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Stolen GenerationsPrint Page 
Many Indigenous children were taken by train to the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home and the Kinchela Boys Home.
The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen children) is a term used to describe the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals occurred in the period between approximately 1869 and 1969, although in some places children were still being taken in the 1970s.
The tragic legacy of removing Aboriginal children from their families is remembered on a series of plaques at train stations across NSW, including Cootamundra and Wagga Wagga.
Plaques also placed at Central Station in Sydney, Grafton, Kempsey, Berry and Bomaderry recognise that many children who were removed from their families travelled by train, either to the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls or Kinchela Boys Home on the Central Coast.
The plaques acknowledge NSW Railways’s role in removing the children and their placement follows consultation with Stolen Generations survivors, undertaken since 2018.
Transport for NSW regional director south, Sam Knight, said the plaques recognise the truth about what happened to many children and their families. "These stations have been recognised as significant because they were part of those sad journeys,” she said. “They are for everyone to see and acknowledge and remember those truths of the past.”
about regional, 13 April 2022.
Location
| Address: | Station Place, Wagga Wagga Railway Station, Wagga Wagga , 2650 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.120303 Long: 147.368518 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Indigenous |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Friday 25th March, 2022 |
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Transport for NSW acknowledges Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and communities due to past government policies and practices. These children are known as the Stolen Generations.
Wagga Wagga Station is where many girls arrived, were separated from their siblings, then sent to institutions throughout the state.
Some children never made it home, living their lives disconnected from their families, their communities and their culture.
This memorial is dedicated to the Stolen Generations and their descendants.
