Kew Asylum
Encyclopedia
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 were constructed between 1864 and 1872 to the design of architects G.W. Vivian and Frederick Kawerau of the Victorian Public Works Office to house the growing number of "lunatic
s", "inebriates" and "idiots
" in the Colony of Victoria.
The first purpose built asylum in the Colony of Victoria, Kew was also larger and more expensive than its sister asylums at Ararat
and Beechworth
. The asylum's buildings are typical examples of the French Second Empire style which was popular in Victorian
Melbourne. Designed to be elegant, beautiful, yet substantial, and to be viewed as 'a magnificent asylum for the insane' with the aim of portraying Melbourne as a civilised and benevolent city whilst avoiding the jail-like appearance of other asylums. These aims were furthered by the use of low Ha-Ha walls and extensively landscaped grounds. Long considered of cultural and historic significance to Melbourne, Kew Asylum and its complex of buildings were registered on the Register of the National Estate
in March 1978.
Despite initial grand plans and ideals, Kew Asylum had a difficult and chequered history contributing to several inquiries throughout its 117 years of operation, including a Royal Commission
. Overcrowding, mismanagement, lack of resources, poor sanitation and disease were common criticisms during the asylum's first five decades; out-dated facilities and institutionalisation were criticisms of Kew's later period.
Kew continued to operate throughout the 20th century as a "Hospital for the Insane", "Mental Hospital", or "Psychiatric Hospital", treating acute, long-term and geriatric patients until it closed in December 1988. The main building and surrounding grounds were sold by the State Government in the 1980s and were redeveloped as residential properties.
Medical terms in this article are in the context of what was legally correct usage for that period where they appear in the text. Therefore "feeble-minded", "idiot", "imbecile", "lunatic", etc., should not be taken at their modern significance.
During the 1850s, the existing lunatic asylums of the Colony of Victoria were overcrowded. Yarra Bend Asylum
, while only six years old, was considered unsuitable and Carlton Lunatic Asylum
(which was originally a jail) was in a state of disrepair. As a result, in 1854 the Government of the Colony of Victoria commissioned a report proposing sites and designs for a new lunatic asylum. Contemporary educated opinion was that lunatic asylums should be built "on a healthy site, freely admitting light and air, and drainage ...[on] a gentle eminence in a fertile and agreeable country". In a report by the New South Wales
' Inspector of Asylums, Frederick Norton Manning
stated that "the site chosen is of primary importance. On it must depend the comfort, happiness and health of the inmates." Thus a hilltop site, across the Yarra River
from Yarra Bend
was recommended in a report by G.W. Vivian of the Public Works Office. Vivian described the site as
belief that associated disease with congestion and squalor, and that miasmas of impure air caused epidemics. The area Vivian recommended for the asylum had originally been set aside for a village reserve. Locals from Kew were upset by the proposal and petitioned the government, to no avail. 340 acre (1.4 km²; 0.531250469717407 sq mi) of land in the County of Bourke, parish of Boroondara, city of Kew
were permanently reserved as a "Site for Lunatic Asylum" in the Government Gazette of 1864. Construction began in 1864, however was halted almost immediately with reports of inferior works on the foundations. An investigation followed and Frederick Kawerau resigned. Contractor Samuel Amess
continued construction at Kew using Kawerau's designs. They were derived from plans earlier outlined by Vivian, and were basically identical to Kawerau’s designs for Ararat
and Beechworth
, though Kew was much larger, and more expensive at a cost of ₤198,334.
The asylum complex is an example of the E-plan lunatic asylums based on the model 1850s asylum in Colney Hatch
, England. Kew was also considered a barracks
style asylum due to its perceived resemblance to stockades or jails. The buildings are constructed from oversize bricks, made from local clay which was quarried on-site. The bricks were then rendered with cement. The central administration block is three storeyed with a mansard roof
and cupola
. Two storeyed ward wings extend to each side, one for each sex. Each wing has a four storey, mansard-roofed tower, which contained water tanks. The ward wings were surrounded by courtyard
s lined with iron columned verandas, many of which were retained when the complex was redeveloped. Internally, the dormitories had 14 ft (4.3 m) ceilings and brightly coloured walls with the beds aligned in neat rows. The floors were of timber, principally so they could be scrubbed.
The primary access to the complex was from a tree-lined drive from Princess Street (now known as 'Main Drive') culminating in an elliptical carriageway in front of the main building. A second drive (now known as 'Lower Drive') extended from Princess Street to the rear gates of the asylum. This road was commonly used for deliveries to and from the asylum via the rear gatehouse.
While Kew's plan and detail are similar to its sister asylums at Ararat
and Beechworth
, the Kew asylum is much larger with the front buildings and towers more impressive architecturally. Kew's distinctive towers and mansard roofs make it one of the most prominent architectural landmarks in Melbourne
and is clearly visible on the eastern skyline.
Another distinctive feature of Kew Asylum and its sister 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 a tall face to patients, detering them from escaping, while from outside the walls looked low so as not to suggest imprisonment. A journalist with The Argus
described the walls as an 'excellent arrangement, as it enables the patients to see the outside world, and does away with that gaol appearance and feeling inculcated by the walls of the old asylums'. Many of Kew's Ha-Ha walls were retained and remain intact, unlike those at Beechworth and Ararat which were partially dismantled or the trenches were filled in.
The grounds of the Kew Asylum were originally landscaped in the tradition of an English country park. This was consistent with the Victorian idea that pleasant or beautiful surroundings would help ease the mental anguish of the inmates. It has been proposed that the initial plantings on the site were supplied by Baron Ferdinand von Mueller
, director of the Botanic Gardens
. Initially, the grounds were planted with many conifers
and large growing trees, oak
s, elm
s and Moreton Bay Figs; and trees indigenous to the area, River Red Gum, Yellow Box
and Lightwood were retained in the landscape. In 1913 the landscape gardener Hugh Linaker was employed to lay out the grounds of Mont Park Asylum. As landscape gardener for the State Lunacy Department he commenced a program of landscape improvements and tree plantings at other asylums in Victoria, including Kew.
