Australian Orphanage Museum

Australian Orphanage Museum Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Australian Orphanage Museum, Museum, 351 Ryrie Street, Geelong.

The Australian Orphanage Museum (AOM) is dedicated to exhibiting authentic social histories about the experience of growing up in orphanages, children’s homes, missions and other institutions, including foster care, in Australia.

People learn so much from seeing and experiencing objects and reminders of the past. Care Leavers Australasia Network (C...
24/08/2026

People learn so much from seeing and experiencing objects and reminders of the past. Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) was established in 2000. By 2001, we immediately started maintaining a collection of memorabilia associated with life growing up in an Orphanage or Children's Home. The objects help us tell our stories in the way that Care Leavers want their stories to be told.

Justice Peter McClellan, Chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, had a very profound experience when he visited the museum.

We thank Justice McClellan and all other commissioners for donating a tie or jacket to our exhibits.

It’s only $10 to visit us at 351 Ryrie St, Geelong between 10am and 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can also book a group visit. Please reach out and book via www.aomuseum.com.au



Thank you, Helen and Rod, for telling your stories. Helen was 17 before she was allowed to leave Nazareth House in Queen...
19/08/2026

Thank you, Helen and Rod, for telling your stories. Helen was 17 before she was allowed to leave Nazareth House in Queensland. "There was no abuse I didn’t experience," she says. "Priests did come around when they felt like it.” And that’s as far as she’ll go, the memories too harrowing to disclose.

Rod and his siblings were Victorian Wards of the State as children. He says they were all abused. Rod spent time in prison, as a 16-year-old, for just 18 months. He compares Victoria’s Pentridge Prison as a “holiday camp” compared to the Bayswater Boys Home.

Redress started 8 years ago in July 2018. The scheme will be open to applicants for another two years. There is a risk the Redress scheme will not clear its backlog before closing at its current processing rate.

CLAN supports urgent calls for scheme to be extended – and remove the complexity and unnecessary delays!

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/redress-scheme-rolls-out-for-australias-child-sex-abuse-survivors/xazosot6u

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-02/redress-scheme-sexual-abuse-survivor-backlog-extension/106864394

12/08/2026

What do a coffin, a life-sized nun and ties worn by Australia’s top legal minds have in common? They are all displayed in the thought-provoking exhibits at the Australian Orphanage Museum.

Museum Director and CEO of Care Leavers Australasia Network, Leonie Sheedy, was on ABC South West Victoria yesterday inviting people to visit the museum.

Our moving exhibits explore a range of themes, including The History of Child Welfare in Australia, The Children’s Voices and Care Leavers’ Activism. Our next exhibit will feature footballers who grew up in Orphanages and Children's Homes.

Leonie also talked about a social event at the Warrnambool RSL at 11am on Friday 14 August. The invitation is open to anyone who grew up in an Orphanage, Children’s Home or Foster Care!

Visit us at 351 Ryrie St, Geelong between 10am and 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can also book group visits via www.aomuseum.com.au.


Every object tells a story. Did you know that people who grew up in Orphanages and Children’s Homes were often used as u...
11/08/2026

Every object tells a story. Did you know that people who grew up in Orphanages and Children’s Homes were often used as unpaid slave labour?

The late Shirley Hinton donated this black and white photo of the girls from Farr House in Upper Mitcham, South Australia on an olive picking day. The Farr House girls attended daily and weekly worship and were trained in the domestic arts as most were expected to enter service when they left school. The property was large and featured a vegetable garden, a cow and hens. Regular chores included olive picking to harvest and process the abundant fruit on the property.

Learn more about how children were used for unpaid labour when you visit the AOM.

We welcome group bookings - please reach out and book via www.aomuseum.com.au

12-year-old Willow visited the Australian Orphanage Museum with her grandmother and left this incredibly articulate mess...
07/08/2026

12-year-old Willow visited the Australian Orphanage Museum with her grandmother and left this incredibly articulate message.

Children who grew up in Orphanages, Children’s Homes and Foster Care were meant to be cared for. Instead, they were subjected to horrific neglect and abuse.

Through our powerful stories we are educating all generations about Australia’s hidden past. It is critical we never repeat these injustices against little children.

It’s only $10 to visit us at 351 Ryrie St, Geelong between 10am and 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can also book a group visit. Please reach out and book via www.aomuseum.com.au

It was lovely to see CLAN member, Rhonda from Wodonga who drives a Honda. She saw a photo of girls from St John’s Orphan...
24/07/2026

It was lovely to see CLAN member, Rhonda from Wodonga who drives a Honda. She saw a photo of girls from St John’s Orphanage in Albury NSW, and it brought back memories of “Band Sunday” when the girls had to sing and dance for the public.

Rhonda told the story of seeing her doll sold on her first Band Sunday. Rhonda entered St John’s Orphanage with very few possessions, but she did have a doll to bring her comfort. On her first Band Sunday her doll was put up for sale. Rhonda saw a mother buy it for her child and she begged to have her doll back. A nun dragged Rhonda back inside the Orphanage and gave her a hiding. She never saw the doll again. 😢

Learn more about Rhonda’s story and St John’s Orphanage in Albury when you visit the Australian Orphanage Museum.



Last week we took local Mayor Stretch Kontelj for the City of Greater Geelong Council through our museum. He was very mo...
20/07/2026

Last week we took local Mayor Stretch Kontelj for the City of Greater Geelong Council through our museum. He was very moved by the heartbreaking and uplifting nature of our exhibits.

Thank you, Mr Mayor - we appreciate you taking the time to learn about the experiences of people who grew up in Orphanages, Children's Homes, Missions and Foster Care. Ongoing support ensures these Care Leaver accounts are preserved, shared and never repeated in the future.

Stretch is planning to encourage his fellow City of Greater Geelong councillors to visit and we look forward to welcoming them also.

Visit www.aomuseum.com.au for more information.

It’s so important to hear what our fellow Aussies say about the Australian Orphanage Museum. Andrea from Western Austral...
15/07/2026

It’s so important to hear what our fellow Aussies say about the Australian Orphanage Museum. Andrea from Western Australia visited the Museum after finding one of our flyers in a caravan park in Belmont, Geelong.

Visit the Australian Orphanage Museum to hear these critical stories from people who grew up in Orphanages, Children’s Homes, Missions and Foster Care in Australia.

We’re open between 10am and 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Our collection contains hundreds of items from Australian Orphanages and Children's Homes.

Group bookings are welcome - send us an enquiry via www.aomuseum.com.au.


Every object has a story to tell. One morning in the 1960s, Gaye’s brother rode his motorbike to NSW State Government Ho...
10/07/2026

Every object has a story to tell. One morning in the 1960s, Gaye’s brother rode his motorbike to NSW State Government Home Lynwood Hall in Guildford hoping to give her the medium-sized koala in this photo. When he arrived at Lynwood Hall, the girls were in the side yard. They were told to go to their dormitories, and Gaye’s brother was sent away. At lunch time, the principal, Mrs King, sat at Gaye's table and told her that her brother was an ‘undesirable’. The principal eventually gave Gaye the koala a few days later and she named it Bow after her brother.

It was common for children in the child welfare system to have experiences like this. Many children were not allowed to have visitors, and they were unable to keep presents they received from family and foster care stays.

Learn more about Gaye’s story and Lynwood Hall when you visit the Australian Orphanage Museum at 351 Ryrie Street in Geelong.

www.aomuseum.com.au



Address

351 Ryrie Street
Geelong, VIC
3220

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Australian Orphanage Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category