Aboriginal Children's Advancement Society
Encyclopedia
The Aboriginal Children's Advancement Society, (ACAS), is an organisation in New South Wales
, Australia
that aims to achieve aboriginal reconciliation by improving the education of aboriginal children.
The organisation was founded in 1966 and funded by the Australian Government from 1970. The belief is that with improved education the children will be better able to compete for mainstream employment. To achieve this it founded the Kirinari Aboriginal Students Hostels. Many Aboriginal Secondary School students have been able to achieve tertiary qualifications through the experience learned at a Kirinari hostel
.
Aboriginal children from country New South Wales attend Gymea Technological High School, Endeavour Sports High School and Minerva Special Needs High School in the Sutherland Shire
. The other Kirinari caters for boys who attend Cardiff High School in the city of Newcastle. The founder of ACAS was Mrs Hazel Wilson, with six other ladies from Gymea Congregational Church and the then Member for Hughes, Leslie Johnson AM, formed the Aboriginal Children’s Advancement Society at a public meeting held in the Miranda School of Arts, in February 1963. Due to the efforts of Hazel and her willing supporters the principal aim of the Society, the building of a hostel to enable Aboriginal children to attend high school in the city was accomplished within four years. The first stage of Kirinari Hostel was opened on National Aborigines Day, July 1967. Extensions followed over the years culminating in the opening of the Bert Groves Wing on 22nd May 1971.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that aims to achieve aboriginal reconciliation by improving the education of aboriginal children.
The organisation was founded in 1966 and funded by the Australian Government from 1970. The belief is that with improved education the children will be better able to compete for mainstream employment. To achieve this it founded the Kirinari Aboriginal Students Hostels. Many Aboriginal Secondary School students have been able to achieve tertiary qualifications through the experience learned at a Kirinari hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
.
Aboriginal children from country New South Wales attend Gymea Technological High School, Endeavour Sports High School and Minerva Special Needs High School in the Sutherland Shire
Sutherland Shire
The Sutherland Shire is a Local Government Area in the Southern Sydney region of Sydney, Australia. Geographically, it is the area to the south of Botany Bay and the Georges River...
. The other Kirinari caters for boys who attend Cardiff High School in the city of Newcastle. The founder of ACAS was Mrs Hazel Wilson, with six other ladies from Gymea Congregational Church and the then Member for Hughes, Leslie Johnson AM, formed the Aboriginal Children’s Advancement Society at a public meeting held in the Miranda School of Arts, in February 1963. Due to the efforts of Hazel and her willing supporters the principal aim of the Society, the building of a hostel to enable Aboriginal children to attend high school in the city was accomplished within four years. The first stage of Kirinari Hostel was opened on National Aborigines Day, July 1967. Extensions followed over the years culminating in the opening of the Bert Groves Wing on 22nd May 1971.