# Kahlin Compound > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kahlin_Compound > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kahlin_Compound.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlin_Compound > Source revision: 1305503168 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{use Australian English|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = other | name = Kahlin Compound | city = [Darwin](/source/Darwin%2C_Northern_Territory) | state = nt | image = File:Kahlin Compound.jpg | caption = Children at the Kahlin Compound in 1921 | lga = [City of Darwin](/source/City_of_Darwin) | postcode = | est = |coordinates = {{coord|-12.452728|130.828682|format=dms|type:landmark_region:AU-NT|display=inline,title}} | pop = | pop_year = | pop_footnotes= | area = | stategov = | fedgov = | near-nw = | near-n = | near-ne = | near-w = [Mindil Beach](/source/Mindil_Beach) | near-e = | near-sw = | near-s = | near-se = | dist1 = | location1= [Darwin](/source/Darwin%2C_Northern_Territory) }} '''Kahlin Compound''' was an institution for part-[Aboriginal](/source/Aboriginal_Australians) people in [Darwin](/source/Darwin%2C_Northern_Territory) in the [Northern Territory](/source/Northern_Territory) of Australia between 1913 and 1939. After 1924, "[half-caste](/source/half-caste)" children were separated from their parents and other adults and moved to an institution at Myilly Point. ==History== In 1913 the Northern Territory [Protector of Aborigines](/source/Protector_of_Aborigines), anthropologist [Walter Baldwin Spencer](/source/Walter_Baldwin_Spencer) decided to solve what he called the "[half-caste](/source/Half-caste) problem" by rounding up hundreds of mixed race Aboriginal families and removing them from their homes. The '''Kahlin Compound and Half Caste Home''' was established on Lambell Terrace at Myilly Point, overlooking [Mindil Beach](/source/Mindil_Beach) in Darwin.{{cite news|title='The soul of Darwin': the story of the Kahlin Compound|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/kahlin-compound/6538842|accessdate=27 September 2016|agency=Earshot, Radio National|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=7 July 2015}} Spencer envisaged that the compound would be self-sufficient, providing housing, schooling and domestic training for each Aboriginal family. The whole compound was to be fenced with access for Aboriginal people and Departmental officials only.{{cite web|title=Kahlin Compound: Background Historical Information|url=http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/heritageregister/heritageregister.get_file?file_id=307&file_type=sheet|website=NT Heritage Register|publisher=Northern Territory Government|accessdate=1 October 2016|archive-date=3 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003113517/http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/heritageregister/heritageregister.get_file?file_id=307&file_type=sheet|url-status=dead}} A 1923 [Commonwealth](/source/Commonwealth_government) parliamentary inquiry headed by the South Australian Senator [John Newland](/source/John_Newlands_(Australian_politician)) included an investigation of conditions at the Compound. Newland recommended that it be moved to a site further from the town, but this did not happen (perhaps because the residents were a source of cheap labour). A subsequent inquiry appointed by the NT Administrator also recommended the establishment of a new compound be established and also that "half-caste" children should be separated from adults, in a separate institution where they could be disciplined and integrated into the [white] community. The new "Half-Caste Home" was opened at Myilly Point in 1924, and most of the Kahlin children were moved there. The compound was damaged in the 1937 cyclone.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17352211 |title=Cyclone at Darwin leaves trail of unroofed and ruined houses and lays waste surrounding country. |newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |issue=30,951 |date=16 March 1937 |access-date=1 October 2016 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}} In 1938, all residents were moved to the new [Bagot Aboriginal Reserve](/source/Bagot_Community). The Kahlin Compound closed in 1939 and was revoked as an Aboriginal Reserve on 3 July 1940.{{cite web|title=Kahlin Compound (1913 - 1939)|url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nt/YE00032|website=Find and Connect|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=2 October 2016}} ==Re-use of site== thumb|The Kahlin Compound site in 2016 The site was used as an emergency hospital during a [meningitis](/source/meningitis) outbreak in 1940,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231152827 |title=Epidemic dread in Darwin |newspaper=[The Sun](/source/The_Sun_(Sydney)) |issue=9658 |location=Sydney|date=17 December 1940 |access-date=1 October 2016 |page=3 (Late Final Extra) |via=National Library of Australia}} with patients housed in tents.{{cite web|url=https://hdl.handle.net/10137/7430|title=A brief history of Royal Darwin Hospital|author=Ellen Kettle|website=Northern Territory Government Health Services Library ePublications|publisher=[Royal Darwin Hospital](/source/Royal_Darwin_Hospital)|date=1986|access-date=16 January 2022}} It then became part of the permanent [Darwin Hospital](/source/Darwin_Hospital) grounds from 1942 until the hospital was demolished in the 1990s.{{cite web|url=https://planningcommission.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/408849/Fact-Sheet-WEB2.pdf|title=Kahlin Compound and Old Darwin Hospital site and Flagstaff Park|publisher=Northern Territory Planning Commission|date=May 2014|access-date=16 January 2022}} An attempt made in 2003 to have the site listed on the [Northern Territory Heritage Register](/source/Northern_Territory_Heritage_Register) as recognition of its cultural history was unsuccessful.