Magill Youth Training Centre, Youth detention center in Woodforde, South Australia.
Magill Youth Training Centre was a large facility in Woodforde with dormitories, classrooms, and secure walls that housed young people for rehabilitation purposes. The complex combined schooling with practical work programs to teach skills.
The facility started in 1869 as a school for poor and neglected children under state care in South Australia. It later became a training centre for young offenders.
The centre was a place where young people learned practical skills and received schooling, reflecting how Australia's approach to youth justice changed over time. Daily work and learning shaped the residents' experience and showed what society believed about reform and discipline.
Visitors should know the site is not accessible today and is mainly of historical interest. Information about it is available in local archives and historical records.
Between 1880 and 1891, detained boys were sent to the Fitzjames ship where they spent hours operating pumps to remove water from the hull. This unusual work was part of the training and punishment system of that time.
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