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 form the foundation of the present.
It is done in a way that honours the patients, clients, and the people.
Goodna Cemetery
The New South Wales Government proclaimed Goodna Cemetery as a Cemetery in 1859.
The earliest tombstone dates back to 1864, but the first recorded burial did not occur until 1873. In the 1940s, bodies of former patients were exhumed and relocated to the Goodna Cemetery. In 1970, the remaining headstones at the Asylum were also transferred to the Goodna Cemetery. In 2024, more headstones were found amongst vegetation away from the current location and were moved to where the current headstones have been grouped. At one point, a number of the original metal grave number indicators that came from the original cemetery were gathered together and placed in two groupings to commemorate the patients.
