Opened as the Woogaroo Asylum on 10 January 1865. On 12 January, seven prison warders (two women) and ten police constables escorted 57 male and 12 female inmates from Brisbane Gaol to Woogaroo, travelling by river. History Aslyum Mental Health Established in 1865 , the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum was Queensland's first public health institution, located on the banks of the Brisbane River near Goodna on Tuesday, January 10, 1865. A Border Police Station previously stood on the site, serving as a vital outpost protecting the interests of the growing community. Over the years, the surrounding landscape became home to many of the State's major institutional facilities, including prisons, an army barracks, and a migration hostel. On Tuesday, January 10, 1865, under the supervision of warder John, seven prison warders (two of whom were women) along with ten police constables escorted 57 male and 12 female patients. The two female warders supervised the female patients, who were moved from the Brisbane Gaol to the newly built asylum at Woogaroo. Since 1859, Queensland patients had no longer been sent to Sydney; they were instead lodged at the Brisbane Gaol. When the asylum was ready, patients were loaded into cabs and taken down to the Brisbane River, where they boarded a steamer named "Settler." They were conveyed down the Brisbane River to the landing point just before Woogaroo Creek. Embarkation was successfully managed, with 57 males and 12 females safely lodged in their new quarters. Patients were accommodated in a two-storey brick building, initially intended as the administration block. Male patients were housed on the first floor and part of the ground floor, while female patients occupied the remainder of the ground floor. A tall timber fence surrounded the building, and timber outbuildings accommodated a kitchen, bathroom, and staff areas. Dr Kersey Cannan was appointed as Superintendent, and a residence was constructed for him on-site, northeast of the main asylum buildings. Indigenous people were among the earliest inhabitants of the asylum, but not in significant numbers. Instead, immigrant settlers rapidly populated the institution from its earliest days, making up the majority of the colony’s growing population. At least 45 of the 57 males first brought to the new asylum were still there two years later, when an inquiry was held. Immigrants had come from many countries, contributing to the colonial population, particularly from Ireland, England, Germany, Scotland, and China. The first buildings included a male division, erected near the creek, and a female division, located farther up the hill. The superintendent's quarters stood between them. Because of recurring floods, additional buildings were erected farther up the hill, where the current complex stands today. Over the years, the complex has also comprised several public health institutions, several of which have now been decommissioned. Throughout its history, it has housed a diverse cohort of patients, including those with psychiatric illnesses, intellectual disabilities, acquired brain injuries, psychogeriatric conditions, neurological disorders, and substance use disorders. The site of the original asylum today serves as the Wolston Park golf club and course. The asylum has long been a dominant institution in the region and has recently undergone significant changes. Over the years, sections and services have been closed, and buildings have been handed over to other government departments and service organisations. FOR YOUR SAFETY If you intend to visit for a look, for your safety and that of others, please DO NOT go past the black fence or the signs posted around the hospital boundary . May the younger generation not only learn about its sad past but also the importance it plays in Queensland's History, dating back to the 1800s “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.” Always Remembered 1865 ~ 2025

Garage Built before 1944 The Garage is a highly intact, small, freestanding single-car garage building located east of and facing the Shelter Shed for Female Patients, and it was used by the matron. Front Click to view Inside Click to view Inside Click to view Side Click to view Front side Click to view Between the trees Click to view Amongst the shade Click to view Between the trees Click to view Day rear Click to view Day front Click to view With old women's Click to view