The conifer plantings and oak avenues along Main and Lower Drives were well established and of a mature size by the 1940s. Conifers were widely planted from the 1860s along with Moreton Bay Figs and occasionally Oaks. Oaks and elms were more widely planted from the 1880s. It is not known if Linaker was responsible for the oak avenues, but it appears that many of the conifers, Monterey Pine
s, Canary Island Pines, Monterey Cypress, Hoop Pine, Bunya Bunya Pines
and Himalayan Cedars, predate Linaker and the oaks and elms may have been planted soon after his appointment. The use of Bhutan Cypress in the landscape is almost certainly due to Linaker as he favoured upright trees. It is possible that the two remnant Monterey Cypress along Main Drive and a Monterey Pine along Lower Drive are trees from an earlier planting scheme. Several trees and plants on the grounds of Kew Asylum and Kew Cottages
have been classified as of historical significance by the Victorian Heritage Council and the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), and have been protected during the property's redevelopment.
and Carlton Lunatic Asylum
and were housed in the two main wings – men in the right wing, women in the left. The wards were dormitory style and were divided by patient type – male/female, paying/pauper, manageable/refractory. The area of the women's wards was smaller due to the laundries and drying courtyards being located on the women's side of the asylum.
Under the Lunacy Statute of 1867, Lunacy Acts from 1880 to 1928 and Mental Hygiene Act of 1933, people could be admitted to the asylum by a number of means:
Until the end of World War I
, there was little change in the admission process at Kew. Upon arriving, a variable amount of data was collected on the person being admitted. These basic details included age, sex, marital status and former address (or name of the asylum/jail transferred from). Other details requested included names of relatives or friends, the person's religion and occupation and whether others in the family have ever been classified as insane. Other information recorded, where available, were dates of previous admissions, "form of mental disorder", bodily condition ("satisfactory", "unsatisfactory", "feeble", et cetera) and "duration of existing attack". From approximately 1900 onwards, photographs were usually taken on admission. If the person was very restless, the photograph was omitted. Belongings, such as books and clothes, were often returned to friends or family. Inmates were required to dress in institutional clothes. This was useful in a number of ways as it assisted the public in easily identifying escaped inmates; reduced the need to request clothes (or money for clothes) from the inmate's family or their estate; and minimised inmate conflict when inmates swapped or stole clothes from each other. The property and estates of people who were deemed to be insane were controlled and administered by the Master-in-Equity, also known as the Master-in-Lunacy.
The diagnoses given to patients during Kew's first fifty years were the common ailments found in most lunatic asylums of the pre-Kraepelin
era
It should be noted that some of these terms are still in use today, however they may now have different meanings. For example, from examining the notes on some of Kew's early "dementia" patients, it can be deduced that many were most likely suffering from what we now term severe depression, catatonia
or schizophrenia
.
s' and 'idiots' (or 'imbecile
s') was not made. Therefore, many wards of the state
, 'difficult' children and children with mental retardation
were housed with the adults at Kew. By 1879 nearly 600 children, representing a quarter of all inmates, were accommodated in various institutions in Victoria. In the 1880s the government decided that a separate building should be built to accommodate child inmates. The Zox Commission recommended the Yarra Bend Asylum
site as appropriate for buildings for 'imbecile' children. However, a site between the main building and the entrance gates of Kew was chosen and in 1885 a contract was let for the erection of cottage units. The Kew Idiot Ward
(Kew Cottages) was opened in May 1887. The Idiot Ward was initially considered a ward of Kew Lunatic Asylum, however later became known as a separate institution – Kew Idiot Asylum. Although the Idiot Asylum only admitted children, many of those children remained in residence at the Cottages as adults.
After the 1888 Zox Commission into Asylums, all private/semi-private inebriate asylums were abolished under the provisions of the Inebriate Asylums Act 1888. Northcote was taken over by the Government of Victoria in 1890 and converted into a public inebriate retreat. Brightside and Lara Inebriate Retreats were opened soon after, and many alcoholics were moved out of the lunatic asylums.
Despite initial grand plans and ideals, Kew Asylum had a difficult and chequered history resulting in several inquiries, including a Royal Commission
. The first inquiry occurred in 1876, only five years after Kew opened. Another notable inquiry occurred in 1907 after a severe outbreak of Typhoid fever
, which at the time was thought to have been virtually eradicated in Melbourne. This inquiry in turn lead to amendments to the Lunacy Act, improvements to Kew (and the state's other asylums) and the planned construction of Mont Park Asylum.
. Officially known as Royal Commission on Asylums for the Insane and Inebriate 1884–1886, the Royal Commission
chaired by Ephraim Zox
was required to inquire into and report upon the state and condition of Asylums for the Insane and Inebriates, both public and private. The Royal Commission made some sixty five recommendations in its final report. A number of the Commission's recommendations were implemented prior to the presentation of its final report, others were implemented through the Lunacy Amendment Act 1888 and some recommendations were not implemented until proclamation of the Lunacy Act 1903 in 1905.
The Commission recommended that criminal patients be kept apart from other patients, thus male criminally insane patients were moved to J Ward
of the Ararat Asylum
and female dangerous patients to Sunbury Asylum
.
The Commission also recommended that inebriates
and idiots
be housed in asylums separate from the insane which led to the construction of Kew Idiot Ward
and various Inebriate Asylums.
The Zox Commission further recommended increasing the role of medical doctors at the asylums and that "Medical men have the sole and exclusive right to determine whether their fellow citizens are sane or insane. The medical expert therefore stands in the position of witness, jury and judge". Prior to (and in some instances, for a time after) the Zox Commission, many superintendents at asylums did not have any training in insanity.
During its 120 years of operation, Kew’s title changed numerous times. This has been in response to society’s changing views towards the treatment and care of mentally ill persons; improvements in treatment leading to better health outcomes and changes in the Victorian Government’s
various Health Acts. From its establishment until 1905 the institution at Kew was known as an asylum – a title which emphasised its function as a place of detention rather than a place where people could possibly be cured. Kew was also for a short period known as the Metropolitan Lunatic Asylum at Kew, possibly to differentiate it from its sister country asylums at Ararat
and Beechworth
. During this period, all people committed to the asylum were termed 'inmates' rather than patients - again emphasising detention rather than cure.
