Chapel of Hope

Chapel - The Resurrection, Chapel - St Dympna, Chapel - Christ the King

Built-in 1961

The three chapels were erected in 1961 and were similar in design and construction. The Resurrection Chapel (WP 14 A) was erected for Protestant denominations; St Dympha (WP 14 B) for the Roman Catholic, and the Christ of King  (WP 14 C) as the Anglican chapel.

From an early period, clergy visited the institution to conduct religious services. These visits were encouraged and welcomed, but no special facilities were provided by the government. Services were held in whatever space was available, and when the recreation hall was built, it was regularly used for services conducted by visiting clergymen. In English asylums, chapels were considered a standard part of the infrastructure. No attempt was made, however, to build a chapel or chapels at the Goodna asylum. With the constant problem of overcrowding, the construction of additional ward accommodation was always a priority. A special building for religious services was a luxury. Moreover, in colonial Queensland, with no established church and a climate of denominationalism.

Rivalry and sensitivity, it would not have been possible to build only one chapel. Clergy continued to visit the institution into the 1950s and conduct religious services until the appointment of three full-time chaplains in 1959 to the Brisbane Mental Hospital. To assist the work of the clergy in the conduct of services and in the counselling of patients, three chapels were erected in 1961. The Anglican Chapel was named the Chapel of Christ the King, the Catholic Church was named St Dymphna in honour of the Catholic Patron Saint of the mentally ill, and the third chapel, conducted by the Council of Churches was the Chapel of Hope {later renamed the Chapel of Resurrection). 66 The chapels were similar in design being simple box like structures with low pitched roofs and floor to ceiling windows on the two principal sides.

The chapels were arranged in a semi-circle pattern. The Resurrection Chapel was severely damaged by fire in early 1995.

Located at the eastern end of Cricket Lane is the Chapel of Hope. Built as a Christian chapel for patients, it is the sole survivor of three similar chapels of different Christian denominations, erected side by side (the Chapel of Hope was the westernmost). In 2020, it is currently used as an office building, and its exterior cladding was replaced. The building has been semi-integrated with a new building built on its western side.  The interior was not inspected. A statue of Saint Dymphna (the Catholic patron saint of people with mental illness) stands approximately 35 metres east of the chapel, the corresponding chapel having been demolished.