591. Bindoon Boys Town

Bindoon Boys Town was located in Australia. The buildings can still be seen. It can be located on the maps by searching for Catholic Agricultural College in Bindoon.

From around 1950 until 1974 a number of children were sent there from United Kingdom. Some lied to that their parents had died. The reason for the move was to ease the workload of case workers at the social services in United Kingdom. Many of the children were put into manual labor and some sexual abused.

It could not have been fun to be there as a child.

Sources:

• The child abuse scandal of the British children sent abroad (BBC)
• Bindoon Boys Town: The sad truth behind Britain’s lost children (The Independent)
• ‘I can still hear the kids’ screams’ (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Britain’s child migrants: ‘I was told I was going on a picnic’ (The Guardian)