Historical information

The Brookside Private Reformatory for Protestant Girls was established on 29 December 1887 by Mrs W. T. Rowe. It was initially established at Glenfine, and soon moved to more extensive premises in the town of Cape Clear, near Scarsdale. The establishement of private reformatories had been made possible by The Juvenile Offenders' Act 1887 , which was assented to only weeks before the opening of Brookside.

The Mintaro Reformatory Home for Girls at Monegeetta, Lancefield was established in 1903 by the Methodist Home Mission Department to take the girls from the Brookside Reformatory at Cape Clear when it closed in 1903.

Physical description

Brookside Homestead taken from the public roadway.