The Old St Vincent's Boys Home

On the way to see my nan today I took a photo of the old St. Vincent's boys home at Westmead.

This building is now used as a university of western Sydney college campus, but from 1891-1985 it was used as the boys home run by St. Vincent De Paul and later on by the Marist Brothers.

This building, from what I have been reading as research before posting, holds a lot of history... Not all of which is good which some sad cases of child molesting over the years.

During the late 1890's Marist Brothers, in partnership with the Society of St Vincent de Paul, established St Vincent's Boys Home at Westmead for orphaned or homeless boys providing basic schooling and some trade training for the boys.

In the late nineteen thirties, the Home begun providing additional education facilities to enable all the boys to obtain the equivalent of the current School Certificate.

By the late nineteen forties the Home became more of a boarding school. This continued until the beginning of the nineteen sixties when the internal school was closed, and the boys began attending schools in the community.

In 1968 the St Vincent de Paul Society left the Marist Brothers responsible for the ownership and operation of St Vincent's.

During the nineteen-seventies St Vincent's began to deal with a smaller number of boys who had committed juvenile crimes and were involved with the courts.

In 1985 the old institutional building was split into two houses in Darcy Road Westmead and a medium term programme in Blacktown for boys.

I love the history these buildings have and how we can drive past them without really knowing... I guess if walls could talk they would have a lot to say!

I hope you all enjoyed your Sunday and had a relaxing one :-)

Stacy xox