Jefferis Turner Home - Maternal and Child Welfare Home, Ipswich

Dr. Alfred Jefferis Turner arrived in Australia from England in 1889 and became the first Medical Officer appointed to the Hospital for Sick Children. In 1926, he took the role of Medical Director of the Infant Welfare Department on a part-time basis. By then, four baby clinics had opened in Brisbane, with additional centres being established in Bundaberg, Cairns, Ipswich, Mackay, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Townsville and Wynnum.

The creation of baby clinics and the education of mothers in caring for their young children marked the beginning of 'Mothercraft' in Queensland. Dr. Turner, affectionately known as Gentle Annie, championed the establishment of a Mothercraft Home in 1931. That same year, the Mothercraft Association of Queensland, was formed. However, the first Mothercraft Home did not open until 1943, at Clayfield.

A major milestone came in 1934 when Mothercraft education was introduced into Queensland primary schools. Progress was slowed by the Great Depression and World War II, limiting expansion beyond metropolitan areas. In 1946, the Department of Maternal and Child Welfare were requested to take over the Mothercraft program and extending it more broadly across the state.

In 1945, the State Cabinet approved the establishment of Maternal and Child Welfare Home in Ipswich, Toowoomba, Rockhampton and Townsville, similar to those already operating at Clayfield and Sandgate. These homes served several purposes:

• Provide accommodation and treatment for babies requiring specialised feeding and care.
• Offering temporary care for children whose mothers were hospitalised or ill and had no alternative caregivers.
• In regional areas, training local girls as child welfare assistants to support mothers with newborns and challenging toddlers in their homes.
   

By 1949, plans were underway for a maternal and child welfare centre at Eastern Heights. The government purchased "Fairy Knoll," the former Hancock family residence on the corner of Whitehill and Robertson Roads, and converted it into the Jefferis Turner Home. This centre was officially opened on Sunday, 3 August 1952.