Library: Queensland

ID Code Title Author Description Home(s)
13614 QLD1 Bethesda, Rockhampton
13615 QLD2 History of William Robert Black 1859 – 1930, Assembly Minutes from 1924, 1925, 1942, 1943, 1964 and an excerpt from The Presbyterian Outlook Presbyterian Orphanage Committee A history of William Black, Assembly Minutes on Children's Homes from 1964, newspaper clippings from 1963, and a report of the Presbyterian Orphanage Committee from 1924 and 1925. Blackheath Home for Boys
13616 QLD3 Indooroopilly Home for Boys The Salvation Army Heritage Centre, Australian Eastern Territory Images with descriptions. Indooroopilly Boys' Home run by the Salvation Army
13617 QLD4 Kalimna Vocational Centre for Girls, Toowong
13618 QLD5 Karalla House, Wolston Park
13619 QLD6 Margaret Marr Memorial Home for Boys, Wynnum Qld 1924-1974 Unknown General information and photocopies of photographs of the home. Margaret Marr Memorial Home for Boys
13620 QLD7 Marsden Home for Boys, Booval
13621 QLD8 Methodist Home, Roma
13622 QLD9 Montrose
13623 QLD10 Nazareth House, Wynnum
13624 QLD11 Nicklin Cottage Family Group Home, Aspley
13625 QLD12 Nudgee Orphanage, Nudgee
13626 QLD13 Rhyndarra Salvation Army Girls’ Home Yeronga 1897-1942 Queensland Government General information and history of the home. Rhyndarra Salvation Army Girls' Home
13627 QLD14 Riverview Home for Boys’ The Salvation Army Heritage Centre Images with descriptions. Riverview Home for Boys' run by The Salvation Army
13628 QLD15 Sacred Heart, Michelton
13629 QLD16 Sandgate Maternal and Child Health Home, Sandgate Unknown General information on the operations of the Home. Sandgate Maternal and Child Health Home
13630 QLD17 Silky Oaks Children’s Home 1940 – 1990 50th Anniversary Lesley Fleming, August 1991 A publication to mark the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Silky Oaks. The book details the history of the home and its developments. Silky Oaks Children's Home or Toowong Home
13631 QLD18 Sir Leslie Wilson Youth Detention Centre 1938-2001 Unknown & the Department of Children's Services, 1979 A historical timeline of the care for children in the Centre and includes a floor plan of the Centre. An excerpt on general information of the Centre from the Centenary of Care for Children. Sir Leslie Wilson Youth Detention Centre
13632 QLD19 St Joseph’s Home, Neerkol, Rockhampton & Neerkol Action Support Group Committee Unknown General information and photocopies of images of the home and residents. St Joseph's Home
13633 QLD20 St Vincents Orphanage, Nudgee
13634 QLD21 St. Catherine’s, Stanthorpe
13635 QLD22 St. George’s Home for Children, Rockhampton 1918 – 1933 Cheryl Myors Details events & developments occurring in the Home from 1918 to 1933. St George's Home for Children
13636 QLD23 St. George’s Home for Children, Rockhampton 1934 – 1958 Cheryl Myors, 2001 Details events & developments occurring in the Home from 1934 to 1958. St George's Home for Children
13637 QLD24 St. George’s Home for Children, Rockhampton 1959 – 1979 Cheryl Myors, 2001 Details events & developments occurring in the Home from 1959 to 1979. St George's Home for Children
13638 QLD25 The Moorlands Story Myann Burrows, Brisbane Legacy, August 1996 A history commissioned by Brisbane Legacy to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the first children to arrive in July 1946 at Moorlands Legacy's War Orphans' Home. Moorlands Legacy War Orphans' Home
13639 QLD26 Townsville Orphanage called Carramar Receiving and Assessment Centre and Bush Children’s Home Various authors General information, newspaper clippings and floor plan of the home. Townsville Orphanage called Carramar Receiving and Assessment Centre & Bush Children's Home
13640 QLD27 Tufnell Home, Nundah Nundah and Districts Historical Society Inc, 2002 A history and black and white images of Tufnell Home. Tufnell Home