The Lunacy Act of 1903 changed the title of all Victorian "asylums" to "hospitals for the insane" however this Act didn’t come into operation until March 1905. From this time onwards, inmates began being referred to as patients. The Mental Hygiene Act of 1933 again altered Kew's title to "Kew Mental Hospital". The move from 'asylum' to 'hospital' and 'inmate' to 'patient' also reflected the increased involvement of the medical profession in the management and treatment of mental illness.
After World War II
there was a period of significant change in the treatment and prognosis
for people with a mental illness. Drugs such as Lithium carbonate
(discovered in 1948 by Australian psychiatrist
Dr John Cade
) and chlorpromazine
(discovered in 1950's) lead to improvements in treatment. Thus many people with a mental illness could in many cases be treated in hospital for a shorter period and return to the community. The Mental Health Act of 1959 designated hospitals providing short-term diagnosis and accommodation as "psychiatric hospitals". Therefore any institution could have a section designated as a mental hospital for long-term or indefinite hospitalisation and a section designated as a psychiatric hospital for short term diagnosis and treatment of acute psychiatric illness.
In 1962 the decision was made to no longer house acute or short-term patients at Kew and therefore it was formally proclaimed a Mental Hospital under the Mental Health Act of 1959. Up until this time, Kew Mental Hospital was still colloquially known as 'Kew Asylum'. In the 1960s Kew began to be known as 'Willsmere' however some authors state the name change to 'Willsmere' was later.
In January 1982 three wards of Kew Mental Hospital were proclaimed a Psychiatric Hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1959. These wards were then known as the Willsmere Unit and were established to receive and accommodate short-term acute patients.
A large area of the grounds between the asylum main buildings and Princess street was allocated to Children's Cottages in 1885. When the Children's Cottages became a separate institution, the area surrounding the cottages became no longer under asylum management and was no longer for asylum inmate use. Widening and straightening of Princess street in 1939-1940 resulted in the demolishing of Kew's gatehouses, loss of land and the relocation of the main gates to Victoria Park, Kew. Construction of Yarra Boulevard during the 1930s lead to a section of the asylum's river frontage being acquired by the roads department.
In 1958, 58 acre (0.23471788 km²; 0.0906250801282636 sq mi) of the northern section of the asylum grounds were offered under a Crown Grant to the Talbot Colony for Epileptics. Later known as Royal Talbot (now part of Austin Health
), the hospital and training centre continue to operate on the site to this day. An area of Kew's grounds adjacent to the Talbot Colony was granted to the Guide Dog Association of Victoria for the building of a guide dog
breeding and training centre, which opened in 1962. The construction of the Eastern Freeway in the early 1970s also resulted in property loss for both Royal Talbot and Kew Asylum.
In June 1943 the Town Clerk of the City of Kew
, W.D.Birrell, produced a report on the immediate post-war priorities for Kew. Birrell strongly urged the council to propose the closure of Kew Asylum, with the grounds to be subdivided and '...laid out on modern town planning principles with some 700 to 800 homes'. According to Birrell, this would have been an ideal post-war scheme as it would provide employment and much needed land for housing. Birrell's proposal was not new; ever since the establishment of the asylum, proposals for its closure and redevelopment had recurred every few years. Birrell's plans did not eventuate as overcrowding at other mental hospitals throughout Victoria necessitated Kew's continued operation.
By 1986, Willsmere Hospital's bed numbers had been reduced to 430, three quarters of which were for psychogeriatric patients.
As a result of ongoing mental health reform, the then Labor Government of Victoria commissioned the 'Willsmere project', the purpose of which was to plan for decommissioning the hospital and develop services and facilities in the community. Long-term psychogeriatric patients were transferred to new psychogeriatric nursing homes in the suburbs, to a re-opened ward of Plenty Psychiatric Hospital in Bundoora
, to the refurbished Heatherton Tuberculosis Sanatorium or to other psychiatric institutions. Acutely unwell patients that would have previously been admitted to Willsmere were now sent to newly built units at Maroondah Hospital, Monash Medical Centre
or Peninsula Hospital
.
Willsmere was finally closed in December 1988 and sold by the Government of Victoria
in the late 1980s. An extensive Conservation Analysis was completed in 1988 that recommended the bulk of the original buildings be conserved.
The hospital complex was eventually developed by Central Equity into residential apartments. The Willsmere residential development
was officially opened on 27 October 1993 by Premier Jeff Kennett
.
The remaining grasslands between the Eastern Freeway and the main hospital buildings, including the site of the asylum's cricket field were developed as the Kew Gardens residential estate. The Kew Gardens project was completed in 1995. The buildings and grounds of the Kew Cottages (formerly the grounds of Kew Asylum) are currently being redeveloped as the "Main Drive" project by Walker Corporation.
. Some of the early documents are open (or part open) to the public for viewing such as admission books, case notes, registers and medical journals. However, the majority of documents dating from 1915 onwards are closed, due to the sensitive nature of the material they contain and the possibility that first degree relatives may still be alive.
A number of photographs of Kew Asylum are kept by the Victorian Mental Health Library at Royal Melbourne Hospital
. The State Library of Victoria
also holds a number of early photographs of Kew. The University of Melbourne
has a small number of theses on Kew – the majority of which are short in length and are architecture-based. The exception to this is Cheryl Day's unpublished PhD thesis which is an ethnographic description of the first fifty years of Kew's existence. While the thesis was unpublished, it is available in PDF form through the University of Melbourne Library website.
Some contemporary accounts of life in Kew are available. Dr Paul Ward Farmer wrote an essay "Three weeks in the Kew Lunatic Asylum", describing his admission to Kew in the 1890s. Julian Thomas, an American reporter, wrote a series of articles for The Argus
in 1876–1877 under the pseudonym of "The Vagabond". Thomas was an attendant at Kew at the time. There are also excerpts of affidavits from patients, doctors and attendants at Kew (as well as other Victorian mental hospitals such as Royal Park
, Mont Park and Sunbury
) detailing the terrible conditions in the asylums during the 1920s in the book A Plea for Better Treatment of the Mentally Afflicted by Hon. William G. Higgs
.
