Full description
This Commission was appointed to inquire into and report upon the working and management of the Public Charities, in particular the Sydney Infirmary and the Orphan Schools. (1)
The Commissioners submitted their first report to Governor Sir Hercules George Robert Robinson on 10 September 1873, on Sydney Infirmary. (2)
The Infirmary building was condemned as insanitary and dilapidated, and construction of a larger general hospital was recommended. (3)
The second report was given on 27 May 1874 and described in detail the following institutions for the care of destitute children, the aged and needy : Biloela Industrial School for Girls, Biloela Reformatory for Girls, the ship "Vernon", Parramatta Orphan Schools, Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children, Hyde Park Asylum for Aged and Destitute Women, the Benevolent Asylum, Liverpool Asylum, Parramatta Asylum and the Institute for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind.(4)
Recommendations for improvements are made where considered necessary. The Commission also states that "large charitable institutions for maintenance of pauper children are unsound in principle and pernicious in results." A boarding out or foster system is recommended, also dividing institutions into smaller or family - type units for domestic life is desirable. (5)
Endnotes
1. Votes and Proceedings, 1873 - 1874, Vol. 6, p.3
2. Ibid., p.63
3. D.H. Borchardt, Checklist of Royal Commissions, Select Committees of Parliament and Boards of Inquiry. Part 1V. New South Wales, 1855 - 1960, Latrobe University Library, 1975, p. 86
4. Ibid., p.86
5. Ibid., p.86
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