1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979

Children & Families 

Three camps were held in January: for families, at the Church of England Boys Society campsite in Frankston; at Goulburn, for mainly young married couples; and for teenagers, at King Parrot Creek. ^[1]

The Commonwealth Department of Education approved a capital grant subsidy for a proposed child care centre in Napier Street, Fitzroy.  Following completion of the required alterations at the end of April the Home Group Centre began operation in Limurru Cottage.  (Limurru - an aboriginal word meaning 'let us share together'.)  This was the second phase of the Brotherhood’s child minding experimental project.  One function was to be a  supportive service to back up the Family Day Care Project should there be a change in the child minder's circumstances.  Another function was to give a highly personalised service to both the children and their parents. The Centre was to accommodate 18 children with four emergency places. ^[2]BSL_Limurru_Neighbourhood_Centre_Proposal_1982-11-24.pdf

The  Family Centre Project reached half-way through the first three year demonstration period and towards the end of 1974 an intensive training program was run to enable Family Centre members to replace professionally trained staff members, leading to seven family members being employed in the Centre "proving that welfare 'clients' are often the people best able to deal with the problems of inequality in society".  ^[3]

Research program, financed substantially by the BSL, studied the developments in Family Day Care programs in three districts - Fitzroy, Knox Shire and the Municipality of St Kilda.   "The present funds will be exhausted in September 1974.  Since its inception as the first project of this type under a voluntary agency’s auspices in Australia, several similar programs have been initiated, particularly by local councils." ^[4]

Community Issues 

Examples of the Brotherhood’s policy of sharing a proportion of its resources with other community organisations:

• Office space on the top floor of the new Head Office complex in Brunswick Street was taken by the Housing Commission Tenants’ Union, Community Child Care ^[5] and the Children’s Welfare Foundation. 
• The Council for the Single Mother and Her Child were assisted with office and emergency housing accommodation. 
• Financial assistance provided to the Broadmeadows Welfare Advisory Committee, Broadmeadows Youth Service Group, Ecumenical Migration Centre, Fitzroy Community Youth Centre, Hanover Centre, Fitzroy City Council.

"Aid to community bodies such as these is determined each year on the availability of financial resources.  Serious inflationary pressures now make this task increasingly difficult to maintain." ^[6]

Employment & Training 

The 'Sheltered Workshop' renamed Laurence Industries "as it was felt that rehabilitees attending basically require not charity but an opportunity to enable them to rejoin the workforce and Laurence Industries was selected as a more dignified approach to this situation".  In addition to patients from hospitals and clinics "there are also some outpatients who live at home.  One Clinic has patients attend psychiatric therapy before lunch and transport those attending to us after lunch for work therapy.  … The work  … has ecological advantages as every ton of newsprint collected and processed saves the felling of 20-27 trees, depending on size."  (Also see 1971 and 1973) ^[7] Read what was said in 'Action' June 1980 

Fundraising & Resources 

Salvage Division relocated to Lygon St, Brunswick, having outgrown the premises at 75 Westgarth Street, Fitzroy ^[8]

The Salvage Division began a process for restoring good quality furniture in June, with sales expected at the Bentleigh and Fitzroy Furniture Shops.  It was anticipated that the new department eventually would be involved in stripping, upholstering, repairing, painting and polishing many items of furniture. The Furniture Restoration Section was set up in premises behind the Richmond Bazaar. ^[9]

Door to door system of clothing and household goods collection based at East Bentleigh serves 12,000 homes every three months. ^[10]

The Junk Joint was opened in a 17,000 square feet warehouse at 107 Brunswick Road, Brunswick as an outlet for cheap junk furniture. ^[11]

New BSL shop opened in Greensborough and a Brotherhood Gift Box (these were later known as Brotherhood Bins) was trialled in Eltham shopping centre ^[12]

The Frankston shop had to move to larger premises after only one year at 46 Beach Street, moving to number 20 Beach Street.  ^[13]

Jerry Marshall donated his Richmond Textile Waste Company to the Salvage Division of the Brotherhood allowing unwearable clothing to be "sorted into as many as 30 categories for continued use in industry.  This has added well to revenue received as well as extending the Brotherhood into another important aspect of conservation of resource through recycling."  Jerry came with the business to teach the BSL staff the intricacies of the rag trade and ran it very successfully until his sudden death in July 1976. ^[14] Read what was said in 'Action' December 1976

Auxiliary fundraising during the year included:

• March - Ringwood Auxiliary bowls day & luncheon in March in Surrey Hills
• Fitzroy Material Aid Group fundraising barbecue & pool party in Camberwell
• April - Brotherhood’s annual card luncheon in Kew City Hall, attended by about 200 people (run by specially formed committee)
• May - Cheltenham-Mordialloc Auxiliary baby show at Frankston’s Bayside Shopping Centre
• The Brotherhood's Annual Dinner Dance at the Hideaway, Sassafras
• Fashion Parade with 300 guests
• Wangaratta - Morning Coffee ^[15]

Older People 

Completion of the rebuilding of the Coolibah Centre, designed to incorporate special facilities and space for equipment of cope with the new flats and the proposed hostel (later named Sumner House).  (March) ^[16]

Transfer of St Laurence Court aged care facility to the Diocese of Bendigo "now handed over to the Diocese because of our belief that programs such as this can be more sensitive to local requirements if they are the responsibility of the local community". (24 June 1974) ^[17]

Organisational aspects (BSL) 

BSL prepared a statement called An Affirmation that is used "to clarify the BSL’s ideas about society and the ways in which the Brotherhood can most effectively contribute to social progress".  ^[18]BSL_Background_&_Affirmations_1974-4.pdf 

The work of the Social Issues Department (established in 1973) was extended with the appointment of a Social Policy Officer and a Social Issues Journalist. ^[19]

Final issue of Brotherhood Action in December, citing budget deficits and needing to cut back on resources including an Editor.  ^[20]

Proposal developed for a Brotherhood Poverty Education Resources Centre in the hope of gaining government funds to support its implementation. ^[21]

People 

Death of the founder of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Fr Gerard Kennedy Tucker CBE (18 February 1885 - 24 May 1974) (see the tribute to Father Tucker by David Scott)  ^[22] Tucker_Tribute_[David_Scott]_1974-6.pdf

David Scott (Executive Director) visited the United Kingdom where he studied social welfare and social security policies and programs.  Particular service areas he looked into were proposals for guaranteed minimum income, supplementary benefits, pilot projects in community development and services for the aged and housing.  During his 10-week trip, as Chairman of Community Aid Abroad (CAA) he included two weeks in India where he visited CAA projects. ^[23] Read what was written in 'Action' June 1974

Later in the year David Scott, Executive Director of the Brotherhood and chairman of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) again went overseas, primarily as part of delegation of ACOSS to a conference in Nairobi held by the International Council of Social Welfare.  He also visited two social welfare agencies in New York which he said had a lot in common with the BSL - The Henry Street Settlement and The Community Service Society.^[24]

Presentations & Publications 

Publication of

• The Luck of the Game: a research study of school leavers in an inner suburban school. Supported by a grant from the Leith Trust, this was a follow-up of pupils who had been in Form 2 at Fitzroy High School in 1964.  Margaret Tinney, Concetta Benn and Judith O’Neill 

Low Income Groups and the Election: recommendations to all political parties ^[25]