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In August 1944, the Government leased the Cable Station to the Salvation Army for use as a women’s and children’s refuge, the only one in Sydney until the late 1970s. The building was made
available in an effort to address the acute housing shortage during wartime. Many women found refuge from violent marriages, misfortune and poverty. In 1965, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that hundreds of women and their young families had
passed through its doors. They sought shelter there, and were sometimes destitute, frightened and alone in the world. They were given food, shelter and spiritual comfort. The reporter was
immediately impressed by the informal air, the gay cretonne curtains, pastel coloured 
walls and the home-like atmosphere. The number of people staying could fluctuate between six and 51 at any time. Girls and boys of primary school age were accepted, and they attended La Perouse Public School. Children up to eight years old stayed with their mothers. The matron in 1965 was Major Ruth Fox, an officer for 30 years, who had been at La Perouse for six years. It continued operating as a refuge until it was closed in 1987 when NSW Public Works commenced work on the Laperouse Museum.
Further details: The History of the Cable Station:John Ross At the Beach: S. Thompson, NSW Migration Heritage Centre
La Perouse Museum & Headland 
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I lived there for a period in perhaps 1949-50 as perhaps a five year old. with mother and younger brother. I little aboriginal kid pinched my brother’s shorts and took off up the beach with them. The memory is still clear as is that of detestable porridge and a few others, including being taken to a black and white movie about a girls school where punishment was to cut the victims hair off roughly with scissors. I was left with nightmares so severe I had to be taken to a doctor in the middle of the night.