Institutional abuse in northern Tasmania: Ashley Home for Boys, Weeroona Girls’ Training Centre, and Allambee Unit

In the decades following World War II, the Tasmanian Government operated a network of residential institutions for children and young people deemed to need ‘care and training’ or ‘correction’. For many of the children placed in these facilities, the reality was far removed from that language.

Three significant institutions connected to northern Tasmania – Ashley Home for Boys near Deloraine, Weeroona Girls’ Training Centre in Latrobe, and Allambee Unit in Launceston – are among the sites where MEJ is actively investigating claims of institutional abuse.

Ashley Home for Boys (Deloraine)

Opened in 1926 on the site of a former state farm near Deloraine, Ashley Home for Boys housed children and young people who had been convicted of offences or who were considered too difficult to manage in other settings. It later transitioned to become Ashley Youth Detention Centre, which continued to operate on the same site until the Tasmanian Government announced in 2021 that it would be replaced.

Allegations of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at Ashley span more than 40 years. More than 30 former residents came forward to the Tasmanian Ombudsman’s 2004 review, Listen to the Children, describing a range of abuse including physical violence, public humiliation of bed-wetters, and forcing children to perform dangerous labour. More than 127 claims of child sexual abuse were made against named staff members through the Abuse in State Care Program.

The Commission of Inquiry found that, for decades, children detained at Ashley experienced systematic harm and abuse, which it described as a horrific blight on Tasmania. In 2022, a class action was commenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on behalf of more than 100 former detainees. In 2005, the Tasmanian Government issued an apology to former wards of the state abused in care, following the Ombudsman’s review.

Weeroona Girls’ Training Centre (Latrobe)

Weeroona Girls’ Training Centre operated in Forth Street, Latrobe in north-west Tasmania from 1959 to 1979. It was described by the Director of the Social Welfare Department as ‘the female counterpart of Ashley Boys’ Home’, and housed girls considered difficult to manage within the broader welfare system. It had a secure unit with lockable cells that could accommodate girls placed in isolation.

Allegations at Weeroona included physical abuse, excessive use of the secure unit, forced manual labour, and sexual abuse including rape by management. Up to 14 former residents came forward to the Tasmanian Ombudsman’s 2004 review. Formal inquiries in 1965 and 1973 examined conditions at the home, though findings were largely suppressed or minimised at the time. When Weeroona closed in 1979, girls were transferred to Wybra Hall in southern Tasmania.

Allambee Unit (Launceston)

Allambee Unit was a residential care facility in Launceston that formed part of Tasmania’s out-of-home care system. Like other residential units in the network, it housed children and young people in circumstances that created risks of abuse. If you were a resident at Allambee Unit and experienced harm, MEJ encourages you to come forward for a free and confidential conversation about your options.

MEJ has been actively investigating claims from former residents of Ashley, Weeroona, and Allambee, and has called for anyone with information –  including former staff and community members – to come forward.

Who may be affected

If you or someone you know was placed at Ashley Home for Boys, Ashley Youth Detention Centre, Weeroona Girls’ Training Centre, or Allambee Unit as a child or young person, and experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, you may be entitled to compensation. Recent changes to Tasmanian law have removed time limits that previously prevented many survivors from making claims.

How MEJ can help

MEJ has helped many survivors of state care abuse in Tasmania obtain fair compensation and formal recognition of their experiences. We work with you at every stage of the process, treating your story with the care and respect it deserves.

If you or someone you know has been affected by abuse in any of these settings, MEJ is here to help. Contact us today for a free, confidential conversation with our team, or call 1800 570 778.

If you need immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 697 877 (available 24/7).