page_title: St. John's Orphanage
section_title: Redevelopment and restoration
hierarchical_section_title: St. John's Orphanage / Status / Redevelopment and restoration
caption_attribution_description: English: Room in St. John's Orphanage. Not the consistency of abandoned furniture and graffiti
context_page_description: St. John's Orphanage, sometimes referred to as the Goulburn Boys Orphanage, is a decommissioned orphanage located on Mundy Street in Goulburn, a town located in New South Wales, Australia. The architect of the building is EC Manfred. The foundation stone was laid and blessed on 17 March 1912 by Bishop John Gallagher of Goulburn, who also blessed the building during its opening ceremony in late 1913. It is two storeys high, and several extensions were added to the building throughout its early history. The orphanage amalgamated with St. Joseph's Orphanage for girls in 1976, and the remaining orphans were placed into group homes. As a result, the orphanage was closed in 1978 and rented out to the Youth with a Mission Base until they left in 1994. Since then, the orphanage has remained abandoned.
  Run by the Sisters of Mercy and the Catholic Church until its closure, the orphanage housed males from the ages of 5 to 16 initially. Its capacity was intended to be 100 children, but this peaked to more than 200 during the Second World War. By the 1970s, the orphanage began taking in female orphans from St. Joseph's because of declining numbers of males.
context_section_description: At present, the orphanage has been heavily vandalised, with surrounding residents regularly calling the police because the sounds of windows smashing and people entering without permission can be heard and seen frequently. Small grass fires around the building have also been reported. Restorations have been considered by the Goulburn City Council. The council is holding Ferrara accountable for allowing damage at the orphanage, while he has come up with many development projects for the lot. As a result, city council has not issued Ferrara any development permits until restoration work to the orphanage is complete.
  Ferrara has proposed a number of redevelopments for the orphanage itself, and its surroundings. In 2004, he proposed a plan to redevelop the lot and building into 63 residential units. The proposed redevelopment was known as Glebe Gardens. Ferrara planned the construction of gardens and pools on the vacant grounds, but the front of the complex would face no development. Although the development application was approved by the city council, the plans were dropped because the costs to redevelop the lot were too great. In 2009, work began to revamp the orphanage and convert it into a retirement village, with trees being cleared to construct a retaining wall. Two-metre-high walls were going to be built to keep vandals out and to prevent further damage. He also stated that he was going to the fix up the orphanage once the proposed townhouses were under construction.
  In 2012, Ferrara proposed a new project to build 76 units and homes in seven stages; these stages would have spanned three to four years. Ferrara undertook a joint venture with Peter Madew, who was to assist with funding and the management needed for the construction. They also proposed restoration efforts to the orphanage, which included painting, repairing holes in walls, and replacing windows. They also planned to restore the front garden, commence general landscaping, construct a recreation area, and build a number of units in the orphanage itself; an indoor swimming pool was proposed for construction in the courtyard. However, Madew claimed that restoration of the orphanage would "cost millions". Ferrara later announced that he would not go ahead with the redevelopment, but instead lodge a new plan: this plan would foresee the construction of 18 new dwellings on the lot. This was objected to by the council should the building remain in its current deteriorating state. Ferrara responded by stating he would commit funds from his profits towards the building's restoration, at a cost of least $1.5 million. In late 2013, Ferrara proposed another development on the lot which would see the construction of 15 residential units. However, the Goulburn Mulwaree Council has demanded that Ferrara must schedule repairs to the orphanage before any approval can be granted. In response, Ferarra pledged to spend $250,000 on restoration works, covering downpipe, guttering, and roof repairs, as well as window replacements and external painting.
  In November 2015, a fire, believed to have been left unattended by squatters, ignited the roof just before 4:00 p.m. It took approximately six hours to extinguish the fire, during which 80% of the roof was damaged. Much of the roof collapsed, exposing the timber frame skeleton, and some rooms were completely destroyed. Moments before the building caught on fire, there were unconfirmed reports that a loud bang was heard. The Goulburn Heritage Group stated that they were "upset and sickened" by the fire, and Ferrara responded by saying that he was disappointed, and that the building was not insured. Ferrara has stated that he will try to preserve the building, and estimates the damage costs at $4 million to $5 million. In 2016, another fire occurred in a building at the rear of the main structure, causing extensive damage. The building, which was revealed to be the old hall built in 1932, was deemed not salvageable; it was subsequently scheduled for demolition. Following the fire, the council ordered Ferrara to secure both the sit
caption: A room on the second floor. Graffiti and abandoned furniture are commonly seen throughout the complex
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