Aboriginal inmate experiences of Parramatta Girls Home

The treatment of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal inmates of Parramatta Girls Home highlights a powerful convergence of a shared history. The recollections of both groups of inmates tell a similar story of shame, abuse, violence and neglect. Both groups have had to fight hard to get their stories heard, known and acknowledged. The Bringing them home report (HREOC 1997), the Forgotten Australians report (Australian Senate 2004) and the 2014 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have brought the experiences of former inmates of Parramatta Girls Home to the fore of public acknowledgment. It is estimated that more than 30,000 girls were incarcerated in the Home between 1887 and 1974. At any given time the Home held between 160 and 200 inmates. The girls were generally incarcerated for between six months and three years, and were eligible for release when they were 18 years of age (Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse 2014c).