6 October 2008

Images of Canberra (Err Goulburn, but close) - The old Goulburn orphanage

| Danman
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[First filed: October 04, 2008 @ 23:27]

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A friend and I headed to Goulburn on Friday night to check out some old buildings he had been told about.

He was looking for a set for an up and coming short film he is making and asked me to take some stills to show prospective sponsors.

Let me tell you… man this place would be awesome for any silent hill/resident evil/the ring style movie.

(Slideshow and more below)

These buildings are an old orphanage, and by my own mothers accounts as an attendee when she was a child, the place is of great sadness.

She was admitted there when my Grandmother was down the road at Kenmore Mental Asylum, and my Grandfather could not look after all 9 children.

Basic story she told me (I did not want to pry) was that when she was accepted, they took all her clothes she had taken there and was issued with one set of clothes and underwear.

These clothes and 1 set of underwear were worn for a week between washes and if you soiled them, you were beaten.

Beating of children (Not disciplinary beatings, but old school mentally scarring beatings) were common… and thats where I changed the subject..

This place is scary, if not haunted… There was not a breath of wind when we accessed the site, but by pure coincidence the wind started blowing fiercely when we got a few meters from the property.

There was scarcely any windows not broken and this caused the upper windows to catch the stronger winds and blow it out the lower windows, a perfectly explainable phenomenon, but scary as hell none the less, standing near a window to a gaping maw of pure black darkness with a fierce gale blowing out the window into your face..

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Ok, so im 14, and i live in goulburn. He and a few friends have recently gone into the old boys home.
iv heard some stories from my nan, and from what she told me, i dont think i wanna go back there.
she told me that she knew some of the boys who went there, and that they used to be treated so badly.
iv been in there at night time, with a friend, and it was sooo scary.
i dont really think im gonna go back there.

Rickjj said :

Recently on our way back from Canberra stopped here as we though it would be a great location to take some HDR Images.
We only had a limited time inside before we found some teenagers hanging around our car, I went out to ask what they were doing and they asked how we had enough nerve to go in. 2 out of the three came in with us and would not leave our sides telling us ghost urban legend story’s as we took photos, one stayed outside too scared to come it. The caretaker was quick to come from the noise the outside teen was making. The care taker was nice and we told him what we were doing. He mentioned that police are not interested in trespassers or vandals until the property has a security fence. He suggested that we go and talk to the owner son who lives up the back of the property. We did, the son owners is a very nice guy. I suggest if you want to take photos to go to the house at the back of the property and talk to him. He is mainly concerned with vandalism so if you say that you would just like to take some pictures etc and are polite I think he is fine.
You can check out some of the HDR Images at:
http://richardjjones.deviantart.com/gallery/
under St Johns Orphanage.
Anyone know of other great locations like this in the Goulburn area apart from the asylum?

great photos richard. the one with the lace curtain blowing is super creepy.

and danman, yours are great too – i love the one with the grass lit up in the foreground.

The the pictures are wounderfull !! I went there a couple of days ago an had a look, Yes very creepy but when you want to no somthing you really dont worry about what goes on !! It has changed alot since this photo, But i really like what you have wrote, An im so interested to no what happend behind them bars an what went on ! Id feel so sorry for the lost souls in there .. But the olden days seemed so harsh !! I wouldnt have liked to go there at all .. Im pleased that your mother made it out of there ..

Recently on our way back from Canberra stopped here as we though it would be a great location to take some HDR Images.
We only had a limited time inside before we found some teenagers hanging around our car, I went out to ask what they were doing and they asked how we had enough nerve to go in. 2 out of the three came in with us and would not leave our sides telling us ghost urban legend story’s as we took photos, one stayed outside too scared to come it. The caretaker was quick to come from the noise the outside teen was making. The care taker was nice and we told him what we were doing. He mentioned that police are not interested in trespassers or vandals until the property has a security fence. He suggested that we go and talk to the owner son who lives up the back of the property. We did, the son owners is a very nice guy. I suggest if you want to take photos to go to the house at the back of the property and talk to him. He is mainly concerned with vandalism so if you say that you would just like to take some pictures etc and are polite I think he is fine.
You can check out some of the HDR Images at:
http://richardjjones.deviantart.com/gallery/
under St Johns Orphanage.
Anyone know of other great locations like this in the Goulburn area apart from the asylum?

