Rural Camps and Rural Settlements

A Pioneer Home for the Aged

The solution of another social problem, housing the aged, was also associated with the Carrum Downs settlement. From 1946 the settlement became a home for aged people. The criteria was that accommodation would be available for low income older people, where the maximum rental would be 25 per cent of their income, usually obtained from the pension and an accommodation allowance. By the late 1960s there were 114 home units, hostel accommodation for 27 persons and an 8-bed hospital.1 Brotherhood of St. Laurence buildings are still an important component of the Carrum Downs township.