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 between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew
Kew, Victoria
Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
, a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 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 were constructed between 1864 and 1872 to the design of architects G.W. Vivian and Frederick Kawerau of the Victorian Public Works Office to house the growing number of "lunatic
Lunatic
"Lunatic" is a commonly used term for a person who is mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, unpredictable; a condition once called lunacy. The word derives from lunaticus meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck".-Lunar hypothesis:...
s", "inebriates" and "idiots
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
" in the Colony of Victoria.
The first purpose built asylum in the Colony of Victoria, Kew was also larger and more expensive than its sister asylums at Ararat
Aradale Mental Hospital
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...
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...
. The asylum's buildings are typical examples of the French Second Empire style which was popular in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Melbourne. Designed to be elegant, beautiful, yet substantial, and to be viewed as 'a magnificent asylum for the insane' with the aim of portraying Melbourne as a civilised and benevolent city whilst avoiding the jail-like appearance of other asylums. These aims were furthered by the use of low Ha-Ha walls and extensively landscaped grounds. Long considered of cultural and historic significance to Melbourne, Kew Asylum and its complex of buildings were registered on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
in March 1978.
Despite initial grand plans and ideals, Kew Asylum had a difficult and chequered history contributing to several inquiries throughout its 117 years of operation, including a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
. Overcrowding, mismanagement, lack of resources, poor sanitation and disease were common criticisms during the asylum's first five decades; out-dated facilities and institutionalisation were criticisms of Kew's later period.
Kew continued to operate throughout the 20th century as a "Hospital for the Insane", "Mental Hospital", or "Psychiatric Hospital", treating acute, long-term and geriatric patients until it closed in December 1988. The main building and surrounding grounds were sold by the State Government in the 1980s and were redeveloped as residential properties.
Medical terms in this article are in the context of what was legally correct usage for that period where they appear in the text. Therefore "feeble-minded", "idiot", "imbecile", "lunatic", etc., should not be taken at their modern significance.
Site and planning
Yarra Bend Asylum
Yarra Bend Asylum was the first permanent institution established in Victoria that was devoted to the treatment of the mentally ill. It opened in 1848 as a ward of the Asylum at Tarban Creek in New South Wales. It was not officially called Yarra Bend Asylum until July 1851 when the Port Phillip...
, while only six years old, was considered unsuitable and Carlton Lunatic Asylum
Collingwood Stockade
Collingwood Stockade was a penal stockade in modern day Carlton North, Victoria, Australia. It was built in 1853 and was in use until 1866 when it was converted into an asylum, which then closed in 1873...
(which was originally a jail) was in a state of disrepair. As a result, in 1854 the Government of the Colony of Victoria commissioned a report proposing sites and designs for a new lunatic asylum. Contemporary educated opinion was that lunatic asylums should be built "on a healthy site, freely admitting light and air, and drainage ...[on] a gentle eminence in a fertile and agreeable country". In a report by the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
' Inspector of Asylums, Frederick Norton Manning
Frederick Norton Manning
Frederick Norton Manning was a medical practitioner, military surgeon, Inspector General of the Insane for the Colony of New South Wales, and was an Australian Lunatic Asylum Superintendent...
stated that "the site chosen is of primary importance. On it must depend the comfort, happiness and health of the inmates." Thus a hilltop site, across the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
from Yarra Bend
Yarra Bend Asylum
Yarra Bend Asylum was the first permanent institution established in Victoria that was devoted to the treatment of the mentally ill. It opened in 1848 as a ward of the Asylum at Tarban Creek in New South Wales. It was not officially called Yarra Bend Asylum until July 1851 when the Port Phillip...
was recommended in a report by G.W. Vivian of the Public Works Office. Vivian described the site as
The idea that breezes or wind-swept locations were healthy came from a wider Victorian
a section of land, about 400 acres in extent, situated on the River Yarra, about 4 miles from Melbourne, and ½ a mile to the north of the village of Kew ... the site selected is a fine slope, elevated about 100 feet above the level of the river, admitting of proper drainage and admirably adapted for ornamental grounds, the aspect chosen is south-east, and during the summer months the refreshing influence of the sea-breeze will be felt, without being exposed to south west gales.
G.W. Vivian, Report on the Proposed Kew Lunatic Asylum
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
belief that associated disease with congestion and squalor, and that miasmas of impure air caused epidemics. The area Vivian recommended for the asylum had originally been set aside for a village reserve. Locals from Kew were upset by the proposal and petitioned the government, to no avail. 340 acre (1.4 km²; 0.531250469717407 sq mi) of land in the County of Bourke, parish of Boroondara, city of Kew
Kew, Victoria
Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
were permanently reserved as a "Site for Lunatic Asylum" in the Government Gazette of 1864. Construction began in 1864, however was halted almost immediately with reports of inferior works on the foundations. An investigation followed and Frederick Kawerau resigned. Contractor Samuel Amess
Samuel Amess
Samuel Amess was Mayor of Melbourne from 1869–1870, after having joined the council in 1864. Born in Newburgh, Fife in Scotland, Amess immigrated to Victoria in 1852, and after success on the goldfields established himself as a building contractor...
continued construction at Kew using Kawerau's designs. They were derived from plans earlier outlined by Vivian, and were basically identical to Kawerau’s designs for Ararat
Aradale Mental Hospital
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...
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...
, though Kew was much larger, and more expensive at a cost of ₤198,334.
Distinctive features
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. Kew was also considered a barracks
Barracks
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...
style asylum due to its perceived resemblance to stockades or jails. The buildings are constructed from oversize bricks, made from local clay which was quarried on-site. The bricks were then rendered with cement. The central administration block is three storeyed with a mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
and cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
. Two storeyed ward wings extend to each side, one for each sex. Each wing has a four storey, mansard-roofed tower, which contained water tanks. 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, many of which were retained when the complex was redeveloped. Internally, the dormitories had 14 ft (4.3 m) ceilings and brightly coloured walls with the beds aligned in neat rows. The floors were of timber, principally so they could be scrubbed.