I don’t know about it being haunted, it is certainly haunting – and for my Dad it was a very healing experience going back and confirming his memories of the place in terms of where particular rooms were and where he used to sleep, be schooled and hide from the nuns! The owner was truly fabulous to us.

I have by no means finished our family history, but this part is now done and dusted for Dad and he regularly looks over the information and photos with a wistfulness I have not seen in him before. I watched with wonder just last week while he explained the “home” to my 14 year old nephew and described the things that happened there. It appears he can now reflect with pride knowing it is behind him and that he is a survivor of a terrible life experience.

I am thankful for the man my father is today and I am so proud that he was able to take this journey and not become bitter by the memories.

I am happy to share information and photos with anyone who wishes to contact me.
jodie.surie@three.com.au

I went there last night but noooo way would i get out of the car, it was creepy just being outside of it!!! I would love to learn so much more about this place and other abandoned and haunted places… It’s all so interesting!!

This is the most misleading and erroneous article I have read for a long while. For a start, If this is ST John’s boys orphanage then your mother can not have been sent there! It is most certainly NOT St Joseph’s girls orphanage as I was among the children sent there from an abusive family background. It was no more harsh than the ‘outside’ conditions. When others came back after the holidays,the stories they described of their ‘loving’ families made us thankful that we had a home, food and clothes. Don’t forget this was pre and post 2nd world war and most people didn’t have all that much to eat. Some people that I care for now here in England tell me of walking to school over 2 miles with no breakfast, holes in their shoes, being beaten by drunken fathers, and having to leave school at 14 to help with the younger family members; and all this in rural south east England! Some of the people who were sent out to these orphanages certainly were abused and they deserve all of the help and sympathy they need. but some aught just to get a life! find out what life was like for ordinary kids at that time. Had I grown up in Griffith where my family had come from I would have been seriously disfunctional. The people there could have cared for me, but they chose not to! bit like Canberra’s ‘loving’ parents. I hope he wasn’t the lad that sat down on the steps and cried til he died in the cold! I hope that he never gave you or your unkind family another thought all his life!

I can imagine their would be spirits there, just hope the poor souls are at peace now.

meggolikelego7:24 pm 26 Apr 10

heyy Danman.. did you end up going back? like recently? me and my friends went there the other night and have photo’s with orbs which is pretty interesting.. and sources say they are legit. (:

Actually, when i was growing up one of my friends family’s lived there, they were the caretakers.. i was getting this (St Johns) confused with an old monastery in goulburn on Mary’s Mount Road.. They lived there for a while, was pretty cool place to visit.. they had a few massive parties there too, how we never fell out of balconies drunk i’ll never know. It was in a resonable state of repair then, that was about 10-12 yrs ago..

I have been there and inside a number of times.. delivered a fridge there once.. not so bad, and still had some residents up until 4-5 years ago…. not sure now though..
Also had a lot to do with Kenmore hospital as a child growing up, as many people in goulburn worked there, including my mother who was director of nursing there for a long time. The grounds of Kenmore used to be truly amazing and some of the best sporting fields in the area. The cricket pitch for example was made from turf brought directly from the SCG, and meticulously looked after and cared for. Unfortunately the whole complex is in fairly bad condition including the sporting grounds, and like St Joeys orphanage, has just been allowed to deteriorate over time..

My parents are seriously considering turning the old orphanage into units…

It will take a lot of work and to get the plans around council will be a challenge but my mum hates that the building is going to such waste and she is hoping to start work on the units within the next two years….

Hi People,

My husband and I are writing a book on abandoned mental hospitals and orphanages in Australia and it’s really inspiring to read your comments above.

A few questions …

• If anyone would like to share their stories to be in the book, we would love to hear from you.
• If anyone has the contact details of the owners, could you please either email them to me or pass on my email?

My email is arnekah@hotmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Arneka

This is teh case across Australia Thumper.
It really does sadden me.

