[State Children]

South Australia. State Children Convention, held at the Prince of Wales Theatre, University of Adelaide, on Tuesday, November 19th, 1907 [cover title]

Adelaide, C.E. Bristow, Government Printer, 1908.

Octavo, 32 pages.

Pale blue title-wrappers (cleanly detached in one piece) slightly chipped and marked, with the spine expertly stabilised; minor signs of age and handling; a very good copy.

The convention which brought together workers in the field of child welfare across South Australia, with a luncheon 'provided, cooked, and served by State Children'. Those present included Visiting Committees and Visitors of State Children, as well as representatives of the State Children's Council and Department. The proceedings include transcriptions and summaries of addresses to the convention subsequent discussions. Most notable are contributions from Catherine Helen Spence and Caroline Emily Clark, who instituted South Australia's pioneering system of 'boarding-out' (essentially foster care) for wards of the state, which significantly reduced reliance on institutionalisation. The impact and reception of Spence's recent publication, 'State Children in Australia. A History of Boarding Out and its Developments' (1907), across the English-speaking world is discussed.

The committee members are occasionally self-congratulatory or defensive. The Chairman Thomas Rhodes declaring to attendees that 'You are helping to produce men and women who will do their duty in the years to come, instead of swelling the ranks of social parasites'. The Secretary James Gray affirms that 'An officer once wrote about children being whipped, and about it being a disgrace to the institution. Nobody was whipped in the State institutions unless it was because of their own misconduct therein. The only disgrace was in doing wrong ... He pledged his word that the Council, if it erred at all, erred on the side of softness and sentimentality'.

Item #148007

Price (AUD): $250.00
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