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Bostock House Built in 1885, extended 1901, c1924 Bostock House ( former f emale p atient ward 6) is named in honour of a Brisbane doctor, Professor John Bostock, who was Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Queensland and used to take a great interest in Wolston Park. Today, it stands to the north of Anderson House, set back from and facing Ellerton Drive. It is one of only five buildings on the site surviving from the 19th century. It was erected as part of a major building program on the site during the 1800s. The building was similar to other female wards and provided accommodation for 52 female patients. In 1901, a scullery was added to the northern end and a lavatory at the southern end. Metal fire escape stairs were added in 1910, as were glass observation doors in 19l3 and servery hatches in 1914. Extra bathing accommodation was provided in 1924 by extending the scullery and converting the old lavatory into a pantry. In 1927-8, a sleeping balcony, 14 feet wide, was added to the western side of the building to provide extra sleeping accommodation. The interior was also extensively altered by opening the day room and dormitories into the adjacent passages to increase the area. This required removing a load-bearing partition running the length of the building and inserting a large rolled steel joist and two cast iron columns. The ground floor was replaced. In 1950, part of the western verandah was enclosed to form a laundrette. Extensive repairs were made to Bostock House in 1958. The building retains its open, semi-formal garden setting. In 2026, the building accommodates Rotary and is highly intact. Fire stairs added (c1969) to the rear verandah and over the front verandah (since removed) are not of state-level cultural heritage significance. Bostock House was one of five similar wards constructed between 1878 and the mid-1890s, and is the only one that survives from that period. Chronology: Research Note: The 1924 and 1927 additions should also be conserved. 1884: building construction completed 1901: scullery and toilets were added to the western and eastern ends 1910: fire escape to the northern elevation 1924: additional bathing accommodation 1927: sleeping verandah to northern elevation, internal alterations 1958: original windows replaced by steel frame windows Earliest known photo of Bostock House in 1907 Click to view 1938 photo of Bostock House with the Recreation Hall to the right. Click to view Bostock House 1935 Click to view Bostock House 2024 Click to view Bostock rear Click to view Bostock bathrooms Click to view Bostock rear Click to view Architecture beauty Click to view Night side Click to view Night rear Click to view Old window Click to view Old window Click to view Front night Click to view Front side Click to view Brick and sandstone Click to view Entrance Click to view Door Click to view Inside top Click to view inside bottom Click to view Verandah Click to view Front entrance Click to view Window looking towards old women's Click to view original street sign Click to view Garden Click to view Night side Click to view

Male Patients Area The former male patients' area comprises nine former ward blocks and the recreation oval. These buildings constitute the most coherent group on the site. This coherence derives from their formal arrangement around the recreation oval and the complementary architectural styles and forms. These principles of moral treatment are most clearly demonstrated in this area. These buildings divide into four subgroups: Lewis, Noble, and McDonnell; Pearce and Osler, Jenner, Kelsey, and Gladstone; Fleming. The Lewis, Noble and McDonnell Group were a two-storeyed block erected in the 1910s. They comprised large open dormitory wards with ancillary facilities. These buildings have subsequently been altered internally, and only Partial evidence remains of the original planning. Fewer changes have been made to Noble House, and it's the most intact. Alterations have also been made to the exterior. Nevertheless, the 'institutional' character of the buildings is still readily apparent and is reinforced by the repetition of a similar massing and form. Pearce and Osler Houses are two almost identical wards at the eastern end of the area. They were built between 1928 and 1934 to accommodate more violent and troublesome patients. The continuing requirement to upgrade security provisions has led to the introduction of elements that are visually intrusive but continue to be functionally necessary. With a different use, these elements may be removed. Gladstone, Jenner and Kelsey Houses were completed in the mid-1930s and were distinguished by their 'crab' plan form from a central section providing two straight rear wings and two front angled wings. Although these buildings were the last to be planned according to the outdated principles of moral treatment in Queensland, they nevertheless demonstrate a degree of innovation and creativity in planning. Fleming House is a two-storeyed brick building that was completed in 1898. Substantial alterations were undertaken during the 1920s. Following the construction of each of these wards, gardens were established, and the