13641 QLD28 William Robert Black Timeline 1859 – 2005, The Centenary History of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland & more Richard Bardon and others Includes the timeline, a Centenary History of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland 1849-1949. Includes newspaper clippings and a Diamond Jubilee souvenir booklet 1928-1988 on W. R. Black Children's Home. W. R. Black Children's Home
13642 QLD29 Westbrook – Surviving Australia’s most sadistic reformatory William Stokes, Pan Macmillan Australia, 2010 Stokes tells the story of his years at Westbrook and catalogues the horrors endured by children at the hands of authorities. Westbrook Farm Home for Boys
13643 QLD30 Wilson Youth Hospital, Beaudesert
13644 QLD32 Information on Anderson Dawson – First Labour Premier in the World 1893 Various authors Extract from Biographical Dictionary of Senators, newspaper clippings from 1999 and The Brisbane Institute Transcripts. Raised in Diamantina Orphan School Brisbane from 2 years of age until 9 and then fostered out
13645 QLD33 Appendix 1 State Children Act 1911, Queensland Government Gazette 1935 & Appendix 2 Children’s Services Act 1965 Queensland Government - -
13646 QLD34 Biography of William Fredrick Hunter (Bill Hunter) Written and compiled by Mark Hunter An honest account of the life of William Hunter the way he remembers it. William spent time in St Vincent's Orphanage, Nudgee. St Vincent's Orphanage, Nudgee
13647 QLD35 Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions 1999/2000 May 1999 & November 2000 The May 1999 Report is an extensive Report. The November 2000 issue is a Confidential Closed Report that focuses on Neerkol and Karrala. St Joseph's Neerkol, Karrala House
13648 QLD36 Healing or Horror: A response to Certain Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into in Queensland Institutions (The Forde Inquiry) Network for Ex-Residents of Queensland Government and Church Institutions and Former Children in Care, Published by the Esther Trust in collaboration with Micah Inc and the Network of Ex-Residents, 2000 A booklet in response to the Forde Inquiry that aims to inform the implementation committee for the Government's response to the recommendations of the Forde Inquiry. The booklet focuses on the following recommendations: Recommendation 2 - Location of information, Recommendation 3 - Access to information, Recommendation 38 - Reconciliation, Recommendation 39 - Compensation and Recommendation 40 - A 'One Stop Shop'. -
13649 QLD37 Independent Advisory Panel to Assist Former Residents of Christian Brothers Childcare Institutions 21st October 1994 A final report of the Independent Advisory Panel. -
13650 QLD38 Just in Time John Johnston, 1992 A summary of Social and Welfare activities in the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane 1892-1992. Edwin Marsden Tooth Memorial Home, St Christopher's Lodge for Boys, Tufnell Home (formerly the home of the Good Shepherd)
13651 QLD39 Report into the Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect in Australia – 4 September 2003 Prepared by Keatsdale Pty Ltd Management Consultants for the Kids First Foundation, 2003 A detailed Report into what is child abuse and neglect, the extent of the problem, deaths arising from abuse and neglect, consequences, approaches and estimates of the cost of child abuse and neglect in various contexts. -
13652 QLD40 Memories, Hopes and Dreams - A booklet of the memories, poems and personal accounts of growing up in a home. St Vincent's Orphanage
13653 QLD41 One Hundred Years of Ministry Elizabeth Moores A booklet on the history of the society of the Scared Advent 1892-1992. St Mary's Home, Toowong, The Home of the Good Shepherd (Tufnell Homes, Nundah) and Parkerville Children's Home
13654 QLD42 Queensland Report of The Director, Department of Children’s Services for the year ended 30th June 1967 The Director of the Department of Children's Services A report presented to Parliament by command to the Minister for Labour and Tourism. Wilson Youth Hospital, Salvation Army run Homes at Toowoomba, Toowong, Rockhampton, Indooroopilly, Riverview, St George's Homes Parkhurst, Tufnell Home, Tufnell Toddler's Home, Church of England Boys' Home, St Vincent's Home for Children Nudgee, Loreto Family Group Home Kangaroo Point, St Joseph's Home Neerkol, Holy Cross Retreat Wooloowin, Mt Maria Re-education Centre Mitchelton, Nazareth House, Albion Lodge, Methodist Children's Homes, Margaret Marr Memorial Home for Boys, Peirson Memorial Home, Presbyterian Family Group Homes, The Marsden Home for Boys, "Silky Oaks" & Bethel Children's Home
