Nindeebai Hostel

Values

• Nindeebai Hostel, Boulder is associated with the change in government policy in Western Australia relating to the education and care of Aboriginal children that occurred as a result of the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972.
• Nindeebai Hostel, Boulder is in poor condition but remains a good example of the architectural style of Dr Margaret Feilman, architect and town planner.

Statement of Significance

Nindeebai Hostel, Boulder is associated with the change in government policy in Western Australia relating to the education and care of Aboriginal children that occurred as a result of the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972. Nindeebai Hostel, Boulder is in poor condition but remains a good example of the architectural style of Dr Margaret Feilman, architect and town planner.

Physical Description

The place comprises a large brick and tile complex with two sheds/garages and a basketball court. All external doors and most windows are boarded up and access to the building is restricted. The property is in very poor condition.

History

The establishment of hostels such as Nindeebai Hostel, Boulder reflected a new phase of Aboriginal care, with emphasis on education and training opportunities. The plans for the proposed ‘Goldfields High School Students Hostel’ at Boulder were prepared in 1968, by Margaret A Feilman and Associates. Aerial photographs of the Boulder townsite in 1963 show the site of the hostel, located in the southwest corner of the intersection between Johnston Street and Lionel Street was used at the time as a sports field. The building was completed in the early 1970s, with capacity to accommodate up to 48 post-primary children attending school in the Kalgoorlie-boulder area. Originally owned by the Department of Native Welfare and with some Commonwealth funding, responsibility for the hostel was transferred to the Country High Schools Hostel Authority in 1972. The Department for Community Services was formed in 1971 to encompass both the areas of Child Welfare and Native Welfare for the first time and maintained oversight. By 1973, the place was known as Nindeebai Education Hostel, providing residential child care to primary and secondary level Aboriginal school students from the Goldfields, Mount Margaret Mission, and the Laverton, Leonora, Norseman and Cue regions. In 1984, plans to utilise Nindeebai as housing for young repeat offenders in Kalgoorlie and Boulder were considered. However, when the place closed in 1984 these plans were not pursued. In 1986 the vacant facility was transferred to the Aboriginal Lands Trust. In 1991 Reserve 41954, encompassing Nindeebai Hostel, Boulder, was excised from Reserve 8175 for the purpose of ‘Use and benefit of Aboriginal Inhabitants’, under the management of the Aboriginal Lands Trust.

Uses

Creation Date

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