Historical information

Glendonald School for Deaf Children was run by the Victorian Education Department. It provided education and some residential services for deaf children. The school was situated in Marshall Avenue, Kew and operated from 1951–91. Deaf children whose families lived too far to travel daily were housed in a grand Victorian mansion in Belmont Avenue, Kew, the John Cannon Hostel. The school and hostel also accommodated a small number of wards of the state. Source: Glendonald School for Deaf Children (1951–91); https://www.findingrecords.dhhs.vic.gov.au/collectionresultspage/GlendonaldSchoolforDeafChildren; Accessed 05/09/2018.

Significance

Glendonald was a significant mansion in Kew (now demolished) built for the industrialist and manufacturer Donald Leslie in 1886. The school was purchased by the Victorian Department of Education on 29 November 1950 for the sum of 16,500 pounds.

Physical description

Photograph of the front garden of Glendonald taken from Marshall Avenue.

Inscriptions & markings

"The old school for the deaf at 17 Marshall Ave for children from the age of six years to ten years old, then they would go to 25 Marshall Ave to finish their schooling leaving age 16 years old."