13655 QLD43 The Abuse of Children in Care University of Queensland Justice Project, 2003 An investigation into what happened in Queensland's orphanages and children's institutions. John Oxley Youth Detention Centre
13656 QLD44 The Rights of Children: Some Assumptions and Questions Peter Eisen, March 1979 Paper for Commonwealth Department of Social Security National Conference 1979 for the International Year of the Child. -
13657 QLD45 Punishment Book – Qld Institution Unknown List of dates, names, crime, action taken and days in security. -
13658 QLD46 Newspaper articles of personal experiences in Queensland Homes and calls for an Inquiry into Queensland Homes Various authors Newspaper articles. Queensland Homes
13659 QLD47 QLD47
13660 QLD48 A Tormented Life – Institutional Brutality in Australia Warren 'Rocky' Porter, published by author, 2010 A shocking true account of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The neglect and slave labour suffered by children in Australian institutions, both government and church run during the 40s, 50s and 60s. WR Black Home for Girls', Blackheath Home for Boys', Salvation Army Home for Boys' Riverview, Westbrook, and NSW homes: Metropolitan Shelter Sydney and Mt Penang Gosford NSW
13661 QLD49A Bebe’s Story Vera Fooks, 2003 The story of Vera May Fooks as told by herself. St Vincent's Orphanage, Nudgee
13662 QLD49B Bebe’s Story 2 Vera Fooks, 2003 The story of Vera May Fooks as told by herself. St Vincents Orphanage, Nudgee
13663 QLD49C Bebe’s Story 3 Vera Fooks, Second Edition, 2007 The story of Vera May Fooks as told by herself. St Vincents Orphanage, Nudgee
13664 QLD49D Bebe’s Story 4 Vera Fooks, Third Edition, 2009 The story of Vera May Fooks as told by herself. St Vincents Orphanage, Nudgee
13665 QLD50 Brutal – Surviving Westbrook Boys’ Home Al 'Crow' Fletcher as told to Cheryl Jorgensen, New Holland Publishers, 2006 This story is the harrowing description of life inside one of Queensland's most feared institutions for orphaned, disadvantaged and Aboriginal youth. Westbrook Farm Home for Boys
13666 QLD51 Daughters of Nazareth – A remarkable story of loss, hope and discovery Patricia Hughes, Pan Macmillan Australia, 2002 A true story of a woman who grew up without a family, only to find them when she least expected it. Nazareth House
13667 QLD52 Gaining A Sense of Self – A gritty and gently humorous journey through years of hunger, self-doubt and deprivation Karen Laura-Lee Wilson, Sid Harta Publishers, 2010 A memoir that is a detailed and gut wrenching account of her first twenty-five years growing up in a sole-parent family with a narcissist mother. Nazareth House
13668 QLD53 Kilroy was Here Kris Olsson, Bantam, 2005 An unflinching true story of how any child can be broken and any woman defeated by a system that punishes rather than corrects and how a life can be redeemed against impossible odds. St Vincent's Orphanage Nudgee, Wilson Youth Hospital, Calvin Grove Hostel
13669 QLD54 Left Unsaid – A triumph of sibling love over parental neglect & institutional care Margot O'Byrne, South Beach Publications, 2009 Told with compassion and humour, this story is a refined perspective of childhood suffering and endurance, wrapped in strong themes of alcoholism, poverty, neglect and abuse. It gives a searing account of systems and authorities of the 1960s. St Vincent's Orphanage, Nudgee
13670 QLD55 Nightmare at Neerkol Garnet B. Williams, 2004 A personal account of Garnet Williams when he was eight years old placed at St Joseph's Orphanage. It includes other experiences of men and women of their time at St Joseph's Orphanage. St Joseph's Neerkol run by the Sisters of Mercy near Rockhampton