Cafeteria Built-in 1954 The cafeteria, also known as the Riverside Ballroom, is a low-set brick building with a hipped roof, located in the centre of the area. It is long and narrow, stretching along the east/west ridgeline and has many windows on its northern side with impressive views across the recreation area’s amphitheatre to the Brisbane River and landscape beyond. Built initially as the communal dining room that could seat 500 patients, along with a servery, wash-up room, preparation room and stores, staff rooms and lavatories and patients' abulations and lavatories. It remains largely intact and, in 2020, serves as the clubhouse for the Wolston Park Golf Club. Minimal alterations include a freestanding, open-sided shelter on the northern side; replacement of the roof cladding from corrugated asbestos sheets to corrugated metal sheets; rearrangement of the ablutions; insertion of folding partitions into the long dining room; and replacement of the folding doors on the northern side of the dining room. Features of the Cafeteria of state-level cultural heritage significance also include Form and layout: long, narrow building with short projecting blocks for ablutions and kitchen; hipped roof; long dining room with views and access out to the north, servery bar and access to the kitchen at the south, large fireplace at the east, and access through to the ablutions at the west Curvilinear paved terrace on the northern side with a brick window and flower boxes. Materials: face brick walls and squat chimney; flat sheet-lined eaves; timber floor in the dining room; original partitions (timber-framed, flat sheet-lined; flat sheet-lined ceilings with timber battens Servery bar Original windows and doors Immediate landscape surround: adjacent lawn areas and a row of three mature bookleaf pines (Thuja orientalis) to the southwest. Research Note Another important building project undertaken by Dr Basil Strafford for female patients at the time was the construction of a dedicated female recreation facility, which commenced in 1951 on approximately 2.5 hectares on the western edge of the reserve, adjacent to the Brisbane River. The principal building within the area was the cafeteria with facilities to serve 500 patients [now Wolston Park Golf Club house]. Patients could spend the entire day in the recreation area without returning to the wards for midday meals. 1950 plan Click to view 1950 plan Click to view First day of operation in 1954 Click to view Ballroom after 1954 opening Click to view Fireplace 1953 Click to view Ballroom 2024 Click to view Rear entrance Click to view Chimney with a curious extension Click to view Curious extension Click to view Looking towards the ballroom from the front Click to view Kitchen entrance Click to view Side entrance Click to view Rear entrance Click to view Gardens and ballroom Click to view Gardens and ballroom Click to view Gardens with louvres Click to view Another entrance at the rear Click to view Location of the toilets Click to view Location of the toilets Click to view Ballroom 2024 Click to view Ballroom 2024 Click to view 161727967_10160697747206521_7856219398783697524_n.jpg Click to view Fireplace with sandstone rock, brick and original timber floor Click to view Fireplace with bricks Click to view Fireplace with sandstone rock Click to view

Anderson House Built-in 1917 Anderson House (former female patient ward 7) is named after Mervyn Anderson, Toowoomba MLA, former president of the Queensland Sub-Normal Children's Welfare Association, and known to many as "Curley". The building remains largely intact and faces Ellerton Drive. Purpose-built as an admissions ward for female patients, the concept was to provide a facility where patients could be accommodated when first admitted to the institution. It was designed to keep new patients under observation and provide more individual treatment. To achieve this aim, a domestic-scale building with individual cells was proposed. Ellerton prepared initial sketches for the building in 1912, but did not complete the final plans until February 1915. William Kerr was awarded the contract for £13,900, and construction commenced in 1915; the ward opened in January 1917. The building is domestic in scale and set amongst semi-formal gardens, reflecting its original purpose and the principles of moral treatment. Positioned on a rise, the building is accessed from the south via stairs. In 1970, the toilets were refitted, providing additional showers and six washstands in the dormitory were removed. Anderson House is significant in demonstrating a new approach to the treatment of mental illness introduced by HB Ellerton in the 1910s. The concept of villa-type accommodation developed in asylums in England in the late 19th century and departed from the practice of housing patients in large dormitories. The purpose of a villa-type ward, such as Anderson House, was to introduce a domestic scale to the environment for patients, with emphasis on the relationship with the outdoor environment. The building has important aesthetic values derived from its scale and form and is similar to buildings at Ipswich and Toowoomba asylums, as well as more utilitarian buildings such as the School of Musketry at Enoggera. In 2020, the building was converted to offices with minimal alterations to the original fabric. Chronology : 1916 construction completed 1970 alterations to the toilet and bathroom areas Front right side Click to view Anderson House Sign Click to view Anderson House Street Sign Click to view Anderson House Street Sign Click to view Anderson House across the street we see the former visitors stairs. Click to view In the shade Click to view Anderson House Front Click to view Anderson House Front Click to view Anderson House Front Click to view Anderson House Front Click to view Anderson House Rear Click to view Anderson House Door Click to view Anderson House Door Click to view Anderson House Rear Click to view Anderson House Front Click to view Anderson House Rear Click to view Anderson House Window Click to view Anderson House downpipe Click to view Anderson House Side Click to view Anderson House Grill Click to view Anderson House Garden Click to view Anderson House Garden Click to view Anderson House Front and Garden Click to view Family of ducks across from Anderson Click to view Sunset at Anderson Click to view

