Girls Memorial Home, Fairfield

The Girls’ Memorial Home, a maternity home run by Wesley Central Mission, opened in 1922 in Fairfield.

Funds for the purchase of the property came from money inherited by Dr Georgina Sweet from her father. The home was situated in ‘Carmelea’, a building in Station Street, Fairfield that had formerly been the home of chocolate manufacturer, MacPherson Robertson.

…A doctor visiting the Home in 1936 expressed his concern about the women and babies there:

“I regret I have to state that the atmosphere of the whole place at present is a reflection on a religious institution, the girls are miserable, look underfed and over-worked, and the babies show obvious signs of neglect. The girls are obliged to get up at 5am to do the laundry and are kept going all day … I find that my instructions with regard to rest and diet are rarely if ever carried out.”

Another comment by a former resident contradicts the image of the Home put out by the Mission – she felt that the women were treated “like we had committed a dreadful crime”.

A report in 1970 to the Executive Committee of the Mission made reference to changing social attitudes towards single mothers, meaning that the Home could ‘no longer pay its way’.

In 1973, the Home ceased operations. It became Georgina House, a refuge for victims of domestic violence. This service closed in 1989.

Girls’ Memorial Home was mentioned in the Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices Inquiry (2012) as an institution that was involved in forced adoption.

(Text from Find And Connect: Girls Memorial Home, Fairfield