You are here :

Past Clients

Past Clients



Heritage Service


Since 1877 many children have been placed in the care of Berry Street which was also known as "The Victorian Infant Asylum and Foundling Hospital" and "The Berry Street Babies Home". Similarly, Sutherland Homes for Children (which merged with Berry Street in 1994) cared for thousands of children in Northern Melbourne from 1909.

Poverty, wars, the Depression, the stigma of illegitimacy and a lack of social welfare provision meant that many families were unable to care for their children. Sometimes children would be in care for a short period before returning home. Others would go on to be adopted or placed in foster care or group homes.

The Heritage Service assists people who were are former residents of Berry Street and Sutherland Homes, to access personal information about themselves held by Berry Street.

Access to the Archives is granted to past clients and their relatives in accordance with the Berry Street Privacy Policy. Historians and researchers may apply for access under the terms of the Access to Heritage Archives Policy.

To find our more please download our brochure or contact us on 9429 9266 or via email.

Downloads



Requesting Information


To apply to access your personal information, you can complete the attached Request for release of personal information form.

Most importantly, we need to know your:
• Address and phone number
• Date of birth (if known)
• Name at birth

Other helpful information includes what year you entered Berry Street or Sutherland Homes and any other information you think will assist us in locating your records.

We also need you to provide us with some identification such as:
• Birth Certificate
• Drivers Licence
• Death Certificate (if you are applying as next of kin for a relative’s records)

There is NO COST for you to access your records.

Our Heritage Support Worker will contact you prior to processing your request to discuss:
• What information you might be looking for
• What information we can and cannot release given privacy considerations
• What support may be made available to you during this process and after
• How long it may take to locate and organise the information for you
• Opportunities for you to view any photos which may be relevant

Please send your completed form and any other documentation as outlined above to:

Heritage Service
Berry Street
1 Salisbury Street
RICHMOND Vic 3121
Or phone 03 9429 9266 and ask to speak to the Heritage Support Worker (who currently works Mondays and Wednesdays).

Records and Memorabilia


Berry Street holds records dating from 1877.

Our Heritage collection dates from the establishment of the Victorian Infant Asylum in 1877. It includes records of the Infant Asylum and Foundling Hospital through various changes of name, to its present day incarnation as Berry Street. In addition, we hold records of Sutherland Homes for Children, later known as Sutherland Child, Youth and Family Services, dating from 1908 to the amalgamation of Sutherland with Berry Street in 1994.

Items in the collection include admission and occupancy registers containing details of mothers, babies and children. In addition, there are legal documents, annual reports and minutes of meetings.

The collection also includes artefacts such as historical plaques, a wooden collecting box, mothercraft nurses' caps and badges, Berry Street publications, and a Bible presented to Selina Sutherland by a few of the girls whose lives have been blessed through her loving labours (inscription).

Berry Street is no longer an approved Adoption Agency and as such no longer holds records pertaining to adoptions. These are now the responsibility of the Department of Human Services, Family Information Networks and Discovery (FIND) on 1300 769 926 or visit their website.

More specifically, the collection comprises:-

  • Berry Street client records, 1980 -
  • Berry Street Registers of Inmates (6 volumes), 1877 - 1980
  • Berry Street Annual Inmates lists (4 volumes), 1936 - 1966
  • Berry Street Death Registration book, 1877 - 1913
  • Berry Street Foster Mothers' address book, 1930
  • Berry Street Babies' Home and Hospital record cards, 1947 - 1975
  • Berry Street Occupancy registers, report books etc (Toddler's Wing, Tandarra, Birrahlee and Beaconsfield), 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
  • Berry Street Infant Life Protection roll books, 1962 - 1965
  • Berry Street Vietnamese baby reports, 1975
  • Training leaflets, Nurses' lectures and other documents related to the training of Mothercraft Nurses
  • Berry Street press cuttings, 1878 - 1970s
  • Sutherland Homes Children's Registers and admission records, 1908 - 2000
  • Sutherland Homes Committal and Guardianship forms, 1906 - 1955
  • Berry Street Annual Reports, 1978 -
  • Sutherland Homes Committee of Management Minutes, 1911 - 1962
  • Sutherland Homes Annual Reports, 1954 - 1994
  • Account books, Minute books, order books, legal documents, titles etc. relating to Berry Street and Sutherland Homes
  • Photographs relating to both Berry Street and Sutherland Homes, featuring buildings and people (uncatalogued)
  • Audio tapes, film reels, 16mm tapes and VHS tapes related to both Berry Street and Sutherland Homes (largely promotional materials)
  • Highlights of the collection include:-
  • Selina Sutherland's Bible
  • Reflections and Memories - Visitors' book from Sutherland Homes reunion
  • Berry Street publications, such as Childcare pamphlets and Berry Street Foundling Home Cookery Book

Apologies


We are proud of our history and the contribution made to improve the life opportunities of many children and young people. However Berry Street acknowledges that it would be naïve to expect, over such a long and proud history, that every aspect of the care provided by this agency has constantly met every need of every child, and that no child in our care has ever been subjected to abuse.

As the current custodians, the Board of Directors, Managers and Staff accept that in our many years of operation, harm has occurred to some children and young people in our care. For this we deeply and most sincerely apologise.

In August 2006, Berry Street's President made an apology to children who experienced harm in institutional care. View this apology.

A separate Apology was made to children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the same month. View this apology.

Complaints


If you are a person who grew up in Berry Street’s care and you wish to lodge a complaint about what happened when you were in ‘care’, please refer to our Policy and Information Sheet.

Open Place


Open Place is a support and advocacy service that co-ordinates and provides direct assistance to address the needs of people who grew up in Victorian orphanages and homes during the last century. We aim to help people who identify as Forgotten Australians to deal with the legacy of their childhood experiences and provide support to improve their health and wellbeing.

Find and Connect Victoria


Initially launched as Pathways in December 2009 by the University of Melbourne, Find and Connect is an online resource for Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants and anyone with an interest in out-of-home care Find and Connect tells the story of institutional “care” in every state e.g. for Victoria from its beginnings in the 1840’s through to the present. It aims to provide assistance to anyone seeking to find out about and make sense of their own past or that of past member/s of their family. It also provides information about the historical context of child welfare. It includes stories and images that describe key institutions and auspicing agencies, public figures, legislation and policies, events, with links to significant publications and records holdings.