Miscellaneous Files 1877 Royal Commission letter click to view Admission Register Wolston Park Hospital Case Book E (Male and Female Admissions) from 08-May-1875 – 09-May-1920. Ward Book 1922/23 Part 1 of 3 Ward Book 1922/23 Part 2 of 3 Ward Book 1922/23 Part 3 of 3 State Archives general notes from the year 1879 Royal Commission on the Management of the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum and the Lunatic Reception Houses of the Colony - Report (Q Pp 1877 v1: 1073-1253) [1877] QldRoyalC 2 (15 May 1877) Research Guide to mental asylum records at Queensland State Archives Wolston Park Hospital, 1865–2001: A Retrospect Register of letters received 1878/79 Charitable institutions of the Queensland government to 1919 Commission of Appointment - Commissioner re Enquiry Lunatic Asylum, Woogaroo ‘Façade of success’ Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum 1865-1969 The early history of psychiatric nursing in Queensland Royal Commission of Inquiry into Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum and the Lunatic Reception Houses of QLD Casebook "A" of the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum: patient demographics and diagnoses Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Council TUESDAY, 17 AUG 1869 Woogaroo Asylum An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Law relating to the Insane. ASSENTED TO 2ND SEPTEMBER 1884 The road to recovery - a history of mental health services in Queensland 1859-2009 Going Up the Line to Goodna Wolston Park cricket Pavilion Conservation Plan Wolston Park Hospital University of Queensland Neuropsychiatric Unit Opening Day October 16 - 1972 1972 UQ Neuropsychiatric Guide Paper on the Park 1 Paper on the Park 2 Paper on the Park 3 Barrett Adolescent Centre Options Study 2015 1877 QUEENSLAND WOOGAROO COMMISSION REPORT

Miscellaneous Photos from our Facebook group Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view

Residential Area The residential area sat at the end of the main drive on an elevated position. It comprised several residences that overlooked the golf course. Most residences in this area were built after 1960, but three were built before 1920. The first building in this area was the former medical superintendent's residence. It was erected in 1898 following damage to the existing residence, which was situated near the original male wards. It is the most substantial residence on the site, befitting the medical superintendent's status. It was built of brick with terra cotta tiles and comprised spacious rooms and verandahs. The grounds were landscaped over time, creating a distinctly private area for the medical superintendent and his family. The former assistant medical superintendent's residence was erected in 1912 following a fire in the existing building. The new structure was of timber, and the planning was typical of a large Queensland residence but less substantial than the medical superintendent's residence. Both residences have been altered and extended, but still clearly retain their residential function and character. Residence D is the only other early residence in the area. It is less substantial than the others and is of minor significance in demonstrating the range of accommodation provided for staff. More to come soon Click to view

