St Francis House
St Francis House was a home for inland Aboriginal Australian boys from 1946 to 1959 at Glanville Hall in Semaphore South, Adelaide, South Australia.
History[edit]
Father Percy Smith purchased Glanville Hall on behalf of the Anglican Church to provide accommodation for young Aboriginal boys from remote areas who were attending school in the local area.[1] He founded the St Francis Boys' Home in order to bring boys down (including several from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory[2]) for education and employment.[3]
In a time when it was commonly believed that Aboriginal children were unable to be educated beyond Grade 3, Smith saw the home as a way of providing a family environment for the children to pursue a higher level of education without losing their Aboriginal identity. He described the hostel as “not one of fostering, but rather a boarding establishment to which boys came with their mothers' consent for the school year, and in that respect it was no different from children being sent by their parents to a boarding school".[4]
The manor became known as "St Francis House: A Home for Inland Children" and over the next 14 years, more than 50 children found at home at St Francis on their way to greatness.[5] At St Francis House, the boys formed a strong, life-long bond with Smith and his wife, and with each other.[6]
Former resident John Kundereri Moriarty said that St Francis House was an exceptional home.[7]
Documentation[edit]
Former Australian test cricketer Ashley Mallett has written a history of St Francis House,[8] called The Boys from St Francis, published in 2018 by Wakefield Press.[9]
The St Francis House Project, "History & Legacy of St Francis House: A Home for Inland Children", was established in 2018 to document the history of the home.[10]
Notable people[edit]
Some residents of St Francis House who later went on to forge sporting careers and/or became engaged in Indigenous activism include:
- Winnie Branson[2]
- Richie Bray[5][11]
- Gordon Briscoe AO[5]
- Malcolm Cooper[11]
- Vincent Copley, footballer and activist[5][11]
- Bill Espie (Queen's Medal for Bravery)[5]
- Ken Hampton, who went on to play football for Port Adelaide[5][11]
- Wilf Huddleton[11]
- Wally McArthur[5]
- John Moriarty AM[5]
- Les Nayda AM[5]
- Charles Perkins AO[5]
- Harold Thomas (Bundoo)[5] who designed the Aboriginal flag.[12]
- Ron Tilmouth[11]
References[edit]
- ^ Briscoe, Gordon (2010). "Chapter 4: Pembroke Street to St Francis House, 1946 to 1949". Racial Folly: A twentieth-century Aboriginal family. ISBN 9781921666216. Retrieved 23 November 2023 – via ANU. (Photos; text here)
- ^ a b Chlanda, Erwin (1 February 2019). "Kids from The Alice: When Malcolm met Menzies". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ Vincent Copley
- ^ The History of Glanville Hall | Glanville Hall
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chlanda, Erwin (18 September 2013). "The Boys who made the Big Time". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ About Dr Charles Perkins – The Charlie Perkins Trust for Children and Students
- ^ "Collaborating for Indigenous Rights 1957-1973". National Museum of Australia. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ Cornwall, Peter. "Ashley Mallett: Painting a picture". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019.
- ^ "The Boys from St Francis". Wakefield Press (Australia). Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "History & legacy of St Francis House, a home for inland children 1946-59 [Home page]". St Francis House. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Phillips, Sandra (10 January 2022). "Vince Copley had a vision for a better Australia – and he helped make it happen, with lifelong friend Charles Perkins". The Conversation. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "$20m deal ends Aboriginal flag saga". news.com.au. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
Further reading[edit]
- Smith, Mark J. (28 April 2019). "'I shared my mother with the Aboriginal children'". Alice Springs News. Part of a series "Kids from the Alice".