flexibility in their childcare arrangements.

Sir Nicholas Shehadie, husband of Dame Marie Bashir served between the years of 2001–2014 in which he was very active in his contributions including the opening of new childcare centres in August 2013.

Linda and General David Hurley were present during the grand reopening of one of the recently renovated childcare centres Rigby House in 2018.