Policeman Concerned He Was Never Told about St Albans Boys" Home Archives

By Giselle Wakatama
ABC News
June 13, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-14/policeman-concerned-never-told-about-st-albans-archives/7505064

PHOTO: St Albans has been dogged by allegations of abuse since it closed 30 years ago. (Supplied: Anglican Diocesan Archives, Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle)

The retired Hunter Valley policeman who raised concerns about missing boys' home documents says he is relieved records have been found, but alarmed he was not told about them.

Greg Harding, who pursued convicted paedophile and ex-St Albans board member James Michael Brown, on Friday said his investigations had showed decades of documents from St Albans boys' home were either missing or destroyed.

However, later that day, a Newcastle University archivist responded to the concerns, saying documents did exist and were stored in the university archives.

The St Albans boys' home is expected to be part of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse case study looking at abuse allegations in Newcastle's Anglican diocese.

News about the records came as a shock to Mr Harding, who said he was pleased records existed, but questioned why he was not told about them, despite having a search warrant to access documents several years ago.

Mr Harding remembered finding virtually no records when he went to a room in the diocese's head office several years ago, while investigating Mr Brown, who abused 20 boys.

He said he was never told other documents were kept off site at the university's archive department.

The retired detective has told the ABC his investigation could have taken a different turn if he had been told records existed in the university archives.

He said he had been relentless in his pursuit for records, but the church hierarchy had not revealed that documents were kept off site.

Mr Harding praised the archivist for coming forward, and said he was pleased the records would be passed on to the royal commission.

Diocese 'not in position to understand past police investigations'

The diocese was asked why Mr Harding was not told about the off site records, but it would not comment directly.

It said it was not in a position to understand the previous investigations of New South Wales police.

In a follow-up statement, the diocese said it had three main places for storing records, including at the university.

The diocese made no mention of the university archives when it was first approached for a statement several weeks ago.

The follow-up statement also rejected allegations records may have been destroyed.

The diocese advised it had no knowledge of St Albans records being destroyed to avoid investigation, and also advised it maintained some records.

"As the home ran for 60 years, we could never be certain that every record created was maintained," the statement read.

"In June 2014 when the royal commission required information dating back to 1950, a team of diocesan staff searched the diocesan archives at the university over a number of days.

"We continue close cooperation with any request for information from the commission."

The royal commission will hold hearings into the Newcastle Anglican Diocese in August.