Orphanages in the late 1800's

Orphanages in the late 1800's

This image is of the Protestant Orphan School in 1870, an orphanage created by a religious institution. This orphanage is located in Australia but it resembles an orphanage in America during this time. The Protestant Orphan School was originally only for females, but it merged with a Male Orphan School in the 1850’s. In the 1850’s many renovations were made to the female orphan school, adding new dormitories and a new hospital building, to accommodate the 77 boys and 82 girls that lodged at the orphanage during this time. The orphanage also planted many trees and plants in the 1850’s to provide the children with a more pleasurable and scenic stay, as shown in the picture. Like many other orphanages during this time, The Protestant Orphan School provided an education system for its children. Boy and girls were separated though into different classes covering different topics. Before this time period, many orphanages only focused on schooling, rather than providing a home and family setting for the children, but the 1850’s started the trend, in both America and Australia, to merge these two ideas and provide both a living setting and good schooling system for the children.

University of Western Sydney

"The Protestant Orphan School: 1850 to 1886." Western Sydney University. University of Western Sydney, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.uws.edu.au/femaleorphanschool/home/
the_protestant_orphan_school_1850_to_1886>.

December 10, 2015

Laura Watters

1850