Nelson's orphanages and children's homes

Contents 1 Nelson's orphanages and children's homes 2 Sources used in this story 3 Related Stories 4 Further sources 4.1 Books 4.2 Articles 4.3 Other 4.4 Web Resources

The Nelson region has supported homes for children since the 19th Century. Details and research resources about these institutions have been provided at the end of this story.  Each institution has its own stories to tell. We feature one of these stories. 

Stoke Orphanage Scandal

St Mary's orphanage was established with good charitable intentions, but scandal (or as the Catholic newspaper, the Tablet described it: "persecution"¹) was to send the Marist Brothers  packing in 1900.

At the turn of the 20^th century, an orphan's lot was not a happy one. The inmates of orphanages were often the bastard children of unmarried women, or were placed in orphanages because of desertion or the death of parents. Orphans endured patronising attitudes, social stigma, and their thoughts and feelings were rarely acknowledged. Orphanages were generally prepared for official visitors, so the public generally did not know what went on inside. ²   

However, in May 1900, two boys ran away from the St Mary's Orphanage in Stoke. When they were caught, one of the absconders, James Maher, said he would prefer to be whipped by police than returned to the orphanage. Rumours of excessive punishment circulated and on May 30, members of the Nelson Charitable Aid Board paid a surprise visit.³  "I have never seen such a collection of oddly dressed youngsters before or since," said board member, Charles Harley.⁴

The board members were shown around by Brother Augustine.  Refusing to be diverted by the evasive Brothers, they eventually uncovered five tiny, dark cells where naughty boys were imprisoned and flogged. In one of the cells, they found Maher, who burst into tears as soon as the door was opened. ⁵

The Charitable Board found plenty to be unhappy about.  It was found that the boys were beaten on the hand with supplejack which was ‘freely used and without doubt, in some cases with great severity'. Solitary cell imprisonment could last for up to three months. They charged that: there were no women to care for such young boys, punishment was too severe, food was inadequate and of poor quality, clothing was insufficient and manual labour was sometimes too hard. ⁶

The diet was unvarying. The orphanage ran up to 1000 sheep on the orphanage farm, with two animals killed each day: the hind legs for the brothers, and the rest thrown into a pot of Irish stew. The boys were often hungry and stole scraps from the pig buckets, or ate raw turnips, potatoes and carrots, which they found in the grounds. ⁷

The Government Commission of Enquiry found that the food and clothing were not ideal but adequate and that the farm work the boys were required to do was not too arduous. However they found that the orphanage and children were dirty and that punishment was too severe. They also recommended that more women should be on the staff and that the boys should receive more technical training. ⁸

As a result of the enquiry, The Industrial Schools Act was amended and a wave of anti-Catholic hysteria swept the country. The Brothers left the orphanage in September 1900 and a lay-staff was appointed.⁹ 

In 1905, reporting the opening of a new orphanage building at Stoke, the Tablet said the Royal Commission of Enquiry had "exonerated the Brothers from all allegations of cruelty" and said that "panic legislation was passed by an excited majority of law-makers who sorely needed icebags to their heads."  ¹⁰

By 1908, things were much improved, according to the Tablet: "On Sunday, August 2, the boys of St. Mary's Orphanage, Stoke', spent a very" enjoyable afternoon, thanks to some kind lady friends.... A capital programme of sports was arranged and several events were keenly contested by the boys,who entered into" the day's proceedings with all the zest and earnestness of' youth..... The day was brought to a happy close by evening devotions in the beautiful chapel attached to the orphanage." ¹¹

But life did not really change for Nelson's most powerless citizens. The Stoke Orphanage became a state training school for delinquent boys and ‘Raymond', who arrived in 1917, reported constant hunger, bad food (stew with maggots) and hard work on the orphanage farm.¹²

St Mary's Orphanage/Industrial School - background:

St Mary's was a Roman Catholic Institution, which had three branches: Manuka St. (1872-1945), Stoke Industrial School, Ngawhatu Valley (1886-1910) and Sunnybank/ Garindale (1941-1988).
Nelson's Sisters of the Mission began caring for orphans in 1872. When the orphanage was gazetted under the Industrial Schools Act of 1882, children of other denominations were accepted. The St Mary's Industrial School (known locally as the Stoke Orphanage) opened in 1886 and was run by the French lay-teaching Marist brothers from 1889.  The brothers began with high hopes but lacked the skills to cope with the fulltime care of youngsters.

On 27 April, 1903, the wooden orphanage was destroyed by fire. An imposing new brick orphanage opened on 24 May 1905 and accommodated 100 boys in two dormitories.  It had wide ranging facilities including a hop garden, a sheep and cattle farm and facilities for teaching boot making, carpentry, knitting and sewing. ¹³

Other orphanages established in the 19th Century in the Nelson region

 

Wallis Family Children's home  (Private, Motueka, 1867-1887)

For more information see:

• Mairs, E. (1988) The Wallis family Children's home. Westport, N.Z. : E. Mairs
• Mairs, E. (2007) Wallis, Mary Ann Lake 1821 - 1910'.  Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
  http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=2W6
• Mairs, Elspeth : Collection, 1867-1887. Nelson Provincial Museum.
  http://www.thecommunityarchive.org.nz/node/71705/description

For an image see: Mairs, Elspeth, fl 1980s-2000s :The Wallis Family Children's Home, Motueka [1867-1887, drawn 1980s?]
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=33255

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 St Andrews Orphanage/ Family home (Church of England & interdenominational from 1923) 

This institution had the following branches: Waimea Road, 1887-1911; Kawai Street 1911-1966;  Richmond 1967- date.

For more information, see:

• Ault, H.F. (1958) The Nelson narrative. Nelson, N.Z.: Diocese of Nelson, pp212-213
• St Andrews orphanage (1903, January 9) Colonist, p.2
  http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TC19030109.2.10
• Wilkins, W.F. (1987). St. Andrews home, 1887-1987. Unpublished typescript. Nelson Provinicial Museum    

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Whakarewa Home  (Church of England, Motueka, 1887-1975)

For more information, see:

• Ault, H.F. (1958) The Nelson narrative. Nelson, N.Z.: Diocese of Nelson, pp.207-211 Ngati Rarua Atiawa Trust : about the trust. Retrieved 11 June 2010: http://www.nrait.co.nz/about
• Wakarewa [sic] orphanage (1896, July 24) Nelson Evening Mail, p. 2
  http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspasta=d&cl=search&d=NEM18960724.2.14.1&srpos=56&

Note - More information about each orphanage can be found on Papers Past by searching under the names of the institutions.

2010 

Sources used in this story

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Related Stories

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