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Dr. Barnardo's Home |
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Dr. Barnardo's Home |
Dr. Barnardo Home
Russell, Manitoba, about 1900.
By A. M. Pratt
One of the greatest philanthropists of Victorian England, Doctor Thomas John Barnardo, honoured the County of Russell by selecting it as the site of one of his two great Training Homes in Canada. Many men and women living in Russell today remember well the Home as it was in the early years of this century — some indeed, came to Canada under the auspices of the Dr. Barnardo Foundation. The story of this Foundation, of its inception and of the remarkable contribution made by it to this land, is one of the most heartwarming stories of our time.
To myself, as to thousands of Londoners some sixty years ago, Dr. Barnardo was a heroic figure — one of the very few who are legends in their own lifetime. I well remember a great brick building which stood close to the railway line in the East End of London. It was dingy — as were all the buildings in this slum area. But one great sign, emblazoned across the front made it stand out imperishably in memory. The sign read: NO DESTITUTE CHILD EVER REFUSED ADMISSION.
I thought of it then, as I still think of it, as a noble emblem of the great heart of the man who uttered it. It was uttered in a blaze of fiery indignation. Dr. Barnardo had learned that a poor boy whose flaming red hair had earned him the name of "Carrots", had been unable to enter the home he had established for waifs and strays because there was no more room. "Carrots" had died —alone, hungry and cold. His body had been found in an empty barrel — his only home. The sign and the Home are his monument.
Thomas Barnardo had left Dublin in 1866 to study medicine in London. His ambition was to become a medical missionary in China. During his student days he heard of an endeavor to bring some schooling to poor boys in the slums of the East End. In an old donkey shed which had been used by costermongers he met a small ragged 10-year-old who was to change his whole life. Jim Darvis took him to see how some of his friends were living, sleeping huddled up in rags underneath railway arches or any other wretched shelter. Shocked by what he saw Barnardo sought help from charitable people and in 1868 opened his first Mission House. Two years later, all thoughts of going to China were abandoned. Dr. Barnardo established a Home for waifs and strays and found his life's work.
It was from that first Home that the idea came of taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Canada and Australia. On December 27th, 1881, Dr. Barnardo purchased the deed for the North-East quarter of Section 36 in Township 20, Range 28. Six years later the Doctor visited Russell and chose the site for a large Training Centre. Buildings were soon constructed and the Home was opened in 1889 under the management of Mr. E. A. Struther.
The manager E. A. Struthers, had his home at "Cherry Hill" about a quarter of a mile to the north.
The boys were brought from England twice a year in groups of 30.
When the establishment was at its height the farm covered 8,000 acres, including pasture land in the Assiniboine Valley. One of the best known features of the Home was the Creamery with Mr. Ruddick as butter-maker. Mrs. Kippan mentioned that this creamery served the whole district and won top honours in Provincial competitions.
Among other members of the staff were: Edwin Moore, the head cook; Jas. Watt, the house steward; Mr. and Mrs. Jackson and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gray who supervised the residences, and a. staff of farm and dairy instructors, under a Mr. Pollard.
In all it is estimated that some 28,000 children were brought to Canada under the auspices of the Barnardo Foundation. Of these over two-thirds were under 14 years of age. Some 800 boys passed through the Russell Barnardo Home, after about one year's training in farm activities.
In the year 1925 a change in the Immigration Laws of Canada prohibited the immigration of children under 14 years of age if not accompanied by their parents. This ended the work of the Barnardo Homes at Russell and Belleville, Ontario.
We are indebted for information on the Home to Mrs. Kippan, to Mr. William S. Lee whose wife, Miriam, was a daughter of Mr. Struthers, Mrs. T. Dunn, Mrs. H. E. Way, Mr. John Spencer, the Land Titles Office at Neepawa and the Provincial Libraries.
The below information was provided by:
Karen Fletcher
Senior Archive & Administration Officer
Barnardo's, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, IG6 1QG, reg. no. 61625 England
In May 1889, Dr Barnardo wrote:
“A new departure in our emigration work of the most important character has taken place within the past two years in the acquisition of a large Industrial Farm near Russell, Manitoba. Negotiations for the acquisition of the Farm have been in progress for several years. I made preliminary inquiries during a visit to Canada in the autumn of 1884; much subsequent correspondence took place and finally the present site was pitched upon as being the most suitable in all respects for the purpose in view. In the autumn of 1887, I again visited the Dominion, and after carefully inspecting the location, plans were finally drawn up for the erection of the necessary buildings.
The area of the Farm now acquired is in all 8,960 acres or fourteen square miles. This has been acquired by grant and by purchase in several distinct sections. 1,000 acres were added during the year under review.
On the Farm, although there is no very large timber, there is wood enough to supply all our wants for years to come in the way of fuel, fences etc. A branch of the Assaineboine River runs through or bounds the property. It is within six miles of the main railway track, and I may eventually have to build a siding for the Home leading to the branch railway, thus making the conveyance of produce and general communication easy and profitable.
A commodious central building has already been erected at a cost of £3,500 which will accommodate over 100 lads. It is built of wood, and although I regret to say to grave neglect on the part of the Architects who had charge of its erection, it is anything but an ideal establishment, yet it has through the unceasing labours of the resident manager, been made a fairly comfortable structure. On the ground floor is a large dining hall, while dormitories occupy an equal space above. There is a large entrance hall, and from the windows of the hospital rooms on the second floor, is a view as charming as any that can be seen in the North West.”
In a report dated 1888, Dr E A Struthers, the Manager of the Farm, stated that the boys had weathered their first winter admirably and had “proved their pluck and suitability in a most encouraging degree”. It was hoped at that time to eventually maintain about 200 lads in constant residence. A beginning had already been made towards the establishment of a creamery and a cheese factory.
At that time it cost £9 to “fully equip, outfit and pay all expenses connected with the emigration of a boy or girl to any part of Ontario”. But “the peculiarities of the climate and the nature of the work” at the Farm some 2000 miles to the west, “require that considerable differences should be made in the outfit supplied” – in all, an additional expense of £2 per head but including “railway and ocean fares etc etc.”
Elsewhere it was written:
“In the Summer of 1887 Barnardo paid a second visit to Canada and settled arrangements for an Industrial Farm in Manitoba. This Farm, situated near Russell on the Shell River district of Manitoba, extended to fourteen square miles or 8,960 acres, which in 1889 was raised to 10,000 acres.”
In 1896, some seven years later:
“The Industrial Farm for Youths, now covering an area of 6,080 acres, has received hundreds of youths of seventeen years and upwards from our labour house in London, becoming the stepping-stone from loafing to work and from certain pauperism and degradation to certain health and happiness.”
In 1900, Dr Barnardo visited Canada himself for the third time and from the Farm at Russell in September of that year he wrote to his wife “You would be charmed with the prospect here ….. it is simply lovely from every point of view. The trackless prairie in the neighbourhood of this settlement is converted by the growing level as in some parts; but almost everywhere over our Settlement the growth of the scrub – which is chiefly poplar and willow and wild cherry – within the last sixteen years, when I turned the first sod on our Settlement here, has been marvellous. The place is in beautiful order and my good representative, Mr E A Struthers, has I think, won the universal respect of the whole locality.”
According to Barnardo’s Annual Reports, the Home closed in 1908. Mention of the impending sale of land is found in Council Minutes of 8 January 1908.
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