The Mount View Lunatic Asylum (alternates: Mt. View Lunatic Asylum, Mount View Asylum) was a psychiatric hospital

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 on 113 acres (45.7 ha) in Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Government House

Government House, Wellington

Government House in Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand is the principal residence of the Governor-General of New Zealand. It was designed by Claude Paton in the office of John Campbell, Government Architect. Built between 1908 and 1910, the house's grounds total 12 ha, and the house is 4200 m²...

 is located on what were the asylum grounds. Work began in 1872, and the hospital opened in 1873 to accommodate 100 patients in an area above Basin Reserve

Basin Reserve

The Basin Reserve , is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. Some argue that its proximity to the city, its Historic Place status and its age make it the most famous cricket ground in New Zealand...

. It replaced Karori Lunatic Asylum

Karori Lunatic Asylum

Karori Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital in Karori. Established in 1854, it was New Zealand's first asylum. The first patient was admitted in the same year, but it would be 1858 before a second patient arrived. Poorly run by untrained staff, there was only an occasional doctor's visit, and...

, the first asylum in the country. An expansion was required soon after it opened to accommodate more patients so that by 1880, a two-story wooden structure was enlarged with two wings, doubling the institution's capacity. Around 1885, two additional wards were constructed. By 1905, there were 250 patients but within the next five years, they were transferred to Porirua Lunatic Asylum

Porirua Lunatic Asylum

Porirua Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital located in Porirua. Established in 1887, it was at one time the largest hospital in New Zealand...

and other asylums, before Mount View's closure in 1910.