This essay first appeared in the Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia, no. 10, 1982, pp.84-91. It is based on access to the Admission Registers of the State Children’s Council, the principal government agency responsible for the care of children brought under the control of various acts dealing with destitute children in a variety of circumstances.Further explanation may be found in Brian Dickey, Rations, Residence, Resources: a history of social; welfare in South Australia since 1836, Adelaide, Wakefield Press, 1986.