Women and girls at dormitory at Barambah Aboriginal Settlement 1909
The children’s dormitory houses children who, from as young as five years old, are taken from their mothers. The system aims to reform children by cutting them off from their families, forcing them to live by European ways.
“I think that any child whom the Protector considered should be separated from Aboriginal conditions should be taken away as soon as possible so as to leave as little remembrance as possible of the camp in the child’s mind.”
— JW Bleakley, Chief Protector of Aboriginals
