The Australian Women's Register

Summary

The Carlton Refuge was established in 1854 with the aim of reforming prostitutes through a combination of prayer and hard work, which usually meant laundry work. As some prostitutes were also mothers, the care of single mothers became a way of fulfilling its primary goal. By 1860 its role had changed to accepting young unmarried women on their discharge from hospital and by 1880 the major part of the Refuge’s work was with those women. Declining demand and alternative means of care brought about its closure in 1949.