Yooralla
The year 1918 marked the birth of Yooralla after Evangeline Ireland established a free kindergarten for children with disabilities.
Evangeline opened the kindergarten following her discovery of a child with a disability who was left in a chicken coop while her parents were working. This kindergarten marked the birth of what is now Victoria’s largest disability services organisation, Yooralla. The Aboriginal word ‘Yooralla’ translates to place of love, a fitting name for one of the first services catered particularly for people with disability.
With roots in Melbourne’s inner-suburbs, Yooralla continued to flourish within the city, promoting the rights of people with disabilities. In the 1940s Yooralla was faced with the threat of World War II (WWII). The kindergarten was relocated from metropolitan Melbourne to Macedon in hope of avoiding any potential bombings. Throughout WWII, Yooralla continued to specialise in providing education to children with a disability and eventually moved back to Melbourne following the end of the war.
Windsor Lodge in Balwyn became Yooralla’s new home, which continued to serve as a school and also a hostel for children with disability.
The invention of the television in 1959 provided means for Yooralla’s first telethon. The telethon ran for over 20 years and helped to secure funding to provide services and infrastructure at the time. With assistance from the Commonwealth, the Balwyn Special School and a school in Glenroy were opened to provide further services to children in the eastern, northern and western suburbs of Melbourne. Services expanded from education to accommodation and employment, striving to give more Australians a fair go.
The 1970s saw a change in services and a move towards a social model of inclusion. This change led to a merge between services that became known as The Yooralla Society of Victoria. The society was able to begin providing services to adults as well as children in broader locations. The following decade focused on a movement towards de-institutionalisation and the protection of the rights of people with disability. In 1993, Yooralla relocated to Box Hill, where the first community-residential house was established that focused on community based services and accommodation.
Over the past decade, Yooralla has continued the fight in the disability rights movement.
With the mission of actively supporting people with disabilities, their families and carers, in all their diversity, to live the life they choose, services continued to expand to training and self-advocacy development programs. Yooralla broadened operations in Melbourne’s inner city and local suburbs, embedding its past and present to the city of its humble beginnings.
Officially known now as Yooralla, the service is proud to have played a part in the creation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and continues to provide support for people with a disability. Events including the YoorallaTEE competition and Yooralla Media Awards focus on community awareness and emphasise positive messages of what it is like to live with a disability. These events look to challenge the community’s perception of disability and break down dividing barriers.