Boys’ Town, Beaudesert (Or: The Greatest Con of All Time)
26-8-2013
[Disclosure: The author may have some bias with regards to this article.
He had been invited on two occasions to meet with Debbie Kilroy and her
friends at the Women’s’ Correctional Centre in Brisbane in the early
1990s where they discussed children’s homes issues. Her husband, Joe,
had been in Boys’ Town. The author is a firm supporter of Debbie’s
“Sisters Inside” organisation
Also, the first “mayor” of Boys’ Town, Johnny Wlodarczyk, was known to the author in the 1960s, as a teenager.]
The facility, known as “Boys’ Town” at Beaudesert, Queensland,
operated by the
De La Salle Brothers from
1961 to 2001, is definitely one of the old children’s homes deserving of a second look by the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.
For over 50 years, the unsuspecting public has been supporting the
“Boys’ Town Art Union” lottery, which offers houses as prizes, which,
among other things, funded the Boys’ Town. It also received Queensland
Government financial support. It is not known what proportion of the
lottery proceeds actually went to Boys’ Town.
Beaudesert Boys’ Town had all of the usual, dangerous, characteristics of children’s homes where abusers ran rampant. It was
located in the countryside outside a very small regional town, far from
the capital of Brisbane. Isolation was further increased in that the
boys were schooled within the facility. Finally, the boys were of low
social status, usually being referred to as “at risk” or “delinquent,”
etc. although this was not the situation of most of the inmates, who
were state wards.
The facility was an example of a brilliant marketing strategy. It
capitalized on the 1938 movie of the same name with its idealized view
of child care by religious. It was promoted for sales of lottery tickets
with a “home” as the prize. The public was kept well away from it, so
that the differences between image and reality were not exposed.
Playing on the “town” analogy, a boy was chosen each year to be the
symbolic “mayor” of the facility. This boy then became part of the
marketing strategy of the de la Salle fund-raising drive. The first one,
in 1962, was John “Johnny” Wlodarczyk. Johnny went on to be a part of
the Painter and Dockers Union at a time when it was heavily involved in
crime associations. The Union was the subject of an earlier Royal
Commission.
In 1975, Johnny’s body was fished out of the Brisbane River, wrapped
in barbed wire. His teeth had been knocked out, his throat cut, and he
had been shot. It would be 20 years before his killers were identified.
Not exactly the image the Boys’ Town officials wanted anymore, so
publicity associated with him was quietly removed.
Another “old boy” who was promoted for sales of lottery tickets was
former prominent footballer,
“Smokin’ Joe” Kilroy. This ceased when he,
and wife, Debbie, were convicted of selling pot. At the time, Joe
referred to his time at Boys’ Town as follows: “When I finished primary
school at 13, I was sent to Boys Town at Beaudesert, south of Brisbane,
because of a lack of government accommodation and began what I describe
as the worst three years of my life.”
In a recent interview, Joe noted that “They bashed us. No one ever
believed us. It was all that negative stuff we were forced to live under
and listen to. I was bashed regularly. If you had a little bit of
spirit they tried to break you. The place was run like a prison. The
only things missing were the bars. The saddest thing is that every boy
in Boys Town was sent there as an uncontrollable child.
Sorry. Wake up.
Over 60 per cent of the kids in there were orphanage kids because the
only crummy spot in the whole friggin’ state where you could do grade
eight, nine and 10 if you were a ward of the state. So you had all these
kids who were wards of the state starting grade eights with all these
crims.”
He then went on to say that “We were all treated like criminals. But a
lot of those kids were just uncontrollable children and their parents
did not have the skills. If you let a kid run wild you will end up with a
feral adult. The only thing that place taught me was to resent
authority. It was a wonderful facility run by the wrong bunch with the
wrong morals.”
Last year, the “60 Minutes” program did a special on Boys’ Town. On
the program, lawyer and former detective, Jason Parkinson, said that he
is now representing 35 former Boys’ Town residents, and has begun legal
action in Queensland’s Supreme Court. He commented that “I haven’t heard
the degree of physical abuse, together with some of the most outrageous
sexual abuse I’ve heard, in the one institution before. Things happened
to some of those 12-year-old boys that wouldn’t have happened to
prisoners of war.”
