Roelands Aboriginal Mission,[1]also known asRoelands Native Missionor simplyRoelands Mission,[2]was a farm property used to house Aboriginal children from theStolen Generations.[3]
Peter Albany Bell,following his retirement in 1928, purchased 3,750 acres (1,520 ha) inRoelandsnot far fromBunbury,where he established the Chandler Home for Unemployed Boys – a philanthropic venture that stemmed from his time as a Justice of the Peace in theChildren's Court,and his observations of how young offenders and miscreants were treated in the United States while on a business trip in 1915.[4] The site was reused by Bell to create the Roelands Native Mission Farm, which was intended to be a self-sufficient, sustainable farm for Aboriginal families.[2]
By 1941, the farm was exclusively used to house Aboriginal children. It accommodated over 500 children of the Stolen Generations over the subsequent 34 years, some from as far as thePilbararegion.[5] In 1946 Roelands Native Mission Farm was affiliated[a]with theUnited Aborigines Mission.[2]
On 1 July 1973, the name changed to Roelands Homes Incorporated, and was part of the Missionary Fellowship group, along with other organisations running similar missions. In this era Roelands had several satellite properties, including Wollaston inBunburyand the Valima Girls' Hostel inPerth.[2]
The property was bought by the Churches of Christ Federal Aborigines Mission Board in 1975, which closed the mission, and converted it into Roelands Village. In 2013, renovations were undertaken to transform it into a "place of healing",[2]and education.[3]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^Heritage Council of WA."Roelands Village".inHerit.Government of Western Australia.Retrieved28 December2020.
- ^abcdefRosser, Debra (29 November 2016)."Roelands Native Mission Farm (1938 - 1975)".Find & Connect Web Resource Project.Commonwealth of Australia.Retrieved28 December2020.
- ^abWoods, Meghan (10 July 2013)."Roelands mission transforming the hurt into healing".ABC Local.Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Retrieved28 December2020.
- ^Tamblyn, M (1979)."Bell, Peter Albany (1871–1957)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Vol. 7. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved27 December2020.
- ^"Roelands Native Mission Farm".Healing Foundation.Retrieved28 December2020.
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