The primary access to the complex was from a tree-lined drive from Princess Street (now known as 'Main Drive') culminating in an elliptical carriageway in front of the main building. A second drive (now known as 'Lower Drive') extended from Princess Street to the rear gates of the asylum. This road was commonly used for deliveries to and from the asylum via the rear gatehouse.
While Kew's plan and detail are similar to its sister asylums at Ararat
Aradale Mental Hospital
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...
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...
, the Kew asylum is much larger with the front buildings and towers more impressive architecturally. Kew's distinctive towers and mansard roofs make it one of the most prominent architectural landmarks in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and is clearly visible on the eastern skyline.
Ha-Ha walls
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
described the walls as an 'excellent arrangement, as it enables the patients to see the outside world, and does away with that gaol appearance and feeling inculcated by the walls of the old asylums'. Many of Kew's Ha-Ha walls were retained and remain intact, unlike those at Beechworth and Ararat which were partially dismantled or the trenches were filled in.
Grounds and landscaping
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist.-Early life:...
, director of the Botanic Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over...
. Initially, the grounds were planted with many conifers
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
and large growing trees, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s, elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
s and Moreton Bay Figs; and trees indigenous to the area, River Red Gum, Yellow Box
Eucalyptus melliodora
Eucalyptus melliodora, commonly known as Yellow Box, is a medium sized to occasionally tall eucalypt. The bark is variable ranging from smooth with an irregular, short stocking, to covering most of the trunk, fibrous, dense or loosely held, grey, yellow or red-brown, occasionally very coarse,...
and Lightwood were retained in the landscape. In 1913 the landscape gardener Hugh Linaker was employed to lay out the grounds of Mont Park Asylum. As landscape gardener for the State Lunacy Department he commenced a program of landscape improvements and tree plantings at other asylums in Victoria, including Kew.
The conifer plantings and oak avenues along Main and Lower Drives were well established and of a mature size by the 1940s. Conifers were widely planted from the 1860s along with Moreton Bay Figs and occasionally Oaks. Oaks and elms were more widely planted from the 1880s. It is not known if Linaker was responsible for the oak avenues, but it appears that many of the conifers, Monterey Pine
Monterey Pine
The Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata, family Pinaceae, also known as the Insignis Pine or Radiata Pine is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California....
s, Canary Island Pines, Monterey Cypress, Hoop Pine, Bunya Bunya Pines
Araucaria bidwillii
Araucaria bidwillii, the Bunya Pine, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the genus Araucaria, family Araucariaceae. It is native to south-east Queensland with two small disjunct populations in northern Queensland's World Heritage listed Wet Tropics, and many fine old specimens planted in New...
and Himalayan Cedars, predate Linaker and the oaks and elms may have been planted soon after his appointment. The use of Bhutan Cypress in the landscape is almost certainly due to Linaker as he favoured upright trees. It is possible that the two remnant Monterey Cypress along Main Drive and a Monterey Pine along Lower Drive are trees from an earlier planting scheme. Several trees and plants on the grounds of Kew Asylum and Kew Cottages
Kew Cottages
Kew Cottages aka Kew Idiot Asylum, Kew Idiot Ward, Kew Children's Cottages and finally as Kew Residential Services is a decommissioned special development school and residential service located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
have been classified as of historical significance by the Victorian Heritage Council and the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), and have been protected during the property's redevelopment.
Patients
Many of Kew's early patients were transferred from Yarra Bend AsylumYarra Bend Asylum
Yarra Bend Asylum was the first permanent institution established in Victoria that was devoted to the treatment of the mentally ill. It opened in 1848 as a ward of the Asylum at Tarban Creek in New South Wales. It was not officially called Yarra Bend Asylum until July 1851 when the Port Phillip...
and Carlton Lunatic Asylum
Collingwood Stockade
Collingwood Stockade was a penal stockade in modern day Carlton North, Victoria, Australia. It was built in 1853 and was in use until 1866 when it was converted into an asylum, which then closed in 1873...
and were housed in the two main wings – men in the right wing, women in the left. The wards were dormitory style and were divided by patient type – male/female, paying/pauper, manageable/refractory. The area of the women's wards was smaller due to the laundries and drying courtyards being located on the women's side of the asylum.
Admission process
- At the request of a friend, relative or acquaintance, with medical certificates written by two medical practitioners. This method was amended by The Mental Health Act 1959 which stated a person could be admitted upon the recommendation of a medical practitioner who had examined the person. As soon as possible after admission the superintendent of the hospital was required to examine the patient and either approve the recommended admission or discharge the patient.
- Any (lunatic) person found wandering at large or not under proper care and control could be brought before two justices who could order the person's removal to an asylum. The police were usually responsible for bringing the person before the two justices.
- Any prisoner of the Crown thought to be a lunatic could be removed from a jail to an asylum by order of the Chief Secretary.
- Voluntary Boarders were those who requested that they be admitted for a mutually agreed period of time (from 1915 onwards).
Until the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, there was little change in the admission process at Kew. Upon arriving, a variable amount of data was collected on the person being admitted. These basic details included age, sex, marital status and former address (or name of the asylum/jail transferred from). Other details requested included names of relatives or friends, the person's religion and occupation and whether others in the family have ever been classified as insane. Other information recorded, where available, were dates of previous admissions, "form of mental disorder", bodily condition ("satisfactory", "unsatisfactory", "feeble", et cetera) and "duration of existing attack". From approximately 1900 onwards, photographs were usually taken on admission. If the person was very restless, the photograph was omitted. Belongings, such as books and clothes, were often returned to friends or family. Inmates were required to dress in institutional clothes. This was useful in a number of ways as it assisted the public in easily identifying escaped inmates; reduced the need to request clothes (or money for clothes) from the inmate's family or their estate; and minimised inmate conflict when inmates swapped or stole clothes from each other. The property and estates of people who were deemed to be insane were controlled and administered by the Master-in-Equity, also known as the Master-in-Lunacy.
