Cirrus@Austlit

The Royal Blind Society of NSW grew out of the Sydney Industrial Blind Institute. The Institute was established in 1875 through a bequest from John William Wood and its original building in William Street was designed by Edmund Blackett in 1876. (The Society later moved to premises in the suburb of Enfield.)

In 1952, the Institute’s name was changed by an Act of Parliament to the Royal Blind Society of New South Wales.

The Society was a charitable organisation that offered services to children and adults who were blind or vision impaired. Those services included 'counselling, employment support, computer training, library services, transcription service, low vision aids and strategies for managing everyday activities and retaining independence' (State Library of New South Wales).

In 2004, the Royal Blind Society of NSW merged with the Royal Victorian institute for the Blind, Vision Australia Foundation and the National Information and Library Service to form Vision Australia.

Sources: Archway to Vision: A History of the Royal Blind Society of New South Wales 1880-1890 by Lorna Ollif (1992); 'The Royal Blind Society of New South Wales photographs and a drawing, 1882-1971', description available online from the State Library of New South Wales.