Castledare Boys' Home

About

Castledare Boys' Home was a residential college in Wilson, Western Australia owned and operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers from March 1929 to 1983 and established for the treatment and training of intellectually handicapped children. A 1929 newspaper article announcing the opening described it as a "training school for sub-normal boys". It opened with ten boys and under the directorship of Brother G.

Hyland. The state psychologist, Ethel Stoneham, travelled to Europe and the United States to study similar institutions and was influential in the design of the home. Later it had a more general educational and residential focus, accommodating boys from various backgrounds, including child migrants, wards of the state, and orphans.

The site was previously a pastoral property called "Niana" built by the Fleming family between 1906 and 1908, and when taken over occupied 34 hectares (83 acres). It is on the banks of the Canning River and adjoins Canning River Regional Park. A Federation style homestead on the property is listed on the State Heritage Register.

The first child migrants from the UK came to Castledare in the late 1930s. This ceased temporarily during World War...