Diagnoses
Emil Kraepelin
Emil Kraepelin was a German psychiatrist. H.J. Eysenck's Encyclopedia of Psychology identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, as well as of psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics. Kraepelin believed the chief origin of psychiatric disease to be biological and genetic...
era
- Delusional insanityInsanityInsanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
- DementiaDementiaDementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
- EpilepsyEpilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
- General paralysis/paresis of the insane
- Idiocy
- Inebriation
- Melencholia
- Puerperal maniaManiaMania, the presence of which is a criterion for certain psychiatric diagnoses, is a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/ or energy levels. In a sense, it is the opposite of depression...
It should be noted that some of these terms are still in use today, however they may now have different meanings. For example, from examining the notes on some of Kew's early "dementia" patients, it can be deduced that many were most likely suffering from what we now term severe depression, catatonia
Catatonia
Catatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein ....
or schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
.
Children at Kew
In the early days of Kew Asylum, the distinction between 'lunaticLunatic
"Lunatic" is a commonly used term for a person who is mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, unpredictable; a condition once called lunacy. The word derives from lunaticus meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck".-Lunar hypothesis:...
s' and 'idiots' (or 'imbecile
Imbecile
Imbecile is a term for moderate to severe mental retardation, as well as for a type of criminal. It arises from the Latin word imbecillus, meaning weak, or weak-minded. "Imbecile" was once applied to people with an IQ of 26-50, between "moron" and "idiot" .The term was further refined into mental...
s') was not made. Therefore, many wards of the state
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
, 'difficult' children and children with mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
were housed with the adults at Kew. By 1879 nearly 600 children, representing a quarter of all inmates, were accommodated in various institutions in Victoria. In the 1880s the government decided that a separate building should be built to accommodate child inmates. The Zox Commission recommended the Yarra Bend Asylum
Yarra Bend Asylum
Yarra Bend Asylum was the first permanent institution established in Victoria that was devoted to the treatment of the mentally ill. It opened in 1848 as a ward of the Asylum at Tarban Creek in New South Wales. It was not officially called Yarra Bend Asylum until July 1851 when the Port Phillip...
site as appropriate for buildings for 'imbecile' children. However, a site between the main building and the entrance gates of Kew was chosen and in 1885 a contract was let for the erection of cottage units. The Kew Idiot Ward
Kew Cottages
Kew Cottages aka Kew Idiot Asylum, Kew Idiot Ward, Kew Children's Cottages and finally as Kew Residential Services is a decommissioned special development school and residential service located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
(Kew Cottages) was opened in May 1887. The Idiot Ward was initially considered a ward of Kew Lunatic Asylum, however later became known as a separate institution – Kew Idiot Asylum. Although the Idiot Asylum only admitted children, many of those children remained in residence at the Cottages as adults.
Inebriates at Kew
Under the Lunacy Statute of 1867, the Master-in-Lunacy was able commit inebriates to an asylum for any period up to twelve months. Inebriates who were able to pay the lodging fees at private inebriate asylums were able to be housed in inebriate-specific institutions such as Northcote Inebriate Asylum. Paupers were placed in lunatic asylums.After the 1888 Zox Commission into Asylums, all private/semi-private inebriate asylums were abolished under the provisions of the Inebriate Asylums Act 1888. Northcote was taken over by the Government of Victoria in 1890 and converted into a public inebriate retreat. Brightside and Lara Inebriate Retreats were opened soon after, and many alcoholics were moved out of the lunatic asylums.
Famous patients
- Ambrose DysonAmbrose DysonAmbrose Dyson , often known as Amb Dyson was an Australian illustrator and political cartoonist, born at Alfredton, near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, the son of George Dyson, then a hawker and later a mining engineer, and his wife Jane, née Mayall. He was educated at state schools at Ballarat and...
– Political cartoonist and satirist. Died in Kew Asylum. - Edward/Ellen De Lacy Evans – Picaresque cross-dressing woman from the 1870s.
- Patrick McShanePatrick McShanePatrick George McShane was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Test matches between 1885 and 1888....
– Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er & umpire. Died in Kew Asylum in 1903. - Billy MidwinterBilly MidwinterWilliam Evans Midwinter was a cricketer who played four Test matches for England, sandwiched in between eight Tests that he played for Australia...
– Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er who played for both Australia and England. Died in Kew Asylum in 1890. - Paris NesbitParis NesbitParis Nesbit, QC , born Edward Pariss Nesbit, was an Australian lawyer.Nesbit was born at Angaston in South Australia to schoolmaster Edward Planta Nesbit and Ann, née Pariss. He was a cousin of the English writer Edith Nesbit. His mother died when he was two...
– barrister, politician and newspaper editor. - Walter Richardson – father of Henry Handel RichardsonHenry Handel RichardsonHenry Handel Richardson, the pseudonym used by Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, was an Australian author. She took the name "Henry Handel" because at that time, many people did not take women's writing seriously, so she used a male name...
, Australian author. - Harry TrottHarry TrottGeorge Henry Stevens "Harry" Trott was an Australian Test cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Although Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and outstanding fielder, "... it is as a captain that he is best remembered, an understanding judge of...
– Australian Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er and Australian team captain. - Tom WillsTom WillsThomas Wentworth "Tom" Wills was an Australian all-round sportsman, umpire, coach and administrator who is credited with being a catalyst towards the invention of Australian rules football....
– Victorian cricketerVictorian BushrangersThe Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
, one of the founders of Australian rules footballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
Investigations and inquiries
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
. The first inquiry occurred in 1876, only five years after Kew opened. Another notable inquiry occurred in 1907 after a severe outbreak of Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
, which at the time was thought to have been virtually eradicated in Melbourne. This inquiry in turn lead to amendments to the Lunacy Act, improvements to Kew (and the state's other asylums) and the planned construction of Mont Park Asylum.