immediate grounds landscaped. The cricket pavilion was built in 1910 as part of the redevelopment of the cricket oval in the early 1910s on the initiative of HB Ellerton. It comprised dressing rooms surrounded by a verandah. The pavilion was relocated to its present site in 1936 following the construction of the new male wards. Ellerton requested the relocation of the pavilions as he felt they were blocking the outlook of the patients to the recreation oval, which would be a constant annoyance and may retard their recovery. The recreation ground was originally laid out in 1895. It was built following the decision to relocate the male section following the floods of 1890 and 1893. Cricket was the principal sport, and outside teams visited the asylum. When Ellerton arrived as superintendent in 1909, the recreation area was redeveloped, principally built by patient labour. It comprised a new cricket and football ground, 200x100m and three tennis courts. At the time, Dr Ellerton declared that when complete, "this ground when form one of the prettiest, if not the best in Queensland. In 1914, the entire recreation ground was enclosed with a nine-foot-high, K-wire fence. The fence was intended to give patients an unobstructed view of the oval from the wards. It also served another function in allowing patients to wander and exercise in a large open area. Thus, it became, what Ellerton referred to, as 'a sort of nursing ground'. The recreation ground became one of the principal means of promoting the asylum as a 'decent' institution where patients enjoyed a degree of freedom and pleasant surroundings. The bowling green was built by patient labour in 1951 and was part of a wider program of expanding recreational facilities in the hospital during the 1950s. The clubhouse for the bowling green was erected in 1968. Chronology 1895: cricket ground laid out 1910: grounds relevelled and extended to include football grounds and a tennis court 1910: cricket pavilion erected in the southwest corner 1914: The entire cricket ground was enclosed with K-wire fencing 1936: cricket pavilion relocated to the southeast corner of the ground 1951: Bowling Green constructed 1968: Bowling Green Clubhouse constructed 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

The Powerhouse Built-in 1917 The power house was erected in 1917, replacing an earlier building on the site. The erection of a new power house was another initiative of HB Ellerton and part of his plan to create a modern mental hospital. The expansion of the institution and the need to replace kerosene lighting with electricity made a new power house necessary. The building was designed based on advice from the tile electrician and engineer, Mr Burrows. Construction commenced in 1916, but because of delays in receiving machinery and boilers from England due to the war, the power house was not operational until late in 1917. With the closing of the boiler room on the 28th February 1998, another chapter in the interesting history of the complex closed. Folklore has it that one of the boilers was sunk in a ship during transit. A search of hospital records substantiates this. The 1917 Annual Report stated that although the building itself was completed early in 1917, "with the exception of the accumulators, none of the machinery arrived until the year was well advanced". The report further states that the war was responsible for the delay in receiving the machinery as part was commandeered for war purposes when it was ready on the wharf for shipment, and other portions were on ships sunk by submarines. Morrie Sams, boiler attendant, who has been employed at the Wolston Park Hospital for the past 18 years, stated that this is the only steam boiler of this type known to be still running in Australia. The boiler is fully manual. Everything is done manually, from shovelling the coal to putting in more water to cool the boiler if it gets too hot. Before closure, the boilers were run year-round with one boiler online for 12 months while the second boiler was offline for maintenance. In the past, the boiler house ran two shifts, but as patient numbers declined. In 2025, it remains largely intact. The building comprises two parts: a large double-height boiler room and an adjacent single-storey engine room, the floor of which is at the level of the upper gallery of the boiler room. The building includes an open ‘coal bunker’ on the side of the boiler room, and a tall freestanding brick chimney. In 2020, the boiler room was vacant, retained its boilers and was used as a store for a considerable amount of hospital paraphernalia. The engine room has had partitions installed and is now used as offices, containing a small hospital museum. Chronology: 1917: building construction was completed 1920: disinfectant room added 1944: curved galvanised iron awnings added to coal bunkers 1945: conversion of disinfectant room to a change room 1957: additional coal bunkers to the western elevation 1958: workshops added to the southern elevation. Powerhouse Click to view Coal Bunker 2022 Click to view Coal Bunker 2022 Click to view Former Workshops Click to view Former Workshops Click to view Powerhouse 90s Click to view Chimney 2023 Click to view Chimney 2023 Click to view Chimney 2023 Click to view Chimney 2023 Click to view Inside Chimney Click to view Inside Chimney Click to view Unknown Structure Click to view Coal Bunker Click to view Rear Entrance Click to view Inside Click to view Inside Click to view Engine room 2022 Click to view Engine room 2022 Click to view Workshops Click to view Coal Bunker 2000 Click to view Inside 2000 Click to view Inside 2000 Click to view Inside 2000 Click to view Inside 2000 Click to view

