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THE HISTORY OF COLONY 47
Colony 47 early history is one that is full of paradoxes . . . .
It is an organisation that is located in a church and founded by a methodist minister yet it was that minister who fought hard for the organisation to be totally independent of the church.
In 1971, a group of young people in Glenorchy, a northern suburb of Hobart, identified a need for a centre that catered young people who were disadvantaged socially, economically, educationally and culturally. Under the guidance of the Reverend Jim Colville, a minister in the Methodist Church, the group began planning and fund raising to establish a community centre. It was envisioned that the centre would provide a place where young people could meet in a relaxed atmosphere and have access to counselling, referral and information, as well as opportunities for community participation and belonging.
Finding a building to house the centre proved difficult, but after a long search the centre was located in the old Davey Street Congregational Church which became vacant. In December 1973 Jim Colville and his group of enthusiastic young people began to renovate the building themselves.
The Church itself was, for a short time, home to The Gallery Theatre who used it to stage their productions. This was one of the first church buildings in Australia to be used for non-church purposes. The first area of the building to be renovated was what was to become the Coffee Shop. It was fully operational within a few months and by late 1974, it was open 7 days a week. It provided the focal point to engaging young people. Soon other programs were added - counselling, literacy, toy library for people with disabilities, skills development programs of employment, support and assistance in finding accommodation. One of the most notable alterations to the building involved the front doors. In 1974 the doors of the church were painted red to indicate that the building no longer operated as a church . At the time, this evoked a level of suspicion and animosity from some members of the community because of the allusions to communism.
The social an political climate of the mid 70' was such that Colony was subject to hostility from the community, the police, church groups and funding bodies. On several occasions, Jim Colville came close to being charged with "running a house of ill repute" because young people "who may commit crime" were gathered in the one area. It was a vital part of Colony's philosophy that space in the church building be available to other organisations who could not afford rent anywhere else. Once these organisations established themselves they moved to new premises. They included: The Gallery Theatre, The Playgroup Assocation; Lambda, The Toy Library for people children with disabilities, The Ballet School and various individual artists.
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The idea behind the diverse mix of programs in the building was so that Colony did not isolate young people from the rest of the community. Undoubtedly, programs such as the Toy Library and The Playgroup Association added a 'respectable' front to an organisation whose reputation was sometimes dubious.
Today Colony 47 continues to support southern Tasmanian people facing homelessness or who are disadvantaged socially, economically or educationally. The spirit and dedication apparent in the early days is maintained today by more than 90 staff whose commitment is to making a positive difference to people's lives. Former Chief Executive Officer Sue Ham said, Colony 47 delivers a wide range of support services to the community primarily to Southern Tasmania. "The organisation focuses on three distinct areas: employment and training; housing; and individual, family and community support."
"It is the way of the organisation to split up these sections of our business, with our programs operating in their own right - but at the end of the day we are all still housed under the same Colony 47 roof."
Currently Colony 47 delivers services out of seven sites in Southern Tasmania and also offers the flexibility to be able to visit clients in homes, schools or in the community. Every year Colony 47 provides major support programs for people, including their traditional Christmas Lunch and the Blokes group.
Colony' s Christmas lunch has been running for 29 years and is a volunteer-based event.
Blokes, run through Colony's JPET program, creates a supportive environment for young men in which to talk, hang out and have fun along with education and training in job searching, health and skills for life.
Colony 47 also takes part in the annual Dad's Day Out, with the Glenorchy Action Inter-agency Network, to celebrate fathering and provide a way for fathers and their children to spend some quality time together.
Colony 47 values community interest and involvement and the 'Friends of Colony' offers an opportunity for those looking to get involved in Colony 47 initiatives or lend a helping hand within our community.
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