Zox Royal Commission
Public outcry at the treatment of the insane in the colony's lunatic asylums increased in the 1870s, fueled by articles and woodcuts in magazines and the writings of "The Vagabond" in The ArgusThe Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
. Officially known as Royal Commission on Asylums for the Insane and Inebriate 1884–1886, the Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
chaired by Ephraim Zox
Ephraim Zox
Ephraim Laman Zox was an Australian financier and politician.Zox was born in Liverpool, England, son of Eliazer Laman Zox , proprietor of a large cap-making business. He arrived in Melbourne in December 1852 and worked as an assistant to his cousin Lewis Myer Myers in a softgoods firm...
was required to inquire into and report upon the state and condition of Asylums for the Insane and Inebriates, both public and private. The Royal Commission made some sixty five recommendations in its final report. A number of the Commission's recommendations were implemented prior to the presentation of its final report, others were implemented through the Lunacy Amendment Act 1888 and some recommendations were not implemented until proclamation of the Lunacy Act 1903 in 1905.
The Commission recommended that criminal patients be kept apart from other patients, thus male criminally insane patients were moved to J Ward
J 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
Aradale Mental Hospital
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...
and female dangerous patients to Sunbury Asylum
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....
.
The Commission also recommended that inebriates
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and idiots
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
be housed in asylums separate from the insane which led to the construction of Kew Idiot Ward
Kew Cottages
Kew Cottages aka Kew Idiot Asylum, Kew Idiot Ward, Kew Children's Cottages and finally as Kew Residential Services is a decommissioned special development school and residential service located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
and various Inebriate Asylums.
The Zox Commission further recommended increasing the role of medical doctors at the asylums and that "Medical men have the sole and exclusive right to determine whether their fellow citizens are sane or insane. The medical expert therefore stands in the position of witness, jury and judge". Prior to (and in some instances, for a time after) the Zox Commission, many superintendents at asylums did not have any training in insanity.
Changing names, changing society
Government of Victoria
The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
various Health Acts. From its establishment until 1905 the institution at Kew was known as an asylum – a title which emphasised its function as a place of detention rather than a place where people could possibly be cured. Kew was also for a short period known as the Metropolitan Lunatic Asylum at Kew, possibly to differentiate it from its sister country asylums at Ararat
Aradale Mental Hospital
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...
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...
. During this period, all people committed to the asylum were termed 'inmates' rather than patients - again emphasising detention rather than cure.
The Lunacy Act of 1903 changed the title of all Victorian "asylums" to "hospitals for the insane" however this Act didn’t come into operation until March 1905. From this time onwards, inmates began being referred to as patients. The Mental Hygiene Act of 1933 again altered Kew's title to "Kew Mental Hospital". The move from 'asylum' to 'hospital' and 'inmate' to 'patient' also reflected the increased involvement of the medical profession in the management and treatment of mental illness.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
there was a period of significant change in the treatment and prognosis
Prognosis
Prognosis is a medical term to describe the likely outcome of an illness.When applied to large statistical populations, prognostic estimates can be very accurate: for example the statement "45% of patients with severe septic shock will die within 28 days" can be made with some confidence, because...
for people with a mental illness. Drugs such as Lithium carbonate
Lithium carbonate
Lithium carbonate is a chemical compound of lithium, carbon, and oxygen with the formula Li2CO3. This colorless salt is widely used in the processing of metal oxides and has received attention for its use in psychiatry. It is found in nature as the rare mineral zabuyelite.-Properties:Like almost...
(discovered in 1948 by Australian psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Dr John Cade
John Cade
For the former Maryland State Senator, see John A. CadeFor the Louisiana Republican state chairman, see John H. Cade, Jr.Dr John Frederick Joseph Cade AO was an Australian psychiatrist credited with discovering the effects of lithium carbonate as a mood stabilizer in the treatment of bipolar...
) and chlorpromazine
Chlorpromazine
Chlorpromazine is a typical antipsychotic...
(discovered in 1950's) lead to improvements in treatment. Thus many people with a mental illness could in many cases be treated in hospital for a shorter period and return to the community. The Mental Health Act of 1959 designated hospitals providing short-term diagnosis and accommodation as "psychiatric hospitals". Therefore any institution could have a section designated as a mental hospital for long-term or indefinite hospitalisation and a section designated as a psychiatric hospital for short term diagnosis and treatment of acute psychiatric illness.
In 1962 the decision was made to no longer house acute or short-term patients at Kew and therefore it was formally proclaimed a Mental Hospital under the Mental Health Act of 1959. Up until this time, Kew Mental Hospital was still colloquially known as 'Kew Asylum'. In the 1960s Kew began to be known as 'Willsmere' however some authors state the name change to 'Willsmere' was later.
In January 1982 three wards of Kew Mental Hospital were proclaimed a Psychiatric Hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1959. These wards were then known as the Willsmere Unit and were established to receive and accommodate short-term acute patients.
Shrinking grounds
When opened, Kew's extensive 340 acre (1.4 km²; 0.531250469717407 sq mi) of grounds were intended to be used for farming, agriculture and recreation for the inmates. However as treatment methods, inmate profiles, superintendents and societal factors changed, use of the grounds changed accordingly.A large area of the grounds between the asylum main buildings and Princess street was allocated to Children's Cottages in 1885. When the Children's Cottages became a separate institution, the area surrounding the cottages became no longer under asylum management and was no longer for asylum inmate use. Widening and straightening of Princess street in 1939-1940 resulted in the demolishing of Kew's gatehouses, loss of land and the relocation of the main gates to Victoria Park, Kew. Construction of Yarra Boulevard during the 1930s lead to a section of the asylum's river frontage being acquired by the roads department.
In 1958, 58 acre (0.23471788 km²; 0.0906250801282636 sq mi) of the northern section of the asylum grounds were offered under a Crown Grant to the Talbot Colony for Epileptics. Later known as Royal Talbot (now part of Austin Health
Austin Hospital, Melbourne
The Austin Hospital is a major teaching public hospital located in Melbourne's north eastern suburb of Heidelberg, and is administrated by Austin Health, along with the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre.-History:...
), the hospital and training centre continue to operate on the site to this day. An area of Kew's grounds adjacent to the Talbot Colony was granted to the Guide Dog Association of Victoria for the building of a guide dog
Guide dog
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...
breeding and training centre, which opened in 1962. The construction of the Eastern Freeway in the early 1970s also resulted in property loss for both Royal Talbot and Kew Asylum.
Decommissioning and redevelopment
City of Kew
The City of Kew was a Local Government Area located about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, on the southeast bank of the Yarra River. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994.-History:...
