Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is an agreement between the Government of Canada and approximately 86,000 Native Canadians who at some point were enrolled as children in the Canadian Indian residential school system, a system which was in place between 1879 and 1996. The IRSSA recognized the damage inflicted by the residential schools and established a $2 billion compensation package for all former IRS students and, in particular, those who had been abused or otherwise harmed. The agreement, announced in 2006, was the largest class action settlement in Canadian history. As of December 2012 a total of $1.62 billion has been paid to 78,750 former students.
Challoner Cottage
In 1976 the Training School for Boys at Mittagong was officially closed and the following cottages ceased to be used: Hassal, Jefferis, Renwick, Mackellar, Goodlet and Heydon, along with the Hospital Cottage. The 200 residents at that time were either discharge or transferred to other centres. The property was renamed Renwick in honour of the first president of the State Children's Relief Board, Sir Arthur Renwick. Challoner and De Lauret cottages were adapted to accommodate male and female State wards. By the 1980s, 160 state wards were accommodated at: Turner, Waverley and Lindon in Mittagong, and Rotherwood, Garran and Suttor on the Southwood Estate and DeLauret and Rowe along Bong Bong Road. Challoner ceased being used for delinquent boys in 1978. Renwick finally closed in 1994.