The NSW Government has officially opened a memorial for abuse survivors at the Parramatta Girls Home, with the government seeking to acknowledge and respect those who had been abused at the Western Sydney institution.

Minister for Families and Communities Natasha Maclaren-Jones says the commemorative site seeks to honour the women and girls held at the facility.

“Parramatta Girls Home is a reminder of the mistakes of the past and I hope that this memorial can help us learn from those mistakes and acknowledge the pain experienced by so many who lived there,” she says.

“I want all survivors and their families to know that they are loved and appreciated and this memorial is to express that the state is truly sorry for what they have been through.”

The opening of the memorial follows on from an official apology made by the NSW Government to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in 2018. That apology was made to those who suffered acts of exploitation at sites like the Parramatta Girls Home and have had to carry the trauma of those events.

Designed by Triggerdesign, the structure features a remembrance garden, with a series of sandstone pillars plastered with graffiti  which aims to express bonds of friendship and solidarity. Recollections of the ‘Parra Girls’ who once lived at the centre also feature on the pillars.

Both Triggerdesign and the Department of Communities and Justice consulted closely with former residents to design the memorial, with the Department of Planning and Environment involved in the delivery.

Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts says he hopes the site’s conversion to a place of healing will help acknowledge the struggles of survivors.

“This is a significant milestone in our efforts to restore and preserve historic sites within the Parramatta North Precinct, to provide a place for people to heal and for others to learn the important stories of our past,” he says.

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin is quick to point out that Aboriginal women and girls were taken to Parramatta Girls Home and have had to live through the trauma and cultural disconnection these past policies caused for over a century. He says the memorial will serve as a reminder for those past mistakes.

“I’d like to acknowledge and send my sincere thoughts to the many Aboriginal women and girls that were removed and taken to the Parramatta Girls Home, those that made it home, those who are still on their journey and those that never made it home,” he says.

The NSW Government says it is committed to developing the memorial after the Royal Commission into Institutional responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigated abuse that occurred at the Girls Home.

Image: Supplied