| William Wordsworth once declared that childhood was the 'seedtime' of 'the soul' but in the early days of the European settlement of Australia, childhood seemed to pass quickly and was soon forgotten. Nowadays, the topic on child welfare is nothing new and the rights and wrongs of childhood are being intensely debated especially in the last century. The significance of this 'seedtime' has gained more and more public attention that many professionals and theorists believe that the proper upbringing of the young is vital not only to the individual but to the future health and happiness of society as a whole. The significance of child protection is ostensible, but after all, it is an extraordinarily complex human problem in itself.Australia, as a welfare state and a 'lucky country', is famous for what the country has done for its vulnerable groups. However, as to child welfare, debates and critiques have never ceased since it is difficult to find a precise definition of what constitutes a child's best interests.With a particular focus on Australia, this thesis explores the welfare of children starting from 1788. A historical perspective will be mainly adopted. Social control theory is the major theoretical basis of this study. To what extent and by what form was social control exercised in different times and at different stages in the development of child welfare in Australia and what is beyond social control? These are the major issues to be addressed in this study.The thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter one is an introductory account of the major problem to be addressed, the definitions of several important terms, and the objectives and the methodology of the study. In chapters two and three, the development of non-Aboriginal child welfare in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries are discussed, with analyses on the conceptual changes of children and childhood, the first and the second child protection movements and how social control was exerted in different times...
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