{{cite web|title=Kahlin Compound|url=http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/heritageregister/f?p=103:302:1622300245652860::NO::P302_SITE_ID:909|website=NT Heritage Register|publisher=Northern Territory Government|access-date=1 October 2016}} In February 2017, the [Northern Territory Government](/source/Northern_Territory_Government) announced that a new $50 million museum would be built on the site, recognising both the hospital and in particular, the significance of the Kahlin Compound as part of Territory's multicultural heritage.{{cite web|url=https://camd.org.au/50-million-museum-at-darwins-myilly-point/|title=$50 million museum at Darwin's Myilly Point|publisher=Council of Australasian Museum Directors|date=28 September 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://haveyoursay.nt.gov.au/museumoftheNT/widgets/180118/faqs|title=Museum of the Northern Territory FAQ|publisher=[Northern Territory Government](/source/Northern_Territory_Government)|access-date=17 January 2022}} In October of that year, the site was found to be contaminated with [asbestos](/source/asbestos), requiring additional remediation works.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-26/asbestos-discovered-at-old-darwin-hospital/9088770|title=Asbestos discovered at old Darwin Hospital site, soon-to-be location of new museum|author=Georgia Hitch|publisher=[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation)|date=26 October 2017}} The expensive museum proposal proved unpopular with the community, and the plans were abandoned in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-22/myilly-point-museum-plans-scrapped-following-public-outcry-$50m/9684946|title=Myilly Point museum plans scrapped following public outcry about $50m spend|author=Emily Smith|publisher=[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation)|date=22 April 2018}} Removal of asbestos from the site was completed by 2021, with the area landscaped and opened as a public park including a large children's playground, skate park and basketball court.{{cite web|url=https://dipl.nt.gov.au/projects/myilly-point-landscaping-and-playground|title=Myilly Point landscaping and playground|website=Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics|publisher=Northern Territory Government|date=22 February 2021|access-date=17 January 2022}} ==Commentary== {{further |Aboriginal reserves|Stolen Generations}} The rounding up and deporting of Aboriginal people to such compounds across Australia has been described as a [crime against humanity](/source/Crimes_against_humanity).{{Cite web|date=2011-10-22|title=Australia accused of genocide against aborigines| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australia-accused-of-genocide-against-aborigines-1263163.html|access-date=2021-11-15|website=The Independent|language=en}} == Notable people == * [Alngindabu](/source/Alngindabu); who was taken there in 1918 alongside two of her younger children:{{Citation |last=Dewar |first=Mickey |title=Alngindabu (1874–1961) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/alngindabu-9345 |access-date=2024-10-16 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}} ** [Joe McGinness](/source/Joe_McGinness).{{Cite web |title=Biography - Joseph Daniel (Joe) McGinness - Indigenous Australia |url=https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/mcginness-joseph-daniel-joe-17813 |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=ia.anu.edu.au}} ** [Val McGinness](/source/Val_McGinness).{{Citation |last=Austin |first=Tony |title=Valentine Bynoe McGinness (1910–1988) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mcginness-valentine-bynoe-14671 |access-date=2024-10-16 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}} * [Richard (Dick) Butler](/source/Richard_(Dick)_Butler); the 'horse-boy' there who was taken there in the 1910s.{{Cite book |last=Rosenzweig |first=Paul |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/492231 |title=Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography |publisher=Charles Darwin University Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780980457810 |edition=Rev |location=Darwin |pages=81-82 |chapter=Richard (Dick) Butler (1908-1987) |hdl=10070/492231}} * [Joseph (Joe) Croft](/source/Joseph_(Joe)_Croft); who was taken there in 1927.{{Citation |last=Croft |first=Brenda L. |title=Joseph (Joe) Croft (c. 1925–1996) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/croft-joseph-joe-32006 |access-date=2024-10-16 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}} * [Alec Kruger](/source/Alec_Kruger); was taken there in 1928.{{Cite web |title=Biography - Alec Kruger - Indigenous Australia |url=https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/kruger-alec-17801 |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=ia.anu.edu.au}} * [Daisy Ruddick](/source/Daisy_Ruddick); who was taken there around 1920.{{Cite web |last=Austlit |title=Daisy Ruddick {{!}} AustLit: Discover Australian Stories |url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A114097 |access-date=2024-10-16 |website=www.austlit.edu.au |language=en}} * [Robert Tudawali](/source/Robert_Tudawali); who went there with his family in the 1930s.{{Citation |last=Forrest |first=Peter |title=Robert Tudawali (1929–1967) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/tudawali-robert-11889 |access-date=2024-10-16 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}} == See also == *[Stolen generations](/source/Stolen_generations) ==References== {{reflist|30em}} Category:Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory Category:Stolen Generations institutions --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kahlin Compound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlin_Compound) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlin_Compound?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.