, W.D.Birrell, produced a report on the immediate post-war priorities for Kew. Birrell strongly urged the council to propose the closure of Kew Asylum, with the grounds to be subdivided and '...laid out on modern town planning principles with some 700 to 800 homes'. According to Birrell, this would have been an ideal post-war scheme as it would provide employment and much needed land for housing. Birrell's proposal was not new; ever since the establishment of the asylum, proposals for its closure and redevelopment had recurred every few years. Birrell's plans did not eventuate as overcrowding at other mental hospitals throughout Victoria necessitated Kew's continued operation.
By 1986, Willsmere Hospital's bed numbers had been reduced to 430, three quarters of which were for psychogeriatric patients.
As a result of ongoing mental health reform, the then Labor Government of Victoria commissioned the 'Willsmere project', the purpose of which was to plan for decommissioning the hospital and develop services and facilities in the community. Long-term psychogeriatric patients were transferred to new psychogeriatric nursing homes in the suburbs, to a re-opened ward of Plenty Psychiatric Hospital in Bundoora
Bundoora, Victoria
Bundoora is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north from the Melbourne central business district. Its Local Government Area are the cities of Banyule, Darebin and Whittlesea. At the 2006 Census, Bundoora had a population of 24,018....
, to the refurbished Heatherton Tuberculosis Sanatorium or to other psychiatric institutions. Acutely unwell patients that would have previously been admitted to Willsmere were now sent to newly built units at Maroondah Hospital, Monash Medical Centre
Monash Medical Centre
Monash Medical Centres is a multicampus teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Clayton campus is located in Clayton, whilst the Moorabbin Campus is at Bentleigh East...
or Peninsula Hospital
Frankston Hospital
Frankston Hospital is a major regional public hospital, located in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia...
.
Willsmere was finally closed in December 1988 and sold by the Government of Victoria
Government of Victoria
The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
in the late 1980s. An extensive Conservation Analysis was completed in 1988 that recommended the bulk of the original buildings be conserved.
The hospital complex was eventually developed by Central Equity into residential apartments. The Willsmere residential development
Willsmere
Willsmere is a landmark building and residential estate located on Wiltshire Drive in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.The complex was constructed between 1864 and 1872 to the design of architects in the Public Works Department namely Frederick Kawerau and GW Vivian.-Architecture:Set on high...
was officially opened on 27 October 1993 by Premier Jeff Kennett
Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
.
The remaining grasslands between the Eastern Freeway and the main hospital buildings, including the site of the asylum's cricket field were developed as the Kew Gardens residential estate. The Kew Gardens project was completed in 1995. The buildings and grounds of the Kew Cottages (formerly the grounds of Kew Asylum) are currently being redeveloped as the "Main Drive" project by Walker Corporation.
Documented histories
There are few documented or published histories of Kew Asylum. The majority of information available on the asylum comes from the Kew's official records which are now held by the Public Record Office VictoriaPublic Record Office Victoria
Public Record Office Victoria is the government archives of the Australian State of Victoria. PROV was created by the Victorian Public Records Act 1973 with responsibility for the better preservation management and utilization of the public records of the State.-History:Prior to 1903 there was no...
. Some of the early documents are open (or part open) to the public for viewing such as admission books, case notes, registers and medical journals. However, the majority of documents dating from 1915 onwards are closed, due to the sensitive nature of the material they contain and the possibility that first degree relatives may still be alive.
A number of photographs of Kew Asylum are kept by the Victorian Mental Health Library at Royal Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
. The State Library of Victoria
State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
also holds a number of early photographs of Kew. The University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
has a small number of theses on Kew – the majority of which are short in length and are architecture-based. The exception to this is Cheryl Day's unpublished PhD thesis which is an ethnographic description of the first fifty years of Kew's existence. While the thesis was unpublished, it is available in PDF form through the University of Melbourne Library website.
Some contemporary accounts of life in Kew are available. Dr Paul Ward Farmer wrote an essay "Three weeks in the Kew Lunatic Asylum", describing his admission to Kew in the 1890s. Julian Thomas, an American reporter, wrote a series of articles for The Argus
The Argus (Australia)
The Argus was a morning daily newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Widely known as a conservative newspaper for most of its history, it adopted a left leaning approach from 1949...
in 1876–1877 under the pseudonym of "The Vagabond". Thomas was an attendant at Kew at the time. There are also excerpts of affidavits from patients, doctors and attendants at Kew (as well as other Victorian mental hospitals such as Royal Park
Royal Park Hospital
Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital, commonly known as Royal Park is a former Receiving House and Psychiatric Hospital located in Parkville. Operating for over 90 years, Royal Park Hospital was the first psychiatric hospital established in Victoria after the Lunacy Act of 1903, and was intended for...
, Mont Park and 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....
) detailing the terrible conditions in the asylums during the 1920s in the book A Plea for Better Treatment of the Mentally Afflicted by Hon. William G. Higgs
William Higgs
William Guy Higgs was an Australian politician.William Higgs was born on 18 January 1862 at Wingham, New South Wales, the son of a Cornish storekeeper, William Guy Higgs....
.
See also
- Ararat Lunatic AsylumAradale Mental HospitalAradale 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...
- Beechworth Lunatic 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...
- Kew CottagesKew CottagesKew Cottages aka Kew Idiot Asylum, Kew Idiot Ward, Kew Children's Cottages and finally as Kew Residential Services is a decommissioned special development school and residential service located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
- List of Australian mental asylums
- Willsmere residential developmentWillsmereWillsmere is a landmark building and residential estate located on Wiltshire Drive in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.The complex was constructed between 1864 and 1872 to the design of architects in the Public Works Department namely Frederick Kawerau and GW Vivian.-Architecture:Set on high...
- Yarra Bend AsylumYarra Bend AsylumYarra Bend Asylum was the first permanent institution established in Victoria that was devoted to the treatment of the mentally ill. It opened in 1848 as a ward of the Asylum at Tarban Creek in New South Wales. It was not officially called Yarra Bend Asylum until July 1851 when the Port Phillip...