What is the history of the Gladesville Mental Hospital?
The Gladesville Mental Hospital, formerly known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital established in 1838 in Gladesville, Sydney, New South Wales in Australia. The hospital officially closed in 1993, with the last inpatient services ceasing in 1997.
What was the name of the last mental hospital in Australia?
/ 33.8379°S 151.1309°E / -33.8379; 151.1309 a., c., d., e. The Gladesville Mental Hospital, formerly known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital established in 1838 in Gladesville, Sydney, New South Wales in Australia. The hospital officially closed in 1993, with the last inpatient services ceasing in 1997.
How many patients are buried in a mass grave at Gladesville?
1,200 patients buried in a mass grave: Inside Sydney's haunted Gladesville Mental Hospital. Content Warning – This article discusses mental health facilities including the experiences of previous patients and may be triggering to some readers. Should you wish to talk, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Where was the first mental asylum in Australia?
Before 1838, people with mental or emotional problems in the Sydney area were housed in a "lunatic asylum" in Gladesville, a suburb located on the Parramatta River's Northern banks between Sydney and Parramatta, or at the Female Factory in Parramatta, twenty-four kilometres west of Sydney.
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When did Gladesville Mental Hospital close?
The Hospital officially closed in 1993, with the last inpatient services ceased in 1997.
When was the Priory in Gladesville built?
One notable acquisition was the heritage-listed The Priory, a two-storey sandstone house in Salter Street, Gladesville. The house was built in the late 1840s, possibly by a family named Stubbs. In the 1850s, it was sold to the Marist Fathers, who influenced the early development of Hunters Hill.
Where was the Lunatic Asylum in Sydney?
Before 1838, people with mental or emotional problems in the Sydney area were housed in a "lunatic asylum" in Gladesville, a suburb located on the Parramatta River's Northern banks between Sydney and Parramatta, or at the Female Factory in Parramatta, twenty-four kilometres west of Sydney. In the 1830s, construction of a purpose-built asylum began on the banks of the Parramatta River, in the area now known as Gladesville. The original sandstone complex, known initially as Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, was designed by the Colonial Architect, Mortimer Lewis, between 1836 and 1838. Patients were then transferred from Liverpool and the Female Factory. James Barnet designed additional buildings in the hospital grounds precinct.
Who was the first medical superintendent of the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum?
The first supervisor was John Thomas Digby, who sought to improve the treatment of the mentally ill, as did his successor, Frederick Norton Manning. On a visit to Sydney in 1867, Manning was invited by Henry Parkes to become medical superintendent of the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum. Before accepting, Manning went overseas and studied methods of patient care and administration of asylums; on his return to Sydney, he submitted a notable report. He was appointed to Tarban Creek on 15 October 1868 and immediately reported on the isolation of patients from their relations in accommodation best described as 'prison-like and gloomy', the inadequate facilities for their gainful employment and recreation and the monotonous diets deficient in both quantity and quality. In January 1869, the asylum's name was changed to the Hospital for the Insane, Gladesville, wherein patients were to receive treatment rather than be confined in a 'cemetery for diseased intellects'. By 1879 radical changes in patient care and accommodation had been made. Gladesville was extended and modernized, and an asylum for imbeciles set up in Newcastle and a temporary asylum at Cooma. Manning minimized the use of restraint and provided for patient activities
When did the asylum change its name?
In January 1869, the asylum's name was changed to the Hospital for the Insane, Gladesville, wherein patients were to receive treatment rather than be confined in a 'cemetery for diseased intellects'. By 1879 radical changes in patient care and accommodation had been made.
Who designed Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum?
The original sandstone complex, known initially as Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, was designed by the Colonial Architect, Mortimer Lewis, between 1836 and 1838. Patients were then transferred from Liverpool and the Female Factory. James Barnet designed additional buildings in the hospital grounds precinct.
What is the Gladesville Hospital?
The Gladesville Hospital is surrounded by sprawling open spaces, trees and a few remnants of old gardens and stone walls. Around the shoreline winds a network of paths that lead you through lush vegetation and down stairs to small sandy beaches.
What were the gardens in the Asylum?
