During the 1920s, there were many unsettled families following World War One, so more children were being accommodated by religious and charitable organisations.
The Elgar Road site was purchased by the Presbyterian Church in 1929, but did not receive any children until December 1937.
Formerly Kildonan Presbyterian Church had operated a children’s home at 149 Flemington Road, North Melbourne, after establishing the practice in 1890.

The move to Burwood would enable ‘… the children to be brought up in rural surroundings instead of confined space now occupied at North Melbourne.’

• RBA Architects and Conservation Consultants Pty Ltd, Amendment C157, City of Whitehorse, Proposed HO249, Former Kildonan Children’s Home, Elgar Road, Burwood, Expert witness statement – heritage, City of Whitehorse.
• ‘New Home for Chidren’, The Argus, 6 June 1936, p32.