JoeyGirl – can you send building contact details to my email address – chefboy@tpgi.com.au – My mother has some demons of hew own she would like to aput to bed, and I would love to document it from the inside.

We woul dboth appreciate the opportunity to access it during daylight hours.

My father and I were lucky enough to be allowed in by the owner last week and we spent a couple of hours going through it. Revisiting the home was something Dad really wanted to do and I was surprised at how well he dealt with the experience. Although the feelings of hopelessness were there, he was determined to view the building through the eyes of nostalgia. It truly is a magnificent structure. I have some great photos and will keep in touch with the owner to see what happens with it in the future.

My grandparents own this place and have for a few years now, i have been in there many times and have even spent a night there and i have seen or heard nothing that would suggest that it was in fact haunted.

It is a lovely place and its terrible all the damage that has been done to it. My pop put plans into the council for it to be turned into an old person village but the work that needs to be done got to great so it is now on the market to be sold.

Danman,
Don’t feel bad about your family history my nanna and her sisters were also in that same orphanage she told me stories of how one of her sisters didn’t like the breakfast porridge so she would vomit it up then she was forced to eat it. there is so many sad stories it was not a happy time for my nanna her mother had just died and her father couldn’t look after all eight kids some were adopted out and my nanna and her three sisters were put in the orphanage i was wondering if you would mind emailing me some of the pictures you have of the old orphanage i can’t work out how to download them im looking up my history.i appreciate it thanks.
EMAIL; lowehousehold@gmail.com

Back in the days of my youth 😛 ; My friends and I went exploring through this place. It is truly an amazingly interesting building and to some… very spooky. It goes up about three stories (however, particular areas have alarms *that one scared us*) as well as having a basement only accessible through a broom cupboard. It boasts a rather large hall as well as several spacious rooms. However, this building is highly damaged… nearly all of its windows are smashed, most of the doors are broken and the walls are mostly covered in graff.

Besides the fact that it does resemble something out of a horror film movie, this building could actually be quite nice if redone properly… however, i would knock out a few walls and change things about personally.. as it is very much scattered with random design.

Still, according to legends… a lot of negative things happened there in the time that it was an orphanage… Just like Kenmore < the mental hospital has a lot of stories around it. If you get a chance, i’d also recommend checking out the old childrens ward in it as well… its about 600metres away from the main section, and is an old creepy looking building on a T-junction.

Danman said :

Yeah skid, my mum was in the orphanage, my grandmother was in Kenmore Asylum – great family history eh ?

Don’t feel bad about the Kenmore connection hon – hell, they used to lock menopausal women up.

rosebud said :

Some idle Googling (no, I don’t have a life, thanks anyway) has turned up a group called CLAN for anyone who has been affected by institutions such as this one: http://www.clan.org.au/pages/index.php

Their front page states:
Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) is a support and advocacy group for people brought up in care away from their family as state wards or Home children raised in Children’s Homes, orphanages or other institutions, or in foster care. CLAN is also for anyone who has a close family member who was placed in “care”.

They also offer a pin for any pin collectors out there who also fall into this category (lucky ol’ you).

And there are pictures, really quite creepy ones, of other institutions and memorabilia as well.

+1

CLAN are a really good support network for people who’ve been in care. There was a story on Stateline a couple of weeks ago about women who went back to an institution in Hay and I seem to recall that there was some mention of CLAN.

I am so glad I stumbled across this site. My father was in St John’s during the 30s and 40s and has never spoken about it until the last couple of years. He’s 71 now. We are making an histoorical trip in the next couple of weeks and will be visiting this place to put some demons to bed. I have been trying to contact the owner to gain access but have had no luck. Any information anyone can offer would be appreciated.

