Please be aware that this site contains photographs and references to deceased persons—our apologies to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Please also note that, due to the historic nature of some of the content, the views that are expressed may not reflect the position of KBHAC.
We acknowledge the Dunghutti, and other First Nations peoples of this country, whose boys were kidnapped under the policies that created the Stolen Generations.
Kinchela Boys Home was built on the stolen land of the Dunghutti on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, roughly half way between Brisbane and Sydney.
The Kinchela Aboriginal Reserve, on which the Kinchela Boys Home was built, was gazetted in 1883, and Kinchela was gazetted as a village in 1885 or 1886.
The Boys Home sat on the edge of the Macleay River, downstream from the village of Kinchela and the town of Kempsey.
The site itself and associated places in the local area hold deep importance for Survivors and their families and communities. The following map gives an insight into some sites of significance.
Kinchela Boys Home was built on the stolen land of the Dunghutti. We would like to acknowledge the Dunghutti and other First Nations peoples of this country whose boys were kidnapped under the policies that created the Stolen Generations.Statement of Cultural Significance. The former Kinchela Boys Home is a place of deep importance for survivors, their families and communities. The site and its associated places hold memories, both painful and otherwise, of their childhood after being kidnapped from their families and deliberately re-programmed to assimilate into white Australian society. The place itself, historical records and the memories and stories of survivors provide tangible evidence of these destructive past Government policies and practices for the education and understanding of all Australians.
The KBH boys association with Back Creek and Back Paddock were many. Two boys would ride horses and the work boys would travel in a VW Combi van to take the pregnant cows to put them in the paddock at Back Creek. While they were there they would firstly check the fences then turn the windmill off so they could climb to the top of it to oil the moving parts. They would then go to the concrete trough that was filled and pull the plug out so they could scrub the algae out of it. They would then put the plug back in turn the windmill back on to fill the trough to provide clean water for the cows that were there.
KBH is associated with the former site of the Kinchela Lower Public School, located a short distance to the south fo KBH along South West Rocks Road.The original school, called Tacking Point, was established in 1881. In 1884, the school was renamed Summer Island. Due to increasing enrolments, a new building was erected in 1908. In 1938, the school was renamed Kinchela Lower. In the 1940s and 1950s, white parents of students at the school repeatedly rejected proposals to amalgamate it with the Kinchela Aboriginal School, fearing the school would become "swamped with Aborigines."The school moved to its present location in the 1950s. Today, the site contains only a cluster of mature trees and remnant footings, and is a reminder of the Government's segregation policies occurring until the mid twentieth century.
KBH is associated with Pelican Island, located north between Kinchela and South West Rocks. Pelican Island was the site of a former Aboriginal Reserve. The first Aboriginal Provisional School in the area was established at Pelican Island in 1892, however it only remained in operation for one year. The new Pelican Island Aboriginal Provisional School was established on the Kinchela Reserve (former KBH site) in 1919, and eventually became part of the Kinchela Boys Home.
KBH is associated with the former South West Rocks Public School building, which was used as a refuge for KBH boys during floods and also in later years as accommodation during school holidays and sporting events.This is remembered as a happier place for some. As the only time when boys were permitted to choose where they slept, brothers were able to sleep next to their brothers.The building was constructed in 1897 as the Macleay Entrance Public School and was originally located at the New Entrance, providing education to the children of the men working on the breakwater wall.The building was relocated to the top of the hill at Gregory Street in 1909. It was relocated to its present location at the bottom of the hill. and renovated in 2013. It is now functioning as a café.
KBH is associated with the South West Rocks Surf Life Saving Club (SWRSLSC) located at 1 Livingstone Street. In 1924, volunteers constructed the club's first building. During the years that KBH was in operation, boys were selected for training at the surf life saving club. KBH boys excelled in surf life saving, and for many the club is remembered as having been a happier place. The building has since been altered a number of times over the years.
KBH survivors retain memories and associations with Trial Bay and Trial Bay Gaol. Many KBH boys recall being made to run back and forth between the South West Rocks Surf Life Saving Club and Trial Bay Gaol, usually as training for Surf Life Saving.
KBH is associated with the Hat Head Surf Life Saving (HHSLSC) located on the corner of Bay Street and Myrtle Street. The club was established in 1948, patrolling the creek mouth and southern end of the beach.During the years that KBH was in operation, boys were selected for training at the surf life saving club. KBH boys excelled in surf life saving, and for many the club is remembered as having been a happier place. The original building remains largely intact, although the basement level has been modified in recent years.
KBH is associated with a number of sites in Smithtown. Upon leaving KBH, many KBH boys were placed into apprenticeships at the Nestlé factory in Smithtown, located on Rawson Street alongside the Macleay River. The Nestlé factory began operating in 1921, taking over a dairying factory site that first started in 1897. The beverage MILO was developed in Smithtown in 1933, and is still manufactured here. The organised apprenticeships of KBH boys at this factory reflects the dominant early to mid twentieth century attitude which assumed that "Full Blood and Part Aborigines" were inferior in intelligence and only capable of manual tasks.A number of KBH boys trained and competed in boxing at the Smithtown Hall on the corner of Main Street and Rawson Street. This Building was constructed in 1926 as the Smithtown School of Arts. For some boys engagement in activities outside of KBH, like boxing, is associated with happier memories and as a chance to escape the harsh daily routine of the institution
KBH is associated with Kempsey High School, which boys were gradually permitted to attend from the 1950s onwards. Kempsey High School was established in 1930. This is remembered as a happier place for some and a chance to interact with the outside world, although racism was often encountered. The growing enrolment of KBH boys at the school demonstrates the beginning of changing attitudes as the policy of segregation from the rest of society became more relaxed. Notwithstanding this, in the 1967 Referendum, Kempsey recorded the largest 'no' vote, at 90-99% voting against the Referendum.
KBH is associated with West Kempsey Public School, which the KBH boys attended following the closure of Kinchela Aboriginal Public School ion 1963. The school was established in 1860 as the Kempsey National School. The two-storey Infants Building was opened in 19181, and the timber buildings off Marsh Street were opened in 1952. In 1962 children enrolled from Burnt Bridge Public School. The modern school buildings on Marsh Street were constructed in 1972.West Kempsey Public School is remembered as a happier place for some and a chance to interact with the outside world, although racism was often encountered. The commencement of KBH boys at the school in 1963 demonstrates the beginning of changing attitudes as the policy of segregation from the rest of society became more relaxed.
Transport for NSW acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities due to past government policies and practices. These children are known as the Stolen Generations. Kempsey Station is where Aboriginal boys arrived by train before being taken to Kinchela Boys Home. It is also where Aboriginal girls and boys from Kempsey and the Macleay Valley were brought and put on trains, to be sent on to institutions throughout the state. Some of these children never made it home, living their lives disconnected from their families, their communities and their culture. The spirits of the boys who were sent to Kinchela Boys Home remain there, forever connected to that site and to the Macleay Valley. This memorial is dedicated to the Stolen Generations and their descendants.
KBH retains associations with Burnt Bridge, just west of the township of Kempsey. The Aboriginal Reserve at Burnt Bridge was established in 1893. A number of boys were taken from the Burnt Bridge Mission and incarcerated at KBH, causing significant upheaval among the families and community there.Those boys whose families lived in Kempsey were not allowed to speak to their family members if they saw them in town, at school or sporting events.