13671 QLD56 Not Enough to Eat – Always Hungry! Harriett Stanwell (nee Rees or Brown) known as Marion Stanwell A recount of Harriet Stanwell's early life placed in Babies' Home from birth to 2-3 years of age, fostered in Ipswich then placed into St Vincent's in 1933 and in 1937 sent out to be domestic servant at age 14. Babies' Home, foster care in Ipswich, St Vincent's Orphanage Nudgee
13672 QLD57 Swimming Upstream Anthony Fingleton, Text Publishing Melbourne Australia, 2002 An inspirational memoir of a boy who found the determination to succeed. St Vincent's Orphanage Nudgee
13673 QLD58 The ‘brook Alfred 'Crow' Fletcher as told to Cheryl Jorgensen, Blake Publications, 2004 A true story of Crow Fletcher's experience of attending Westbrook. Westbrook Farm Home for Boys
13674 QLD59 Westbrook William Stokes Westbrook Farm Home for Boys
13675 QLD60 Wilson Boys Norman Gilbert, Feb 2003 A story about life in Wilson Youth Boys' Hospital. Wilson Youth Hospital
13676 QLD61 Miscellaneous Queensland Orphanages - Photocopies of images of the homes and children. Includes a brief history of orphanages in QLD. Wooloowin State Children's Homes, St Vincent's Orphanage, Queen Alexandra Home for Children, Margaret Marr Memorial Home for Boys, Industrial Boys' Home Indooroopilly,St Vincent's Orphanage Nudgee, Nazareth House Wynnum, St Joseph's Neerkol Holy Cross, Wooloowin, Mt Maria, Mitchelton Kalimna Vocational Centre, Toowong, Rockhamption Receiving Depot, Sir Leslie Wilson Youth Detention Centre
13677 QLD62 Miscellaneous Queensland Orphanages 2 - Photocopies of images, general information and development of the state orphanages, private institutions and the same institutions in the late 70's. Home of the Good Shepherd Michelton, Enogerra Boy's Home, WR Black Home for Children Chelmer, Alexandra Home for Children, Coorparoo, Diamantina Receiving Depot, Wooloowin, Townsville orphanage, Carramar Receiving and Assessment Centre, Westbrook, St Vincent's Orphanage Nudgee, St Joseph's Orphanage, Neerkol, Diamantina Orphanage, South Brisbane, Blackheath Home for Boys, Oxley, Church of England Family Group Home, Rockhampton & Wahroonga Baptist Family Group Home, Rockhampton
13678 QLD63 St Joseph’s Home Neerkol, Rockhampton and Neerkol Action Support Group Committee (NASGC) - A short description, images, general information, burials, newspaper clippings and committee reports and meetings. St Joseph's Home Neerkol
13679 QLD64 Mount Maria, Michelton Qld - Photocopies of images and a brief history. Mount Maria, Michelton set up by the Sisters of Good Shepherd
13680 QLD65 Neerkol Kids - Photographs of children as residents, teenagers, adults and a 1981 Reunion. Neerkol
13681 QLD66 Queen Alexandra Home, Coorparoo, Qld Coorparoo & Districts Heritage Group, The State of Queensland (The State Library of Queensland) General information, photocopies of images and a history of the home. Queen Alexandra Home
13682 QLD67 Esther Centre – Addressing the Abuse of Power in Human Services & Faith Communities - Contains pamphlets on addressing the abuse of power in Human Services and Faith Communities, The Forde Foundation pamphlet and an Aftercare Resource pamphlet. Includes a 2003 paper called 'Moving Forward' by Beth Wilson-Szoredi and Alan Allaway, Network Newsletter and Kit on abuse. -
13683 QLD68 History of the Mapoon People and various Photos of QLD Institutions Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council Mapoon history of its country and people as spoken by Community Council Chairman Peter Guivarra. Includes photocopies of photographs. Mapoon Mission Church, W R Black Home, Alkira Indooroopilly, Enoggera Boys' Home, "Silky Oaks", Warilda Children's Home, Westbrook dormitory, Karrala House, Neerkol School, Tufnell Home, Riverview, Montrose Crippled Children's Home, Wilson Youth Hospital & Margaret Marr Memorial Home for Boys
13684 QLD69 The Secret History of…Me & Breach of Faith newspaper articles Lanai Vasek, The Weekend Australian Magazine, 2010 & The Bulletin, September 2003 The first article is on how the Journalist Lanai Vasek found out of her mother's tragic life story and her time in foster care. The second article focuses on the victims of abuse by Catholic nuns. Foster Care & Nazareth House