Following the construction of the Asylum boundary walls in 1866, many of the inmates were employed in the enclosed vegetable gardens , and also permitted to cultivate their own ornamental gardens outside the walls. By the late 1860s, the Royal Botanic Gardens were assisting the hospital by regularly donating exotic plant species. Pathways, rockeries and other garden structures were laid out throughout the grounds, while the haphazard native scrub was replaced by orderly lawns and imported plantings.
What were asylum inmates induced to do?
During the early years, the Asylum inmates were induced to work with rewards of food and tobacco. At this time patients were responsible for clearing much of the original forest around the asylum grounds.
What was the Royal Botanic Gardens doing in the late 1860s?
By the late 1860s, the Royal Botanic Gardens were assisting the hospital by regularly donating exotic plant species. Pathways, rockeries and other garden structures were laid out throughout the grounds, while the haphazard native scrub was replaced by orderly lawns and imported plantings.
Is Gladesville Hospital a memorable place?
An afternoon’s exploration of the historic Gladesville Hospital complex was filled with many surprises! Not only did we discover beautifully maintained buildings, but also a large forgotten structure… an ornate ruin consumed by nature, tangled in a mass of vines and covered in moss and lichen. Gladesville Hospital is certainly a memorable destination, a place with an interesting history, character buildings and peaceful surrounds with water views.
What is the story of Gladesville?
The story of Gladesville is not only one of mistakes and misery, but of learning, of bravery and of heroism, of brilliant minds and courageous staff who changed the system of mental health in Australia forever.
Where was the Tarban Creek Insane Asylum?
This meant it was far enough away from most of the population to be isolated, but close enough for resupply. The very first superintendent of the Asylum was a former employee of the Saint Mary of Bethlehem Mental Hospital of London - the place that came to be known by its nickname, "Bedlam". This became a becoming a byword for "scene of mad confusion". It also lends its name to the bay the hospital overlooks, on the Parramatta River.
Who was the first superintendent of the Asylum?
The very first superintendent of the Asylum was a former employee of the Saint Mary of Bethlehem Mental Hospital of London - the place that came to be known by its nickname, "Bedlam". This became a becoming a byword for "scene of mad confusion".
What was the purpose of the Liverpool Court House in the 1830s?
In the 1830s, a section of Liverpool court house, and a converted barn in Rouse Hill, were being used to care for people with issues ranging from depression, dementia, mental disability, to every form of mental illness imaginable.
What is the name of the haunted hospital in Sydney?
Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, the film site, has a reputation as one of Sydney's most haunted buildings. The building boasts a rich history, dating back to 1873.
Where was Ravenswood filmed?
Sydney-based film Ravenswood was shot at a real-life abandoned psychiatric hospital in Lilyfield last year staring Australian actors. Now months before the movie is due to be released, cast members have revealed the terrifying encounters they experienced inside the former insane asylum.
When did Gladesville Mental Hospital close?
Gladesville Mental Hospital. Sitting on the appropriately named Bedlam Point, Sydney’s first ever psychiatric hospital opened its doors in 1838, and racked up ghost story after ghost story until it eventually closed in 1997. The facility was unkindly known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum when it began doling out its infamous brand ...
How many people were executed at Darlinghurst Gaol?
This imposing sandstone prison was transformed into the National Art School in 1995, but the ghosts of the 76 people who were executed at its gallows never left. Hangings were conducted until 1908 and were even public affairs before 1852, then when you add dozens more murders and suicides to the tally, Darlinghurst Gaol produced hundreds of restless phantoms that are still believed to spook the site. Visitors can now go on tours of the historic colonial gaol, stepping through the dark stories of a place dubbed ‘Starvinghurst’ for its paltry rations and grisly conditions.
What is the name of the road in Sydney that is haunted by ghosts?
The Wakehurst Parkway is infamous for the supernatural occurrences it inflicts on terrified drivers en route from Seaforth to Narrabeen, particularly around historic body dumping site Deep Creek Reserve – reportedly cars lock themselves, windscreen wipers go berserk, and ghostly apparitions of white women and green men spring up in rear-view mirrors. Skeptics can hop behind the wheel at midnight to test it out for themselves.
What is the most haunted place in Sydney?
One of Sydney’s most iconic colonial sites is also one of its most haunted, riddled with apparitions and mystifying disappearances. Cockatoo Island – a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its association with convict transportation in the 18th and 19th centuries – served as a colonial prison, a dockyard and a reformatory school for misbehaving girls, leading to decades of appalling mistreatment and plenty of botched escapes. The island now hosts haunted history night tours, revealing the secrets, scandals and skeletons that haunt the harbour’s largest island.
