Full description
Taldree was officially opened on 10 December, 1974 as a remand centre for junior boys having admitted its first residents in July 1974. (1) The Centre was located in new buildings on part of the site of the former Parramatta Girls’ Training School in Fleet Street, Parramatta. (2) Previously, boys up to 16 years of age who were on remand had been accommodated at Minda Remand Centre in Lidcombe. (3)
Taldree offered residential accommodation for 60 boys. A new school building provided education for the boys in residence. Emphasis was placed on basic skills because many of the boys were educationally disadvantaged. The average length of stay at Taldree was two weeks. (4) The school accommodation was shared with the girls from Kamballa but neither classes nor playgrounds were mixed. (5) The two homes also shared administrative staff. (6)
When Taldree closed in May 1980, its buildings were taken over by Kamballa. (7)
Endnotes
1. Department of Youth and Community Services, Report for the year ending 30 June, 1975, p.78, in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1976-77-78 vol. 12 p.1131.
2. Brian Boyle, The Child Welfare Schools: recollections of these unique schools and the men and women who taught in them often under considerable difficulty. Unpublished typescript, 1996 (held by State Records Library), pp.75-76.
3. Department of Youth and Community Services Report for the year ended 30 June, 1974 p. 53 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1974-75 vol. 5 p.653.
4. Boyle, op. cit., pp.75-77.
5. Ibid, p.76.
6. DR 3790.
7. DR 2612.
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