The mixing of these distinct types of individuals within the confines of one institution was problematic for authorities at the time. Authorities realised that innocent girls were being exposed to the corrupting behaviour of others. Attempts to ensure the safety of innocent girls led to the creation of two divisions within the institution. The first was the establishment of a "training home" in the former hospital building near the main site. The training home was in operation from 1912 until around 1926, at which time an alternative site was established at
La Perouse, known as both the "Girls Training School" and "Yarra Bay House". The population of the girls home included many
Indigenous girls, mostly those who belong to the
Stolen Generations, and was dominated by girls whose families experienced poverty or abuse, or girls who had been orphaned or made
state wards at an early age. While in the home, school-aged girls received minimal education, with most kept occupied in training as
domestic servants. The closed operations of the institution, authoritarian rule, daily routine and poor conditions, encouraged a climate of abuse and bullying. In securing their own safety, girls would form allegiances, and, as with the culture in prisons, developed a lover (or kinship) system through exchanged notes, hand-holding, kissing, scratching initials into their body and secret codes — ILWA (I love worship adore/always), or TID (till I die), or SML — used to express affection. With the arrival or discharge of girls, new allegiances were developed, often causing petty jealousies and disputes. A rebuffed girl would often resort to a form of retaliation called "dogging" or a "top off", meaning that she would report her rival to an officer for a breach of rules. Riots occurred frequently, with the first officially investigated one taking place in 1889. Other riots occurred during the 1940s, in 1958, and 1961, with most attributed to the treatment that the girls were receiving. Until 1961, girls who had committed a "secondary" (institutional) offence, called "conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline", were sent to Long Bay Prison for three months. This arrangement changed in July 1961, when the
Hay Institution for Girls was established as a maximum security annex of Parramatta Girls Home. Numerous male staff, and occasionally other girls, were said to have physically and sexually abused the inmates. A public hearing heard evidence about 11 men, most of whom were superintendents or deputies at Parramatta Girls. These men were entrusted with the girls' care but witnesses spoke of regular bashings,
rapes, and assaults. Most of the alleged perpetrators were never reported or investigated. Others resigned or were dismissed after inquiries into their conduct. No criminal charges were laid on the alleged perpetrators. ==Closure==