13685 QLD70 Regional and Community History Maurice French Background information, details of a break out of the Training Centre and newspaper clippings. Westbrook Training Farm Home for Boys
13686 QLD71 Citi-Libraries Townsville Orphanage Local History Collection - Contains a history timeline and photocopies of images.. Townsville Orphanage
13687 QLD72 Boys Town – A Prolific History Unknown Chapters 18-20 describing life at Boys Town. Boys Town
13688 QLD73 Pugh’s Queensland Almanac, Law Calendar Directory Coast Guide and Gazetteer for 1883 - - -
13689 QLD74 Lives of Uncommon Children – Reflections of Forgotten Australians Micah Projects Inc., 2009 A book commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Forde Inquiry. The writers are all survivors of childhood abuse and trauma who then retell their stories with clear-eyed frankness and honesty. -
13690 QLD75 Boy, Lost Kristina Olsson author of the award winning The China Garden, University of Queensland Press, 2013 Family Memoir on the cascade of grief through generations, and the endurance of memory and faith. -
13691 QLD76 Surviving Maggie – An Australian Story John Fingleton, Harper Collins Publishers, 2011 A powerful true story of love, betrayal and redemption. St Vincent's Orphanage at Nudgee
13692 QLD77 To Prey and to Silence Joan Katherine Isaacs, Short Stop Press, 2016 One survivor's story of child sexual abuse and their fight for justice. -
13693 QLD78 Neerkol Fay Hicks A recount of growing up in St Joseph's Home. St Joseph's Home Neerkol Orphanage, Rockhampton
13694 QLD 79 Brutalised Warren Rocky Porter Institutionalised Abuse in Australia
13695 QLD 80 Various Queensland Homes - Photocopies of images and a brief description on Diamantina Orphanage. Diamantina Receiving Home, Enoggera Boys' Home, Indooroopilly Boys' Home, Horton House, Toowoomba, Kalmina Vocational Centre for Girls
13696 QLD81 QLD81
13697 QLD82 David Owen Kidnapped and Stolen in January 1939 at 5 Months Old David Owen A recount of a kidnapping and ultimately ending up in St Joseph's Orphanage. St Joseph's Home Meteor Park, Neerkol
13698 QLD83 The Story of My Life in Neerkol Orphanage 1944-1949 Daphne Falconer, published by author, December 2013 A true story of life in St Joseph's Orphanage. St Joseph's Home Meteor Park, Neerkol
13699 QLD84 Enoggera Boys’ Home Reunion/Hillbrook Anglican School plaque Unknown A reflection for the Enoggera Boys' who came before and an acknowledgment with a plaque. Enoggera Boys' Home
13700 QLD85 In Days Gone By – The Life of Dreadnought Boy Merv Webster, and Illustrations by Doug Heathcote, 1997 Short stories and bush verse. -
13701 QLD86 Salvation Army Girls’ Home, Toowong QLD 1907-1956 Various authors Newspaper clippings. Salvation Army Girls' Home
13702 QLD87 This Barren Land My Bed of Roses Ayana Noble A book of poems. -
13703 QLD88 Social Services Queensland Third Edition 1968 Council of Social Service of Queensland Contains a comprehensive Directory of Government Departments and agencies. It includes a detailed list of QLD Homes and Institutions. -
13704 QLD89 Not Forgotten – “They called me Number 10 at Neerkol Orphanage” Samilya Bjelic with Anne Moorhouse, InHouse Publishing, 2021 A personal story of migration, placement in Neerkol Orphanage, life after the Orphanage, mental illness and a fight for justice. Neerkol Orphanage
13705 QLD90 QLD90
13706 QLD91 Missing Pieces – Information to assist former residents of children’s institutions to access records The State of Queensland (Families, Youth & Community Care Queensland), 2001 Missing pieces is divided into two main sections: the first is about the information about records relating to institutions operated by the State Children Department and the second is information about records relating to institutions operated by the non-government sector such as churches and charities. Includes an Index of every Institution in QLD.
