History

By the time Thomas Barnardo died in 1905, the charity he founded ran 96 homes caring for more than 8,500 children. Residential care emphasised children's physical and moral welfare rather than their emotional wellbeing. Some homes housed hundreds of children and staff sometimes were harsh and distant. Many adults who grew up in the homes look back with affection and believe the charity was a true family. Others remember loneliness, bullying and even abuse.

Child emigration was extended to Australia after the First World War as it was still seen as an appropriate response to the social problems of the day, even if by today's standards the practice seems cruel. These ideas continued largely unchallenged until after the Second World War when the emphasis shifted towards keeping children and their families together in the community.

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