Wacol Repatriation Complex Towards the end of World War 1, the hospital began receiving a new type of patient - those with mental disorders specifically caused by involvement in the war. 'War veterans' became an increasingly significant minority among the inmate population as the war finished and soldiers returned home. With the Commonwealth Government establishing special hospital facilities for the treatment of physically injured, the question of establishing separate facilities for veterans with mental disorders was raised. HB Ellerton discussed the issue in his Annual Report of 1917 and commented that, while the idea had some merit, it was better to treat war veterans in an established institution such as Goodna. He argued that in a separate institution, inmates would not have access to 'experienced medical officers, specially trained and qualified matrons and nursing staff'. Ellerton also argued that veterans would have to be accommodated in hospitals of ordinary design. Such accommodation, he maintained, would be 'wanting other accommodation as found in all mental hospitals such as is provided in the yard gardens, and extensive grounds, out-door recreations, in-door amusements, and entertainments, and finally, occupations under those qualified to supervise their work.'s• With the onset of World War 2, the question of special facilities for the treatment of returned soldiers was again raised. By January 1942, 110 returned soldiers were inmates of the Goodna Mental Hospital. The Commonwealth Government expressed concern about the growing number of soldiers being admitted to Goodna and approached the Queensland Government about constructing purpose-built facilities. A review found that at least eighty beds were required for those whose condition was precipitated by war service."° The Commonwealth agreed to fund the construction of three special wards and the Queensland government was to be responsible for the maintenance ~£ the buildings and staffing. The Repatriation Commission was to pay for the treatment on a per capita basis." The Works Department prepared plans for a complete repatriation unit in consultation with Basil Stafford, the Director of Mental Hygiene. The unit was designed to be self-contained with three wards and kitchen/dining facilities. According to Stafford, the buildings were based on 'modern design' concepts, but were essentially the old principles of moral therapy resurrected and reinterpreted. The buildings were designed to eliminate the idea of confinement usually associated with mental hospitals, with freedom emphasised by wide verandahs and patients' dining areas opening directly onto grassed courtyards and lawns.62 Specially designed steel frame windows were included in the design to give protection to the patients without the need for iron bars or grating, to give the illusion of freedom." Construction on the buildings commenced in 1946, and the Wacol Repatriation Pavilion opened on 26 January 1948, when Governor John Lavarack opened it. The complex comprised three similar ward blocks with accommodation for 88 patients and a kitchen/canteen block. A recreation hall was completed in the 1950s. Patients constructed a cricket oval in 1954-55. Ward A Ward A is a single-storey brick building erected in 1948. It was to accommodate ex-servicemen requiring treatment for mental disorders. Ward A was one of two similar U-shaped blocks. It was constructed of cream brick with a roof of red asbestos cement tiles. The building comprised a main block containing a lounge, a recreation room, fifteen single bedrooms, a kitchen, ironing rooms, nurses' rooms, a lavatory, a bathroom, and an ancillary room. rooms. Two wings projected from the centre block. One contained offices, doctors' and examination rooms, store rooms and a spacious visitor's room; the other, nine bedrooms and a lavatory. A boiler room was constructed underneath the bathroom. The kitchenette and laundry were designed for patients' use to give them a feeling of independence by providing facilities for preparing light refreshments or doing small laundry and pressing. The verandah opened onto a grassy, terraced lawn. Renovations to the building in 1975 reduced the number of single rooms, as several were converted to provide toilets and showers to be shared by the adjacent rooms on each side. 1948: Two wards, a kitchen and a recreation block opened 1950: theatrette provided to the lounge room 1975: conversion of some rooms to bath/toilet facilities Ward B This building was erected in 1948 to specifically accommodate ex-servicemen suffering mental disorders. Previously returned ex-servicemen had been accommodated in the general section of the Goodna Mental Hospital. Ward B was similar to Ward A in construction. Ward C This building was erected in 1948 specifically to accommodate ex-servicemen suffering from mental disorders. Ward C differed from the other two wards with its H-shaped plan form. One wing contained two fifteen-bed wards. The centre section comprised ten single rooms, a nurses' room, bathrooms, lavatories, a kitchenette, and a laundry. An occupational therapy room was built in the basement in 1957, and that same year Ward C was converted to a closed ward for restless repatriation patients whose behaviour was unsuitable for the Wacol Pavilion. A verandah was added to Ward C in 1958/9 for occupational therapy, and the dining room was enclosed in 1965. To provide additional external shaded areas, a large open roof area was attached to the north-west elevation in 1990. 1958: occupational therapy area 1990: open covered area Kitchen/Canteen This building was erected as a cafeteria block for the Wacol repatriation pavilion in 1948. It contained a dining room, kitchen, scullery, cool rooms, preparation rooms, store room and lavatories. The cafeteria-style dining room could accommodate 96 diners. An open-fronted canteen teen, flanked by flower boxes, was built underneath the front portion of the building for the use of patients and friends and opened onto a terraced grassed lawn. Grounds The grounds of the Wacol Repatriation Pavilion comprise a mix of evenly sloped lawns with trees randomly planted between the buildings. Oleander clumps were formally spaced along both sides of the former entry. A cricket oval is situated to the southeast of the complex. It was built by patient labour in 1954-5 and features stone retaining walls, a white picket fence, and a timber sight screen. Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view Dining block being built at the Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view Dining block completed at the Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland 1955-1975. Click to view 1961 Overhead Click to view 2026 Overhead Click to view Dining block abandoned at the Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland early 2000s Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Wacol Repatriation Pavillion, Wacol, Queensland Click to view Recreation Ground Click to view The new road Click to view Click to view Layout Plan Click to view

Debbie Manson Painting Collection Former patient Debbie Manson, who suffered immensely at the hands of staff as a young lady, uses painting as therapy, releasing the captured grief with emotion Titled: Bailley Henderson Hospital Click to view Titled: Tribute to Paul former child patient of WPH Click to view Titled: Ballie Henderson Hospital Toowoomba Click to view Titled: A Morgue Trolley Click to view Tribute: Jo a former nurse of WPH Click to view Titled: Dearly Missed. Tribute to former patient of WPH Click to view Titled: Ipswich Mental Hospital, Recreation Hall Click to view Titled: Pearce House WPH Click to view Titled: ///// Window in Osler House Click to view Titled : View from window in Bostock House WPH Click to view Titled: Room in Osler House WPH Click to view Titled: Tribute to Father Wally. Click to view Titled: A Nurse call button in Osler House. Click to view Titled: Ipswich Mental Hospital Operating Theatre Click to view Titled: Ipswich Mental Hospital Male Ward 2, Visitation Shelter. Click to view Titled: Woogaroo Asylum Click to view Titled: Long Days Click to view Titled: Tribute to Rhonda.T. Former patient of WPH Click to view Titled : Keep the memories alive. Tribute to former patient WPH Click to view Titled: A L/H (Osler House WPH) Click to view Titled: Patients working the vegetable garden 1960s WPH Click to view Titled: Beautiful Butterfly, Tribute to former patient WPH Click to view Titled: Long days and sleepless nights. Old Women's 1 & 2 WPH Click to view Titled: A tribute to a patient at Dunwich Asylum Click to view Tilted: John Oxley Memorial Hospital WPH Click to view