13707 QLD92 Offla’s Children – A Family Memoir Helena Wilson, Paul Ban & Liz Ban, Independent Ink, 2020 A profound true story of the survival of a family. The book documents the remarkable struggle of Hungarian refugee father to continue to play a meaningful role in his children's lives after they came under the control of the QLD state following the death of their mother. Diamantina Receiving Home, Silky Oaks
13708 QLD93 Relatively Speaking Margaret Picard & Pat Spence, Family History Association of North Qld Inc Townsville, Vol. 27 No. 3, Nov 2008. A booklet exploring [on pages 24-31] of what life at the Townsville Orphanage residence was like and a newspaper article from 1891 detailing a serious fire that destroyed the Orphanage. Townsville Orphanage renamed Townsville Receiving Depot & renamed again to Carramar
13709 QLD94 Trove – discover genealogy treasure in the National Library of Australia Shauna Hicks, Unlock the Past, 2012 A booklet on the National Library of Australia's discovery service Trove in the form of a research guide. -
13710 QLD95 Australian Red Cross Society – Queensland Division Annual Reports & Statement of Accounts Australian Red Cross Annual Reports of 1952-1953, 1954-1955, 1956-1957, 1958-1959, 1960-1961, newspaper clippings from 1945, 1952, 1953, 1954 and Certificate of Title of the Australian Red Cross Society. -
13711 QLD96 St Joseph’s Orphanage Merara – Mackay Orphanage Bucasia The Children’s Story 1869-1886 Doug Petersen, Second Edition, October 2019 A book on the history, key people, The Orphanages Act 1879, the Merara Orphanage, its closure and the children. St Joseph's Orphanage Merara
13712 QLD97 Boys’ Home to Broadway Kevin Palmer, Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation, 2010 The inspirational story of Kevin Palmer's rise from a childhood spent in a Queensland boys' home, to travelling the globe and working with some of the biggest names on stage and screen. The Salvation Army Home at Indooroopilly
13713 QLD98 A Stain on the Brain – The Story of David Owen An Orphanage Survivor By David Owen with Jody Jackson The story of David Owen's experience in Neerkol. St Joseph's Home Neerkol also known as Meteor Park Orphanage
13714 QLD99 Photocopies of photographs of Queensland Homes Queensland Government, Department of Children, Youth and Multicultural Affairs & John Oxley Library Photocopies of photographs of Homes in colour and black and white. Includes a timeline of the Forde Inquiry. Warilda Home, Riverview, Westbrook, Diamantia Receiving Depot in Wooloowin, Wilson Youth Hospital, St Joseph's Orphanage in Meteor Park, St Vincent's Orphanage in Nudgee & Rockhampton Orphanage
13715 QLD100 Queensland Government Response To Recommendations Of The Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions Queensland Government, August 1999 The Queensland Government written response to the Commission of Inquiry. St Joseph's Orphanage Neerkol, Karrala House & Westbrook
13716 QLD101 Blackheath Home 1923-1963 Compiled, researched & written by Lona (Price) Grantham, April 1998 A detailed history of the Blackheath Boys' Home. Blackheath Boys' Home at Oxley run by the Presbyterian Church
13717 QLD102 QLD102
13718 QLD103 Making a Difference – Reflections of life, leadership and politics Peter Beattie & Angelo Loukakis, Harper Collins, 2005 Photocopy of two chapters from book 'Early Life' & 'Under Nana's roof'. -
13719 QLD104 Year Book of the Diocese of Brisbane Province of Queensland Anglican Church of Australia Volume 1, 2004 Details the work of Anglican organisations. Tufnell Lodge formerly Tufnell Home at Nundah, Caboolture Program, Gympie Residential Home & TRACC Southern
13720 QLD105 Remembering Nazareth House: God & The Devil Wore The Same Robes Tess Rowley, Self-published, 2022 A book based on the accounts of those who were sent to the east Brisbane Catholic Orphanage in the 1940s and 1950s. Nazareth House, East Brisbane
13721 QLD106 Neerkol Orphanage Information Various authors Folder containing newspaper clippings, Neerkol Support Group Committee letters and newsletter, Bruce Grundy's Inside Queensland & a copy of the Apology to those harmed in Queensland Institutions. St Joseph's Orphanage in Neerkol
13722 QLD107 A Promise to Peter Diane Carpenter, 2020 Published by his sister Diane Carpenter, this book is a compilation of poems by Peter who suffered emotional and physical trauma from an early age growing up in an orphanage in rural Queensland. -