The Laundry Built-in 1918 The laundry was erected in 1918, replacing an earlier building that had been seriously damaged by fire in 1916. The building was erected for £17,000 and included a steam laundry plant, water services and electric light. This one-storey brick building measures 123 feet by 188 feet. The building contained a receiving room for dirty linen, drying cabinets, an ironing and folding room, a distributing room for clean linen, an engineer's workshop, a store and a messroom. All rooms were equipped with the latest appliances to handle laundry work on the site. The design of the building was subsequently based on the laundry of the Brisbane General Hospital. In 2025, the building is used as an office and a canteen, with hospital complex-related paraphernalia stored within, including a straitjacket, a gurney, medical implements, a gramophone and records, sewing machines, and a restraint chair. It also has a Leadlight window depicting St Dymphna removed from the hospital’s demolished catholic chapel. Chronology 1918: construction 1947: additional toilet accommodation was added to the western elevation. 1957: awning to western elevation over dispatch platform 1961: workshop converted to staff 1962: Office for the Superintendent 1963: new store 1964: alterations to the male staffroom 1967: glass louvres installed together with fly-screening 1970: additional toilet accommodation 1895 Drain Plan from Laundry to Brisbane River Click to view The Laundry front side Click to view The Laundry rear Click to view The Laundry rear Click to view The Laundry front Click to view The laundry Awnings Click to view Leadlight window depicting St Dymphna (installed in Laundry c2007) removed from the hospital’s demolished catholic chapel Click to view Patient Labour Asylum Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Layout Plans 1 Click to view Layout Plans 2 Click to view Chief Engineer letter 1957 Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view Photos from heritage report Click to view

Peters Family Collection Random selection of photos converted from slides taken by staff members Edith & Joan Peters 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

Female Bathroom Block Built-in 1902 The brick building was built in 1902 as a female bathroom. A similar structure was erected for male patients. It comprised two dressing rooms, 30 feet by 20 feet and a bathroom, 15 feet by 30 feet, with two baths and 10 showers. The walls were lined to a height of 6 ft with opalite tiling. In 1935, the building was converted to a workroom for fancy needlework and allied occupations for the female patients. By 1955, the building was converted for use as a convalescent and final rehabilitation ward for women. This small 12-bed ward was an open ward with no nursing staff. Patients looked after their own domestic affairs and cooked their own meals. This ward allowed comparative freedom for voluntary and self-reliant patients and was designed to prepare patients for their return home. In 2020, it was used for archive storage. In 2024, the wooden extension was demolished due to significant wood rot. Chronology: 1902: constructed as a female bathhouse 1935: converted to sewing rooms 1955: converted to a convalescent ward for women 1960: lean to addition to the western end 1994: converted to sewing/mending facility Night rear Click to view Side entrance Click to view Side front entrance extension prior to demolishment Click to view Side front entrance extension prior to demolishment Click to view Front doors extension prior to demolishment Click to view Day shot of extension prior to demolishment Click to view 2024 extension demolished Click to view 2024 extension demolished Click to view 2024 extension demolished Click to view 2024 extension demolished new door and pathway Click to view Window and light fixture Click to view Old retaining wall Click to view Old stairs Click to view Today with recreation hall behind it Click to view

Cemetery Sites “Many burials occurred at the institution from the 1890s to 1944. Between 1895 and 1912, more than 1500 patients died there and were presumably buried in a cemetery, no 2 and possibly some no 3. In addition, the remains of staff members and their families were interred in the cemetery. Between 1914 and 1940, approximately 4670 patients died – an average of 155 per year. With perhaps few exceptions, all would have been buried in the hospital cemetery. A new plaque (post-2007) states that ‘approximately 200 bodies’ were transferred to Goodna Cemetery. The highest number on the grave markers is 2,300.” From the Blake, ‘Wolston Park - Police Academy Cultural Heritage Survey. Archaeological excavations at and in the vicinity of the three previous cemetery locations could