Applications for the release of State Children, annual single number series - State Children's Council (GRG27/4)

This series contains applications for the release of a State Child from the control of the State Children's Council from 1914 to 1921 (with gaps).

The application is on a specially printed form issued by the State Children's Council (also known as the State Children's Department) and includes: applicant's full name, address, relationship to child, religion, distance from place of worship, marital status, occupation, details of children already living in the home, details of the house (rooms, bedrooms, child's proposed sleeping accommodation), child's name and age, reason and date the child was committed, reasons why the applicant wanted the child released, and any potential employment for the child (if they were no longer in school).

The applications are accompanied by a report by a Council officer, giving her recommendations as to whether the child should be released. Applications can also include police reports about the applicant, particularly if they were from the country or interstate and not known personally to the officers.

Application files can also include correspondence between the Council and the applicant, including refusals for the child to be released or travel arrangements if they were released, and character references for the applicant. Some applications also include letters from the child.

There are often references to other application files included on the file and some have been combined. Some files also include multiple applications for the same child. Although the file sequence ends in 1921, several include applications much later than this, up to the 1930s.

Successful and unsuccessful applications are included in the series and there appears to have been no separation of applications within the State Children's Council. Some children were released on probation (O.P.) and others were released absolutely. Applicant files for children released absolutely can contain information from the Governor.

The application files are sometimes noted as 'AR' (Application for Release) files, seemingly to differentiate them from other files about State children.

There are significant gaps in holdings (only one file from 1914, two from 1915, four from 1916, etc.) and the sequence ends in 1921. Applications for releases may have been filed with other documents about State Children - see GRG29/123.

Arranged by annual single number.