Where is the most haunted place in Australia?
Picton, a small town in the Macarthur region just south-west of Sydney, is one of Australia’s most haunted areas, reporting paranormal activity in its old hospitals, pubs and council chambers. But the town’s most spooky site is the Redbank Range railway tunnel, which was used to store mustard gas tanks during World War Two, as well as the scene of far too many suicides from people throwing themselves in front of trains over the years. Emily Bollard is the tunnel’s most notorious poltergeist, appearing since her mysterious death way back in 1916.
What happened to Ray Blackstone?
The legend goes that 14-year-old Ray Blackstone died swimming in a dam on the property before 13-year-old Noel William Gregory succumbed to appendicitis in the school house three decades later. The ghostly spirits of the two boys reputedly still play together at the mansion now owned by the local golf club, reminding visitors of the opulent home’s haunted past.
Why were asylums built in Sydney?
WITHOUT the luxury of antipsychotic drugs, Sydney’s early asylums were designed to keep the “lunatics” out of the public eye.
What conditions were there at the asylum?
Conditions at the asylum were cramped. Picture: Leyden
When was the first asylum in Sydney built?
Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum was Sydney’s first purpose-built asylum, opened in 1838 at the aptly named Bedlam Point, on the shores of the Parramatta River.
How many corpses were there in the asylum?
The 1000-plus corpses under the asylum illustrated the stigma that mental health had at the time.
What was the complaint of a patient that was admitted to the hospital?
And once a patient was admitted, their complaints about grave injustices were often simply noted by doctors as further evidence of their delusion and insanity. For many, there was no escape.
When did the Brooklyn River take its first patients?
Since this tiny speck of land on the Brooklyn River took its first 20 patients in 1911, it has seen a string of mysterious drownings, sexual abuse allegations and murders.
When did the medical board investigate the deaths of two patients?
On July 1, 1850, a Medical Board of Inquiry convened to investigate the deaths of two patients. “In this instance, on May 23, 1849, a maniacal patient fractured the skull of another patient with a chamber pot,” Dr Terrence Smith writes in a 2005 University of Western Sydney study.
Overview
The Gladesville Mental Hospital, formerly known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital established in 1838 in Gladesville, Sydney, New South Wales in Australia. The hospital officially closed in 1993, with the last inpatient services ceasing in 1997.
Description and history
Before 1838, people with mental or emotional problems in the Sydney area were housed in a "lunatic asylum" in Gladesville, a suburb located on the Parramatta River's Northern banks between Sydney and Parramatta, or at the Female Factory in Parramatta, twenty-four kilometres west of Sydney. In the 1830s, construction of a purpose-built asylum began on the banks of the Parramatta River, in the area now known as Gladesville. The original sandstone complex, known i…
Heritage listings
The following buildings and structures have various heritage listings on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, the local government register of the New South Wales Heritage Database, and/or the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate.
• Cypress Grove, Victoria Road
• Doctor's Residences, south side of Punt Road gates and around Crown Close commonly called The Circle
See also
• Callan Park Hospital for the Insane
• Parramatta Female Factory
• Society of Mary (Marists) in Australia
External links
• "Search: Heritage Register". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Government of New South Wales.
The Final Resting Place
Architecture
- On our first visit we spent a good few hours admiring the historic architecture, wandering down roads lined with large trees and character stone walls. We knew we wanted to see the surrounding parklands but soon realized we just didn’t have the time or energy to do it justice. The following week we visited again! This time we followed the shoreline of the Parramatta River, just below a…
Parklands & Waterfront Reserves
- The Gladesville Hospital is surrounded by sprawling open spaces, trees and a few remnants of old gardens and stone walls. Around the shoreline winds a network of paths that lead you through lush vegetation and down stairs to small sandy beaches.
Remnants of A Once Flourishing Garden
- On one of the tracks is an information board that provides insight into the development of the hospital gardens: “The isolated and picturesque bushland setting of Bedlam Bay influenced the Colonial Government’s decision to establish the Lunatic Asylum here 1835. At that time, a humane new philosophy was emerging among the medical profession which held that the mentally distu…