Turner Cottage

Turner Cottage was one of a series of cottages that made up Mittagong Cottage Homes.  Mittagong Cottage Homes operated between 1885 – 1976.  Sometime in the 1940s, the cottages were given names. The names were usually those of people who had been significant in the history of the Child Welfare Department.

Turner Cottage was built on The Lindens Estate in 1915, originally as a cottage for “mentally defective girls”, then was later used as the Cottage Hospital until the Hospital moved to the Farm Home.

During the 1930s, Suttor Cottage was built to house “mentally defective boys”, and used for this purpose until the closure of the old Mittagong Public School next to Turner Cottage; the boys were then transferred to Turner Cottage, and Turners old school then functioned as a truant school.

In 1960, Turner Cottage housed 27 boys of primary school age.