elucidate the existence, character, and scope of interments. Coupled with the identification and examination of related artifacts and features, this research can provide insights into the treatment of the deceased patients and the burial customs at the hospital, the spatial organisation and layout of graves, as well as the scale and techniques of reburials. "The asylum of the nineteenth century, and the mental hospital after it, were not intended to function as hospices for the dying or depots for the senile and abandoned aged. But in an era when there were few other options for residential care for the physically as well as mentally ill, the mental hospital was the final resting place for many... " Finnane, Mark (2008) Wolston Park Hospital, 1865-2001: Early articles relating to the complex's cemeteries May 1869 Click to view September 1926 Click to view July 1939 Click to view Cemetery Reserve Click to view Cemetery Reserve Click to view Cemetery Reserve Click to view Cemetery Site 1 (1865 - 1894) Historical records indicate that the Early Asylum Site included a cemetery near the confluence of the Brisbane River and Woogaroo Creek, at the southern end of the site, with the river serving as an access point. Site plans from around 1869 and 1878 reveal the establishment of a cemetery at the far western end, close to where Woogaroo Creek meets the Brisbane River. The severe floods of February 1893 caused significant damage to the male quarters and submerged the primary staff residences along with the original cemetery. There is potential for archaeological findings at the original asylum cemetery site, which may contain interments, stone and metal grave markers, and various artefacts and features related to the asylum's burial practices. During research, Mr James Clifford, who is mentioned on the Caring page, also certified burials at site 1 Location Survey Plan Click to view 1944 Image overhead corner was left untouched as framing was being conducted Click to view Untouched in 1961 Click to view Location today is part of the golf course near Woogaroo Creek Click to view Cemetery Site 1 currently apart of the Golf Course Click to view 1869 newspaper artricle Click to view 1913 newsaper article Click to view 1901 QLD Government Estimates Meeting Click to view Visit the Debbie Manson Research page Click to view Visit the Debbie Manson Research page Click to view Cemetery Site 2 (1895 - 1912) The second cemetery linked to the hospital is situated on the western flank of the Male Patients Area and presents archaeological potential. Historically, it lay to the north of the main hospital structures and west of the cricket field. The cemetery operated from 1895 to 1912, after which it was closed to facilitate the construction of two-story male wards, and burials were believed to have been transferred to a third cemetery by 1913. The site was later used for housing (1910s-c1958) and for kitchens and workshops (1970s), which have since been relocated or demolished. Possible archaeological remnants in this vicinity may include burials, reinterments, stone and metal grave markers, and various artefacts and features related to burial customs. According to the heritage report between 1895 and 1912, more than 1500 patients died there and were presumably buried in cemetery no 2 and possibly some in no. 3 1944 overhead with location circled Click to view Heritage register report location Click to view Current location today Click to view location of site 2 early 2000s Click to view Click to view November 1899 article Click to view October 1910 article Click to view June 1911 article Click to view Cemetery Site 3 (c1913-1945) The third cemetery associated with the hospital is located immediately northeast of the Wacol Repatriation Pavilion Complex and exhibits archaeological potential. This area served as the hospital's cemetery from around 1913 to 1945, after which the burials were transferred to Goodna Cemetery. Cleared initially, the site now features regrowth bushland, flanked northwest by Wolston Park Road and a carpark, and southeast by Orford Drive, both roads elevated above the cemetery's ground level. Possible archaeological remnants in this vicinity may include burials, reinterments, stone and metal grave markers, and various artefacts associated with burial customs. A few years ago, a bushfire went through the former site, and old headstones were still found amongst the burnt-out scrub September 1926 Click to view Queensland Times newspaper article Click to view 1946 newspaper article Click to view 1946 exhumation Click to view November 1946 Click to view 1947 article Click to view 1961 Click to view Site today Click to view Site today Click to view Site today Click to view Site today Click to view Site today Click to view Site today Click to view 2025 Click to view The Bottom Drawer Book Articles By Lisa Joy Lost remains of Wolston Park Mental Asylum patients buried in trenches. An aerial photo and a sharp memory: location of missing Wolston Park Mental Hospital patients identified Site of asylum’s hidden and forgotten cemetery acknowledged on Qld Heritage Register Mental asylum mass exhumations and missing remains: the tale of Wolston Park’s lost and forgotten patients.

