There Was Once an Asylum
This site not only provides an overview of mental health history and its implications for Goodna, but also explores the complex relationship between memory and history.
There are stories we may never know, but this site uncovers the history, revealing the layers of understanding that underpin the present.
It is done in a way that honours the patients, clients, and the people.
Dunwich Asylum
The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum was a Benevolent Asylum for the aged, infirm and destitute operated by the Queensland Government in Australia. It was located at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay and operated from 1865 to 1946.
The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum was established under the Benevolent Asylum Wards Act of 1861 to provide accommodation and care for poor people who were unable to care for themselves due to illness or infirmity. It opened on 13 May 1865 with the transfer of initial patients from the Benevolent Ward of the Brisbane General Hospital.
More than 21,000 people were admitted to the asylum during its operation, with approximately 1,000 to 1,600 at any one time. Those who died in the asylum were generally buried in the Dunwich Cemetery unless families made other arrangements. In the 80 years spanning 1867-1947, 8,426 former inmates of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum were buried in the Dunwich Cemetery.
It operated until 30 September 1946, after which the patients were transferred to the newly opened Eventide Home at Sandgate, a northern suburb of Brisbane. Most of the buildings were subsequently destroyed. However, some buildings remain, including the heritage-listed St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall.
The 'Aboriginal Gang' that worked at the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum were the first Aboriginal people in Australia to receive equal wages. In 1944, after a 25-year campaign, Aboriginal workers secured equal wages, almost 20 years before anywhere else in Australia. The Asylum closed shortly after, with the Aboriginal Gang only getting equal wages for one and a half years. The asylum occupied most of the current Dunwich township. There were many buildings with wards for men, women and Asiatics. It had a kitchen, bakery, laundry, and other service buildings, including a power station built in 1926. It had a public hall, recreational facilities and a visitor centre for social activities.
A farm with associated outbuildings provided meat and dairy products. A 1913 map shows it occupying the coastal area from Dunwich Cemetery down to the present-day jetty and inland to approximately the present-day Mitchell Crescent and Barton Street. Swamps are shown beyond the boundaries.
