Fairbridge Farm School: Memorial park near Molong passed to community

Fairbridge Park on Molong Creek pays tribute to students of the infamous Fairbridge Farm School that previously operated nearby.

About 60 per cent of children are believed to have been sexually abused during their residency. As many as 90 per cent were physically abused.

Alumni built the moving memorial in 2018 but many are now in old age. About 150 of the institution's 1000 students are still alive.

This week "responsibility, ownership, and custodianship" was handed to a board of community leaders to ensure longevity.

"We want it to last forever, but we're not going to last forever," renowned bureaucrat, businessman, author, and former student David Hill said.

"I'm 78-years-old and one of the younger students [still involved in upkeep of the park] ... as you can see we've got to do this now."

The new board comprises former-Orange mayor Reg Kidd, retired doctor Des Mulcahy, pilot Wade Mahlo, and Robert Sullivan.

It is responsible for promoting the interests of the park, organising enhancements, and ensuring long-term survival. Cabonne Council owns the land.

Fairbridge Park includes pillars with the names of all students, a dormitory floor plan, original bed frames, and the school's makeshift railway-line bell (see gallery below).

"We used to come down here for swimming ... this was our sacred campground," Hill said of the park.

"Fairbridge kids have mixed memories of Fairbridge School, but fantastic memories of Molong Creek.

"We'd come down here and swim, catch yabbies, boil a billy and have a cup of tea, camp, go rabbiting ... there a platypuses here as well."

The Fairbridge Farm School operated between 1938 and 1973. The vast majority of students were orphans or born out of wedlock in Britain and shipped to Australia from as young as four.

A 2018 inquiry by the British government heard astonishing accounts of widespread and systematic abuse. It recommended compensation be paid to all former students.

"Even though the Fairbridge story is a pretty bloody ugly one ... this park is not all doom and gloom. It's a celebration and acknowledgement of the kids," Hill said.