In 1984, the same program had done a promo-piece for Boys’ Town, in
which then director, Br. Paul Smith, said that: “I think it is terribly
important to be loved, and I think the boys who leave Boys’ Town can
honestly say that at least they know they are loveable and that’s
important.” The later program noted that “at this very same time it is
now alleged some of the worst abuse was being committed.”
Br. Paul continuously tried to attribute the former residents’ claims
to “false memory,” while denying all claims. However, at least two
Brothers from Boys’ Town were convicted of child sex offences.
Boys’ Town was the subject of a three-year secret police
investigation known as “Operation Sari” which commenced in 1999. It
resulted in two staff being charged with 48 serious sexual offences –
but the case collapsed when former students withdrew complaints.
As a result of the program, and the number of men coming forward,
Queensland police have now launched a fresh investigation into the Boys’
Town. Former residents have been establishing contacts through the
web-site:
http://aussieschoolmates.com.au/forum/finding-old-friends-25/boystown-beaudesert-queesland-/
In 2011, the officials who ran Boys’ Town made a settlement with a
former resident with
the usual confidentiality clause, and waiver of future legal rights. It read, partially, that
the victim “acknowledges
that, by accepting the agreed sum and executing the deed, he is not
entitled to make any further approach to the Body Corporate or the [De
La Salle] institute for financial assistance, including assistance with
respect to any specialist medical advice or for damages or otherwise…”
Former Boys’ Town resident, Terry McDaniel, alleged the brothers
subjected him and dozens of other boys to brutal physical and sexual
abuse, instead of the education and guidance promised. Since Terry and
others shared their stories, the police have launched Operation Kilo
Lariat to investigate their claims. About 80 former residents have since
come forward with their accounts of abuse. Terry said his main
motivation for speaking out was for those who could not. “There are a
lot of boys that have passed on that never got the opportunity to voice
their voice. We’re their voice now,” he said.
In the 1970s a report criticized Boys’ Town for its preoccupation
with conformity, its regimentation, the use of corporal punishment and
what was described as “reluctance” on the part of the staff to deal with
the social and emotional needs of the boys. More recently, a number of
former residents gave evidence at the 1998 Ford Inquiry into abuse at
Queensland institutions. While most other similar institutions closed in
the 1970s, Boys’ Town was not shut down until 2001, partly because,
many state, of the Forde Enquiry revelations.
The De la Salle Brothers continue to deny all claims, and insist it
was wonderfully run. At the time of closure, Boys’ Town Family Care
board member, Trevor Carlyon, claimed that “There is no question it has
had a wonderful, wonderful track record.” In 1984, Br. Paul Smith said
“I think it is terribly important to be loved, and I think the boys who
leave Boys’ Town can honestly say that at least they know they are
loveable and that’s important.”
Brother Paul has been the recipient of many public honours. He was
named “Father of the Year” for Queensland and “Queenslander of the Year”
on three occasions. He was awarded the Inaugural Scouting Award for
services to youth. In 1994, Brother Paul was awarded Membership of the
Order of Australia (AM) for work with disadvantaged youth, and served on
the Des Sturgess report into paedophilia.
Recently, he was listed by Who’s Who for his administrative
abilities. The citation reads “Brother Paul Smith and the De La Salle
Brothers have been committed to reaching out to the last, the lost and
the least through education designed to support young people and their
communities.”
As recently as 2007, former Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby
referred to it as having “been a shining light in this Archdiocese since
it was founded.” He went on to say that “The De La Salle Brothers
together with past and present staff have also been fearless in
demanding that at-risk young people should be cared for and educated so
that they can take
their place as equal citizens of society. “
He finished his commentary with praise for the “De La Salle Brothers
who generously and courageously accepted his invitation to work here in
Beaudesert.
Great work has been done at Boys’ Town over many years.
Over the years, they touched the lives of thousands of young men.” And their
genitalia as well, according to the boys.
The De la Salle Brothers continue to run their profitable lottery, using the Boys’ Town promotional tag.
[Postscript: In 2011, the Scenic Rim Regional Council approved stages
one and two of a “master planned community” to be built by Peet Limited
– one of Australia’s largest property developers – on the old Boys’
Town site in Beaudesert. Stages one and two allow for 99 residential
lots. A further 12 stages are proposed for the site, with the entire
development to eventually contain between 651 and 787 lots over almost
86 hectares. The value of the lots is estimated at being in excess of
$55 million, which should be given to the old boys of Boys’ Town by way
of compensation.]