Im 14 yrs old. And as you know, teenagers are rebellious. well, let me tell you, i have been inside this place numerous times (illegaly. tresspassing), and i dont think i will ever go in again. I came out crying, screaming. I had night mares about it for a week! It was one of my most scariest experienes, i cant out it into words.
And no, the place isnt as ‘abondend’ as you all think. I live in Goulburn, and i know the person that owns this place. And dont worry, it does have alarms, may i add only the 3rd story.
It is so huge, bigger than any building i have ever seen.
I got lost, that made the experience a whole lot worse.
So its not as abonded as you think it is.
But, not for all the tea in china, will i ever go in there again.
I honetly believe, on my own will, that it is haunted!!!

oh yes, we did also visit St John’s Orphanage,we walked around this building too…but we were told it is now privately owned..but its a shame it has been destoryed by idiots..windows broken, graffiti on walls inside…these buildings hold some numerous stories…good and bad…..

After info on ST Joseph Girls Orphanage, Goulburn. NSW…..A few weeks ago I had visited Goulburn. Whilst there, my cousin and I stumbled unpon the St. Joseph’s Orphanage…we drove up the driveway to check it out…It just took our breathe away on the size etc..this building got us so intriged, that we have been searching for info on the children that were there…we took pics, and to our amazement, when looing at them on the computer, we found three children in them, (in spirit)..I know this is hard to believe, even my cousin who never believed in ghosts,now does…the priest did give us a name and mobile number of a man who showed us through this building…as a matter of fact, my cousin and i did a total of 5 trips back there during teh 2wks i was there..we went the the Goulburn Library, Catholic Church, searching the internet, but we cant find anything on this orphanage besides date of opening, priests, nuns…..I am writing here to see if anyone had a relative or was a resident in this building..would love to hear from you…please contact me on:

hobo13157@bigpond.com

hope to hear from someone soon, even though i have been home in Queensland for the past 5wks…this place is so in my head…thanks…Kerry

“When I was around 10 back in the 40’s, my parents hosted a boy from the orphanage with a view to adopting him as a brother for me as I was an only child having lost my real brother when I was one.”

Old Canberran…was his name Adrian? If so, I have the information you are seeking.

Ahh thanks for the reminder there Kylie, I have to resume my emails to the Goulburn council – they are as yet unanswered RE this building… Scary indeed.

I have just moved to Goulburn and have a fasination with this place. I walked around the building on the weekend and peered in the windows. It is very eerie and definitely houses squatters. There were Christmas pictures, clothes, dirty old mattresses and makeshift curtains on some windows etc. I can’t find any information on the internet about who owns this building and why it isn’t being restored or used as homeless shelter etc. I would love more info if anyone has it. I was thinking about asking the church what the history was as we don’t seem to have a museum in Goulburn.

Danman said :

Yeah… ill be back there for sure – wanna contact the owners of this place and get a daylight tour

Can i come too Dan? That place looks awesome and creepy.

So beautiful… So very beautiful. This is the kind of stuff from my dreams. (not the sad history of the house, just the building itself…) Thanks for sharing, Dan.

found that too Rosebud in my google travels

Some idle Googling (no, I don’t have a life, thanks anyway) has turned up a group called CLAN for anyone who has been affected by institutions such as this one: http://www.clan.org.au/pages/index.php

Their front page states:
Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) is a support and advocacy group for people brought up in care away from their family as state wards or Home children raised in Children’s Homes, orphanages or other institutions, or in foster care. CLAN is also for anyone who has a close family member who was placed in “care”.

They also offer a pin for any pin collectors out there who also fall into this category (lucky ol’ you).

And there are pictures, really quite creepy ones, of other institutions and memorabilia as well.

Mmm, I believe there’s been an elephant in this thread since that post was put up…

Die Lefty Scum – I’m with you. It engenders a feeling in me akin to taking a pet from the RSPCA and then finding out your can’t look after it and returning it to an unknown fate. Bad enough, but instead of a pet, it’s a real live human being.

It was a book I found under the front deck… spot lit with a red LED

original size is here

The actual text on the page (What you can read) is quite chilling.

The title is The Lemonade trick but the red light hides the lemonade part of the title so it looks like its says the trick and a little boy poisoning his dog…

Anyway view the link for full high res

Beserk Keyboard Warrior3:29 pm 06 Oct 08

Awesome pix Danman. The one with the tattered page – what is it? An old book or comic or something?

