(All photos are my own, as seen on my Instagram @3121.girl – besides the screenshots of news articles taken from TROVE and the map from Google Maps)
As some of you may know already, I have a fascination with old Insane Asylums, and am particularly knowledgeable on the many ‘Asylums’ Victoria (Australia) once had. So I thought that it would be fitting to write a post on this obsession and provide you with a short post of my in depth knowledge on some of Australia’s most recognised Lunatic Asylums. So let’s jump straight into it and kick this series of posts off with one of Australia’s most notorious mental health facilities – one that was ordered to shut down on over ten different occasions (noted from my research on TROVE). Why was it bad enough to be ordered to shut down THAT many times? Continue reading to find out more…
Last month I was lucky enough to get invited to go on a private tour of the grounds and buildings of the former Kew Lunatic Asylum, located in Kew (Melbourne). I was taken around by the Willsmere community leaders Jack and Adam who were extremely helpful in terms of allowing me to understand the past and what had happened within the grounds, and even though the Asylum has now been redeveloped into housing, I was really taken back and surprised to see just how much of the original buildings remain. What a humongous structure, standing in all its Italianate beauty.
Right… so, lets dive into the history a bit, shall we?
Flashback to 162 years ago – back to the year of 1856, nearly exactly 20 years after Melbourne was officially founded (now that’s old!). At this stage, Victoria already had one Lunatic Asylum – the Yarra Bend Asylum, but due to the increase of population, and not to mention the gold-rush, there needed to be a bigger and ‘better’ Asylum built in the metropolitan area. Construction began on what was then known as the ‘Kew Lunatic Asylum’ in 1856, and the Asylum (finally, after works were abandoned for a decade) opened its doors officially in 1872.
(Sidenote:Yarra Bend Asylumno longer exists besides a singular bluestone pillar, a lost cemetery and some remnant plants and trees. The Thomas Embling Hospital now sits on the original grounds of this Asylum… strangely enough, this is the ONLY Asylum in Victoria that almost completely vanished without a trace…I will elaborate in another post)FIVE QUICK FACTS…
#1 – Kew Asylum was inspired by the Colney Hatch/Frier Asylum in London. If you are to look up a picture of Kew Asylum and compare it to Colney Hatch Asylum, you will see a stark resemblence! The reason for this copy cat design was because Victoria wanted to show respect and appraisal for the United Kingdom’s treatment of the mentally ill.
#2 – Kew Asylum had multiple name changes over its long history – starting from “Kew Lunatic Asylum” between the years of 1872 all the way until 1956; “Kew Mental Hospital” from 1956 until the mid-1960’s; “Willsmere Mental Hospital” from the 60’s all the way up until 1982, when it finally became “Willsmere Unit”. This was the buildings final name change until it was decommissioned in 1989.
#3 – During the early days of Kew Asylum, Melbourne was actually labelled as the most ‘Insane’ city in the world due to the immense amount of people being admitted (3 in every 100 people were to be admitted into an asylum; according to TROVE), and the incredible amount of Lunatic Asylums that were built in what seems to be a blink of an eye. To put this into perspective – we once had an Asylum on the Yarra, in Kew, Royal Park, Beechworth, Ararat, Ballarat, Sunbury – as well as Benevolent Asylums in multiple areas… AND “Private Asylums”. Later on was the introduction of the Mont Park Hospital for the Insane – which also held one of Melbourne’s most popular urbex hotspots ‘Larundel’ (now currently being redeveloped).#4 – Kew Asylum was only built due to the overcrowding of the Yarra Bend Asylum – our government at the time thought building this new Asylum would alleviate the horrendous conditions occurring at its “Sister Asylum” – but this wasn’t the case at all. Within 5 years of Kew opening, it already had over 1000 patients – it was only built to hold 600 patients.
#5 – Kew Asylum faced massive backlash towards its treatment towards patients. It is a sad reality that many people were abused here, and many people died here – with a popular cause of death being lung related (due to the damp and cold conditions – if there was proper heating within the facility, a lot of people would have been saved). Attendants would beat patients with broom sticks, purposefully knock them to the ground while they were working, bash them, sexually assault them, and most disturbingly, as a form of punishment specifically isolated to the Kew Asylum, extract patient’s teeth. Over its 117-year history, the Asylum saw well over approximately 10,000 deaths, with some still being unaccounted for today. It is safe to say the history to this Asylum is dark, and heavy.
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To see the Kew Asylum in all its old glory – there are two ways in which you can visit:
- VIA YARRA BOULEVARD – ARRIVING AT 1 WILTSHIRE DRIVE, KEW
(This is my fave way to visit, as it is the most scenic!) You will be driving through the Yarra Boulevard, which was actually built over the original farm lands of the Asylum. This is also the only way you can access the main building. – you can stand right out the front and get a good view of the administrative building (the big castle looking structure) and also some old cells and walls.
2. VIA MAIN DRIVE, KEW – ARRIVING AT ONE OF THE BIG TOWERS OF THE ASYLUM
You can drive through here, or you can go for a historic walk, either way, it is absolutely sutnning. You will see all original plants and trees from the Asylum along the way. On your walk you will come across multiple historical plaques – in particular, one pointing out where a tragic fire killed multiple patients. The walk will take approximately half an hour.
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If you would like to see the original buildings, please keep in mind that people now live in them. You cannot just walk around on the inside of the property – you’d have to be invited by a resident or take a tour on Open House Melbourne for that.
This is not all I have to say about the Kew Asylum, there is far much more to be known about this facility in which I would be happy to share with you all! I hope you enjoyed this short introduction into the history of Victoria’s Mental Health Facilities! 🙂
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