Aradale Mental Hospital
Encyclopedia
Aradale Mental Hospital was an Australian psychiatric hospital
, located in Ararat
, a rural city in Victoria
, Australia
. Originally known as Ararat Lunatic Asylum, Aradale and its two sister asylums at Kew
and Beechworth
were commissioned to accommodate the growing number of 'lunatics' in the colony of Victoria. Construction began in 1860, and the guardhouses are listed as being built in 1866 though the list of patients extends as far back as the year before (1865). It was closed as an asylum in 1998 and in 2001 became a campus of the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
(NMIT) administered Australian College of Wine.
right up until its current management took over in 2001.
type lunatic asylums based on the model 1850s asylum in Colney Hatch
, England. Ararat is very similar in design to its sister asylums at Kew and Beechworth, however Ararat's use of linking bridges with an arcade on an arched gateways is unique. Kew is considered to be an example of Second Empire design, whereas Ararat and Beechworth are considered more typically Italianate, though both styles have similar characteristics. The buildings are constructed from oversize bricks, which were then rendered with cement. Two storeyed ward wings extend to each side, one for each sex. The ward wings were surrounded by courtyard
s lined with iron columned verandas,
Another distinctive feature of Ararat and other early Victorian asylums is the use of a variation on Ha-Ha walls around the patients' courtyards. They consisted of a trench, one side of which was vertical and faced with stone or bricks, the other side sloped and turfed. From the inside, the walls presented at tall face to patients, preventing them from escaping, while from outside the walls looked low so as not to suggest imprisonment.
. Unfortunately, only a few remnants of the Linaker's plantings remain.
" of the Ararat Asylum. It was to cater for those persons who were detained in any jail, reformatory
or industrial school
or other place of confinement who appeared to be insane. The ward was not a separate institution in its own right and has continued to function as a division of the Ararat Mental Hospital. "J Ward" was always regarded as a temporary measure.
A new institution was to be built at Sunbury
for the retention of the criminally insane. However when the building was nearing completion it was decided that it would house females only and males would remain at "J Ward". In May 1988 the Minister for Health announced that "J Ward" was to be closed over the next year.
was completed.
to establish a campus of the Australian College of Wine on the site of the hospital. 30 hectares of vineyard and 10 hectares of olive grove were planted in 2002 and an olive processing facility and winery were later built on site. The College campus was established to provide in Victoria a world-class wine and hospitality training facility.
Ghost Tours currently operate in various original sections of the building, including Administration, men's and women's wards, chapel, kitchen, men's hospital and morgue.
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, located in Ararat
Ararat, Victoria
Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...
, a rural city in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Originally known as Ararat Lunatic Asylum, Aradale and its two sister asylums at Kew
Kew Asylum
Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. Later known as Willsmere, the complex of buildings...
and Beechworth
Beechworth Asylum
Beechworth Lunatic Asylum, originally known as Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located in Beechworth, a town of Victoria, Australia. Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum was the four such Hospital to be built in Victoria, being one of the three largest...
were commissioned to accommodate the growing number of 'lunatics' in the colony of Victoria. Construction began in 1860, and the guardhouses are listed as being built in 1866 though the list of patients extends as far back as the year before (1865). It was closed as an asylum in 1998 and in 2001 became a campus of the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE is a TAFE institute located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It has six city campuses located at Preston, Collingwood, Epping, Fairfield, Greensborough, Heidelberg, a country campus at Ararat, and country training facilities at Eden...
(NMIT) administered Australian College of Wine.
Construction
The asylum was designed by G.W. Vivian and his assistant J.J. Clark, adapting Vivian's initial designs for Kew. Building commenced at Kew, Ararat and Beechworth at roughly the same time, however Ararat was completed first. The building of Ararat was contracted to O'Grady, Glynn and O'Callaghan and not patients (or "inmates" as they were called) as many erroneously believe. The asylum was built as a town within a town with its own market gardens, orchard, vineyards, piggery and other stock kept on the grounds. At its height it had over 500 staff and as it stands today the complex is made up of 63 buildings ranging in age from the original wings built in the 1860s to the modern forensic unit which was built in 1991 - only two years before the facility closed. Despite being closed as an asylum the facility continued to house female prisoners during the building/renovation of Dame Phyllis Frost CentreDame Phyllis Frost Centre
Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is a maximum security women's prison located at Deer Park, Victoria, Australia. It was designed by Guymer Bailey Architects Pty. Ltd. and built in 1996 as the first privately designed, financed and operated prison in Victoria...
right up until its current management took over in 2001.