Shane Barnes MAIES I tribute this site to my daughter Angel May Barnes 21/05/2019 For nearly 28 years, I have lived across from Woogaroo Creek, near the site of the original Asylum. My interest in history dates back to my senior primary school days at Camp Hill, and it continued at Redbank Plains & Bundamba high schools, where I took an interest in politics and local history/geography. I have always enjoyed learning about history, collecting and purchasing historical items, and donating them to museum collections. As a young kid in the late 90s the stories of Wolston Park were the stuff of legends with old women's always known being the haunted house, I remember North Dam being fully fenced and jumping over the fence to retrieve golf balls and then cleaning them and sell for a $1 and going to buy soft drinks from the Royal Mail Hotel, The staff sitting outside McDonnell house having a cigarette, The patients help cleaning the Wolston Park Golf Club outdoor dining area when it was located up in the complex, to exploring the empty chapels. After so many years of forgetting about this complex 2019 was very difficult for me and always needed a quiet place to reflect and follow on over the years seeing the buildings and the odd, fascinating piece of history myself and Nathan began the Facebook group "There Was Once an Asylum" when we started the search was on to find everything related to the complex historically wise. The years of studying this complex and its surroundings have been a fascinating journey of learning, but in the later years, learning about the patients of the complex has been the most personally difficult. I want to thank those who support the group and, at times, have even stepped up to protect it, as they know it has a significant history not only for Queensland but also on a human level. With the recent review called by the Queensland Government, I hope this will be the final review regarding this complex, which has been scrutinised since its first inquiry in 1867. I was recently asked what I would like to see. I have a few projects in mind: A Memorial Garden located between the original and current site FREE History walking tours on the original site, and showcasing the older buildings on the current site from a safe, legal distance. Each Cemetery Site is to have a form of identification and honour, as remains may still be present. Apart from studying this site in my spare time, I am doing a fair bit out of Goodna. I am the founder of the emergency radio communications group SEQUEST South East Queensland UHF Emergency Service Team. In 2016, Shane was awarded the City of Ipswich Medallion in recognition of my valuable contributions to the Ipswich community. In 2019, Shanereceived the Queensland Emergency Service Volunteer Pin from the Queensland Government and assisted with its design on the Emergency Volunteer Advisory Forum. Certificate of Appreciation for 5 years of loyal and valued service to the community through Marine Rescue Brisbane as a radio and rescue crew member. Former QLD/NT Division committee member and member of the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services (AIES) and Australian Radio Communications Industry Association (ARCIA), and currently serving on the Eastern Suburbs Rugby League Past Players and Officials Association as assistant secretary. Whilst in pain focusing on this place eased my pain Nathan Bonnell Contact Us

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 among vegetation away from the current location and were moved to the area where the current headstones are grouped. At one point, several of the original metal grave-number indicators from the original cemetery were collected and grouped to commemorate the patients. Goodna Cemetery, Woogaroo Asylum Memorial List Tuesday 18 May 1869 Asylum possibility for interments at Goodna Cemetery Click to view September 1865 Kearsey Cannan Superintendent & Matthew Googs who owns Wolston House appointed Trustess Click to view Picture Ipswich taken in 1991, we see where originally the grave markers from number “3” cemetery were located at the Goodna cemetery before moving to where they are today, all together down the back corner Click to view Click to view Click to view Heritage documents for The Park have noted this in their endnotes, so I decided to follow up on this document for its relation to the Asylum. Still, all I could see were the familiar names of the first Medical Superintendent and asylum designer Kersey Cannan and former Wolston House owner Matthew Goggs. 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 Site today being maintained and cleaned the former patients are being looked after by a former Wolston Park Patient and volunteers Front View Click to view 1/2 Sections Click to view 1/2 Sections Click to view Lost headstones found in 2024 Click to view Lost headstones found in 2024 Click to view Lost headstones found in 2024 that were found dumped Click to view Lost headstone found in 2024 Click to view Lost headstones found in 2024 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 Memorial Plaque Click to view Sr M Agatha Stoutte Click to view Louis Hugonin Click to view Louis Hugonin Click to view