Story: Voluntary welfare organisations

Opening an orphanage

Opening an orphanage

An audience of well-dressed women and a few men listen to a speaker at the opening of a Presbyterian orphanage in the Wellington suburb of Berhampore on 16 November 1912. Churches were major providers of voluntary welfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. At first they focused on setting up orphanages and homes for single mothers and 'fallen women' – usually former prostitutes.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/1-008533-G

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Margaret Tennant, 'Voluntary welfare organisations - Voluntary welfare organisations – overview', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/29037/opening-an-orphanage (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Margaret Tennant, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 18 Sep 2018