Dunlea Centre

Dunlea Centre, prior to 2010 known as Boys' Town Engadine, is an Australian residential secondary school for adolescent young people and their families; the Centre is focused on working with young people where there are identified behavioural issues. Boys' Town Engadine - Dunlea Centre helps children, young people and their families to overcome the most severe disadvantages - problems such as abuse, homelessness, long term unemployment, mental health issues and the challenges of disability. The school is located in the Sydney suburb of Engadine, New South Wales and is run by the Roman Catholic Salesians, a religious order of priests, in conjunction with specialist teachers and social workers.Boys' Town Engadine - Dunlea Centre provides a voluntary service for families at risk of family breakdown, who are committed to improving their relationships. Boys' Town Engadine - Dunlea Centre provides intensive life skills, therapeutic and educational services in an out of home care setting.HistoryA parish priest of Sutherland Shire, in 1934 Fr Thomas Dunlea was requested by a dying woman to look after her son. After the woman's death, Dunlea took the boy to the parish presbytery. Over the ensuing years, a number of young boys were entrusted to his care during the Great Depression. The boys were moved to a bigger house, but after Sutherland Shire Council forced them onto the road, they set up tents in nearby Royal National Park. On 1 August 1939, Dunlea officially opened the school with seven boys in his care. The purpose of the school was to help disadvantaged young males. His inspiration was the 1938 movie Boystown, about Fr Edward J. Flanagan, who founded the original Boystown in Nebraska, USA.