Die Lefty Scum2:54 pm 06 Oct 08

old canberran said :

When I was around 10 back in the 40’s, my parents hosted a boy from the orphanage with a view to adopting him as a brother for me as I was an only child having lost my real brother when I was one. He was a great kid, neat and tidy with everything but quite submissive and polite. The discipline at the orphanage had made its mark. He stayed with us for nearly a year but unfortunately it didn’t work as I had been a loner for too long so my parents reluctantly returned him to Goulburn. I often wonder what happened to him. It was a very spartan existence there as money was not plentiful, a bit like a prison I suppose.

I can’t quite put my finger on why I find this little memoir so harrowing. For some reason I feel compelled to read it over and over.

Kenmore have regular tour days as well…

Yeah skid, my mum was in the orphanage, my grandmother was in Kenmore Asylum – great family history eh ?

Hey Danman, chalk me up as another person who would be VERY interested to know if you manage to get permission to get in there. Not wanting to tag along on your shoot, I’d just like to know if the owners are willing 🙂

Having posted that at almost 2am, I have just (ten minutes later) realised my brain fusioned the Orphanage of St Johns and Kenmore Asylum into the one entity.

What a terribly depressing place that would be…

Danman, for reference on your frined’s movie, and getting access to Kenmore for film use…
Its been done before, so Paul Murphy or Brad Diebert of “Hobby Farm’ fame might be the guy to speak to if you are in dire need of an in, or want to show off how else Kenmore has been used in the past.

Its been years since I was involved in anything theatre related, but there was a Stateline bit on using it a while back (2006), which is about all the lead I can offer you.
http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/act/content/2006/s2107839.htm

smee, not sure – didnt really push her for details as you can understand… If I get access during the day ill see if I can +1

Old Canberra have you ever tried to contact him? He might be in need of a friend and is likely to still live locally!

Actually Danman, I was intending to either ask you for the owner details or, if you were willing, tag along on your visit.

BTW, when was your Mother there?

Permission was not granted, however the gate was open, we were in full view of the streets with LOTS of BRIGHT portable lighting and about 1500 dollars worth of camera gear – so if someone accosted us they could se we were in no way there to skulk, trash. graffiti, squat or otherwise ruin the place.

I would suggest if you intend accessing the building internally to have permission granted.

I intend contacting the owner and accessing the place internally during the day in order to do a photo/journalism piece for my own prosperity

Hey Danman… Mind telling us if you get permission. I wouldn’t mind going back for a look.

Yeah… ill be back there for sure – wanna contact the owners of this place and get a daylight tour

Gungahlin Al5:47 pm 05 Oct 08

There are some simply stunning old buildings all over Goulburn – some very well cared for, others not so. And in the surrounding areas too.

This is St John’s Boy’s Orphanage. It can be found on wikimapia here.

It was run, I think from hazy memory, by the Sisters of Mercy.

I spent 15 months and both my 11th and 12th birthdays there in 1976/77.

The orphanage itself could house 50+ boys and a similar number of girls in two segregated dormitories (complete with their own bathroom facilities) on the 1st floor. When I was there it only housed about 10 boys, all but one of primary school age and, just before I left 3 or 4 girls arrived. The ground floor housed the kitchen, dining room, laundry and an area restricted to the Nuns.

The Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers (who ran St Patrick’s Primary School and College) also ran a number of foster houses clustered around the orphanage where the majority of children in long term fosterage went.

Oh, Danman. This makes me feel so sad. Those poor little kids.

Can I ask where in Goulburn this is?

Loquaciousness12:19 pm 05 Oct 08

They are some of the creepiest photos I have ever seen. And your Grandmother’s story – horrifying. Thanks for sharing, Danman … I think 😉

L

old canberran3:16 am 05 Oct 08

When I was around 10 back in the 40’s, my parents hosted a boy from the orphanage with a view to adopting him as a brother for me as I was an only child having lost my real brother when I was one. He was a great kid, neat and tidy with everything but quite submissive and polite. The discipline at the orphanage had made its mark. He stayed with us for nearly a year but unfortunately it didn’t work as I had been a loner for too long so my parents reluctantly returned him to Goulburn. I often wonder what happened to him. It was a very spartan existence there as money was not plentiful, a bit like a prison I suppose.

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