Tardun, Western Australia

Tardun is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia.

Tardun
Western Australia
Tardun
Coordinates28°47′35″S 115°45′02″E
Population346 (2006 census)[1]
Established1913
Postcode(s)6628
Elevation330 m (1,083 ft)
Location
  • 427 km (265 mi) north of Perth
  • 36 km (22 mi) south east of Mullewa
  • 111 km (69 mi) east of Geraldton
LGA(s)Shire of Mullewa
Federal Division(s)Durack

The townsite is located along the Mullewa to Wongan Hills railway line. The location of the town was decided in 1913 when the route of the railway was being planned. The name of the town was originally Undatarra when it was gazetted in 1913, it was then changed to Tardun in 1925 and lots were surveyed in 1927.[2]

Education

The Christian Brothers Agricultural School was founded in Tardun in 1928 for child migrants from Britain.[3] It closed in 2009.[4] In testimony before a British parliamentary committee investigating British child migrants sent to Australia in the late 1990s, one boy spoke of the criminal abuse he received from Catholic priests at Tardun. He testified that several of them competed to see who would be the first to rape him 100 times. They liked his blue eyes, so he repeatedly beat himself in the hope they would change colour. As parliamentarians reflected at the time, the term "sexual abuse" seemed wholly inadequate given the awfulness of his experience.[5][6]

In December 2014, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that "Christian Brothers leaders knew of allegations of sexual abuse of children at four WA orphanages, including Tardun, and failed to manage the homes to prevent the systemic ill-treatment for decades."[7][8] It also found that the institution was concerned by the cost of legal proceedings, and "there was no sentiment of recognising the suffering of the survivors."[9]

Further reading
  • Our Home in the Bush: Tales of Tardun by David H. Plowman, published by Tardun Old Boys' Association (1994), ASIN B001AC4T0E
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References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Tardun (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  2. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – T". Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  3. D. Plowman, Brother Conlon and the Tardun farm scheme, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 28 (2007), 53-65.
  4. "Welcome". Christian Brothers Agricultural School, Tardun. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  5. Coldrey, Barry M. (23 May 2005). "Senate Inquiry into Child Migration: Submission". Australian Senate. p. 6. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  6. Valenti, Karen (8 November 2009). "The Boys from Tardun". In My Community. Community Newspaper Group. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  7. Banks, Amanda, Legal Affairs Editor. "Christian Brothers cop blast", The Weekend West, 20–21 December 2014, p.11
  8. Report of Case Study 11 Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine Media release, at official website, 19 December 2014
  9. Report of Case Study no. 11 - Congregation of Christian Brothers in Western Australia response to child sexual abuse at Castledare Junior Orphanage, St Vincent’s Orphanage Clontarf, St Mary’s Agricultural School Tardun and Bindoon Farm School PDF at official web site, 19 December 2014, p. 13 (folio 8)
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