Kennerley Boys' Home

Boys working in the garden, Kennerley Boys' Home, 1880 (AOT, PH30/1/9326B)

The Kennerley Boys' Home in West Hobart was founded in 1869 by wealthy businessman, premier and philanthropist Alfred Kennerley (1810–97). It housed and trained orphans and boys from broken homes. A century later, reflecting modern trends away from institutional care towards smaller units, the property was sold. Instead, four separate homes were purchased in the northern suburbs where 'cottage parents' care for small groups of children, mixed by age and sex.

Now known as the Kennerley Children's Homes, it is the only organisation of its type in southern Tasmania operating without the direct support of some institutional or religious body. In 2003, a fifth home was acquired and a partnership formed with Boys' Town in Queensland for a project which assists those leaving the care programme and moving towards independence.

Further reading: M Daunton-Fear, The correctional agencies of Tasmania, Hobart, 1967; Mercury, 12 April 1969, 28 May 1975.

Wendy Rimon