Distinctive features
The asylum complex is an example of the E-plan barracksBarracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
type lunatic asylums based on the model 1850s asylum in Colney Hatch
Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum
Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum was an early psychiatric hospital located in Colney Hatch in what is now the London Borough of Barnet. The hospital was in operation from 1851 to 1993....
, England. Ararat is very similar in design to its sister asylums at Kew and Beechworth, however Ararat's use of linking bridges with an arcade on an arched gateways is unique. Kew is considered to be an example of Second Empire design, whereas Ararat and Beechworth are considered more typically Italianate, though both styles have similar characteristics. The buildings are constructed from oversize bricks, which were then rendered with cement. Two storeyed ward wings extend to each side, one for each sex. The ward wings were surrounded by courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s lined with iron columned verandas,
Ha-Ha Walls
Grounds and Landscaping
In 1913 the landscape gardener Hugh Linaker was employed to layout the grounds of Mont Park. As landscape gardener for the State Lunacy Department he commenced a program of landscape improvements and tree plantings at asylums in Victoria. Linaker was already familiar with the area having previously laid out the grounds of Alexandra Park in AraratArarat, Victoria
Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...
. Unfortunately, only a few remnants of the Linaker's plantings remain.
J Ward
In December 1886 the old jail at Ararat was proclaimed as "J WardJ Ward
J Ward was an Australian prison used to house the criminally insane, located in Ararat, Victoria, Australia.The buildings are built out of bluestone.J Ward is now a museum open to the public.-See also:*Aradale Mental Hospital*HM Prison Ararat...
" of the Ararat Asylum. It was to cater for those persons who were detained in any jail, reformatory
Reformatory
Reformatory is a term that has had varied meanings within the penal system, depending on the jurisdiction and the era. It may refer to a youth detention center, or an adult correctional facility. The term is still in popular use for adult facilities throughout the United States, although most...
or industrial school
Industrial school
In Ireland the Industrial Schools Act of 1868 established industrial schools to care for "neglected, orphaned and abandoned children". By 1884 there were 5,049 children in such institutions....
or other place of confinement who appeared to be insane. The ward was not a separate institution in its own right and has continued to function as a division of the Ararat Mental Hospital. "J Ward" was always regarded as a temporary measure.
A new institution was to be built at Sunbury
Sunbury Asylum
Sunbury Lunatic Asylum first opened in October 1879. Its proclamation as an Asylum was published in the Government Gazette on 31 October 1879....
for the retention of the criminally insane. However when the building was nearing completion it was decided that it would house females only and males would remain at "J Ward". In May 1988 the Minister for Health announced that "J Ward" was to be closed over the next year.
Decommissioning
The decommissioning of Aradale began in the early 1990s, with patients transferred to community living and to other facilities. After December 1993 the Ararat Forensic Psychiatry Centre was the only remaining ward. In 1997, the remaining patients at AFPC were eventually transferred to Rosanna, until the new Thomas Embling Hospital in FairfieldFairfield, Victoria
Fairfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Darebin and Yarra...
was completed.
Current use
In 2001 the Victorian Government provided $7.4 million to NMITNorthern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE is a TAFE institute located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It has six city campuses located at Preston, Collingwood, Epping, Fairfield, Greensborough, Heidelberg, a country campus at Ararat, and country training facilities at Eden...
to establish a campus of the Australian College of Wine on the site of the hospital. 30 hectares of vineyard and 10 hectares of olive grove were planted in 2002 and an olive processing facility and winery were later built on site. The College campus was established to provide in Victoria a world-class wine and hospitality training facility.
Ghost Tours currently operate in various original sections of the building, including Administration, men's and women's wards, chapel, kitchen, men's hospital and morgue.
See also
- J WardJ WardJ Ward was an Australian prison used to house the criminally insane, located in Ararat, Victoria, Australia.The buildings are built out of bluestone.J Ward is now a museum open to the public.-See also:*Aradale Mental Hospital*HM Prison Ararat...
- Kew AsylumKew AsylumKew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. Later known as Willsmere, the complex of buildings...
- Beechworth AsylumBeechworth AsylumBeechworth Lunatic Asylum, originally known as Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located in Beechworth, a town of Victoria, Australia. Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum was the four such Hospital to be built in Victoria, being one of the three largest...
- List of Australian mental asylums