Home for Incurables

The Home for Incurables was founded on the 23rd September 1878 and it was incorporated on 23 October 1879. Its mission was to provide care for those who were suffering from a crippling disease, where there was no prospect of a cure. The sum of £2000 was raised and spent on an eight-roomed wooden house, on nine acres at Fullarton. The first admissions were on the 17th October 1879. By 1881 there were forty-four inmates and a staff of nine.

By 1954 the type of resident had changed, most being confined to a wheelchair or bed-ridden. The Home depended on massive financial support from the state and federal governments. In 1957 the State Government provided a subsidy of £55,000 and £40,000 came from the Commonwealth Government for the support of its residents. In 1958, for the first time in many years, the ordinary income, excluding bequests exceeded expenditure. In 1960 the Home appointed a Public Relations Officer, John Maguire. He organized the annual Miss Industry Quest. In 1965 and 1966 the Home was selected as the recipient of the Channel 9 annual Telethon and received £332 and £247. By 1978, on its Centenary the Home had accommodation for eight hundred and twenty six patients and a nursing and domestic staff of one thousand and twenty one and an income of $11.5m.

Julia Farr Services

In 1981 the Home was re-named Julia Farr Centre after Mrs Julia Farr, one of the founders of the Home. In 1995 the name of the Centre was changed to Julia Farr Services to reflect the changing focus and range of services. In early May 2006, the Minister for Disabilities announced wide-ranging disability reform. As a result, the separate agencies, Julia Farr Services (JFS), Independent Living Centre (ILC) and Intellectual Disability Services Council (IDSC) were dissolved to form part of Disability SA. Disability SA, a government department was created so that people needing more than one service can get all the help they need in one place. Services now being provided by IDSC, ILC and JFS are delivered by the same staff, but through Disability SA.

Julia Farr Services is now a part of Disability SA but a new organization has been formed. The Julia Farr Association runs the Julia Farr Housing Association and manages the MS Mcleod Benevolent Trust. They are in the process of exploring opportunities for their future direction.

References

Australian Dictionary of Biography. 2006 [online]. [Accessed 16th April 2007]. Available from World Wide Web: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10157b.htm

Dickey, Brian 1986. Rations, residence, resources : A history of social welfare in South Australia since 1836. Netley: Wakefield Press Kerr, Colin 1978.

The home for Incurables: The first 100 years. Adelaide: Lutheran Publishing House

Non-government Charities

During the nineteenth century non-government charities provided for the poor and aged, children, women and the sick and disabled. The first few charities established in Adelaide were:

1849: A group of men, led by the Reverend Daniel James Draper formed the Adelaide Benevolent and Strangers’ Friend Society. It gave food and money to provide general relief in the community.

1856: Bishop Short set up the Female Refuge for ‘fallen’ women. The number of women who resided in the Refuge grew to two hundred by 1889. The Refuge continued until the 1940’s.

1860: Julia Farr and a group of ladies established the Orphan Home for children.

1868: The newly formed Sisters of St Joseph led by Mary MacKillop established a female refuge.

1886: Archdeacon Dove set up the Children’s (later Boys’) Home. However, the first charity to emerge that focused on people with a disability did not occur until the 1870’s.

The South Australian Institution for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb

In 1865 William Townsend, politician and lay preacher, discovered that there were thirty four destitute blind people living in the State. He established a Public Committee comprising prominent citizens to raise funds to build an institution for the blind, deaf and dumb. In 1874 The South Australian Institution for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb was established. It provided a place of refuge, education and boarding facilities.

Home for Incurables

In 1878, the Home for Incurables was founded to provide care for those who had an incurable condition. By 1881 there were forty four inmates and a staff of nine.

Estcourt House

In 1894 Estcourt House was opened to help people in need. By December there were eight children, aged between four and twelve, and twenty three visually impaired elderly people in residence.

Kalyra

Kalyra was opened in the early 1890’s as a sanatorium for people with tuberculosis (consumption). It was situated in the Adelaide Hills near Belair.

Minda

Minda opened in 1898 to provide a home for children with an intellectual disability. Prior to the establishment of Minda Home, children with intellectual disabilities were placed in the Parkside Lunatic Asylum.

References

Can do 4 kids: Townsend House. 2002. [online]. [Accessed on 30th April 2007]. Available from the World Wide Web: <http://www.townsendhouse.com.au/AboutUs/History/tabid/99/Default.aspx>

Dickey, Brian 1986. Rations, residence, resources : A history of social welfare in South Australia since 1836. Netley: Wakefield Press Richards, Eric (ed.) 1986. The Flinders history of South Australia. Netley: Wakefield Press

Find your way home: with SA Link-up. 2005. [online]. [Accessed on 30th April 2007]. Available from the World Wide Web: <http://salinkup.com.au/media/pdf/9_miscellaneous.pdf>