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Timeline of History Establishing Queensland's first asylum The site opened in 1865 as the Woogaroo Asylum and occupied 311.05 hectares on the banks of the Brisbane River at Wacol, approximately 19km southwest of the Brisbane CBD. One of only three institutions for people with mental illness established by the Queensland Government during the 19th century, it later incorporated several mental health facilities and ancillary services. Since the late 20th century, new uses for some areas of the site have evolved, with the repurposing of buildings. Before 1859, people within the later colony of Queensland, who were certified as insane, were sent to Sydney. Immediately following Separation, they were loaded at the Brisbane Gaol. In 1861, the government instructed Colonial Architect Charles Tiffin & Richard Suter, an architect with an interest in the design of asylums and hospitals, to report on a suitable site and draw up plans for a 400-bed asylum. Tiffin recommended an area of land on the banks of the Brisbane River halfway between Brisbane and Ipswich. This site was rejected by the Government in favour of a nearby site, upstream at the junction of the Brisbane River and Woogaroo Creek at Woogaroo (Goodna). The site of the new asylum was originally part of the lands of the Yuggera Ugarapul People. The residence of Dr Stephen Simpson, the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Moreton Bay District, had occupied it. Simpson was appointed in 1842 when the area first opened for free settlement following the closure of the penal colony. An 1861 survey plan indicates the presence of a dwelling between the mouth of Woogaroo Creek and a small dam that still exists east of the current Wolston Park Golf Club clubhouse today, known as South Dam. Late 1860s plans of the asylum's original buildings indicate that they were located at the east end of the current clubhouse, where the current car park is located. Asylum Era (1865 - 1908) Tenders for the first stage of construction of the asylum were issued in January 1863, and by the end of 1864, sufficient buildings had been completed for the asylum to begin operations. Woogaroo Asylum opened on 10 January 1865. On 12 January, seven prison warders (two of them women) and ten police constables escorted 57 male and 12 female inmates from Brisbane Gaol to Woogaroo, travelling by river. The 69 patients were accommodated in a two-storey brick building originally intended as the administration block. Male patients were accommodated on the first floor and part of the ground floor. Females occupied a section 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. This first stage of the asylum was located at the southern end of the site between the Brisbane River and Woogaroo Creek, with the river providing access. Site plans dated c1869 and 1878 indicate that a cemetery was established at the site's far western end, near the confluence of Woogaroo Creek and the Brisbane River. An 1878 survey plan shows the developments on the asylum site: men’s ward, hospital, cottage, a steam saw beside Woogaroo Creek, land under cultivation, a footbridge over Woogaroo Creek, wharf into the Brisbane River, and on the ridge to the north of the main buildings, the female ward and a doctor’s house to its south. In 1866, a ward for fee-paying patients was constructed on an adjacent ridge approximately 400 metres northeast of the main buildings. The building (later Female Wards 1 and 2) was built from local sandstone extracted from a nearby quarry owned by Joshua Jeays, which also supplied stone for the construction of Old Government House (1862) and Parliament House (1865) The superintendent, Dr Cannan, claimed responsibility for the building's design, based on principles recommended in the standard treatise on asylum construction at this time. However, the Woogaroo Asylum was not in a position to accept fee-paying patients, and the building remained unoccupied for two years until alterations were made to facilitate the transfer of female inmates to this block. A partial second storey was added, constructed to the design of Charles Tiffin in 1875, and other substantial alterations and additions were made to the building in 1905-6, 1923, 1937 and 1951. This building accommodated female inmates for over 100 years, and was the first of several in the separate ‘female area’. In 1867, the first of many Government inquiries into the asylum's operations took place, with the Queensland Government appointing Dr Henry Challinor to investigate conditions there. Two further inquiries occurred in 1869. Dr Cannan was dismissed from his post following the first inquiry. The second revealed numerous errors and incompetence, and several of its conclusions concerned the inadequate and inappropriate on-site accommodation and the need for improved cooking facilities and a reliable water supply. On the recommendation of the select committee, the Queensland Government introduced the Lunacy Act 1869, based on legislation in other Australian colonies and Britain. It was not until a royal commission was established in 1877 to investigate Woogaroo Asylum and other reception houses in the colony that the government was forced to take the continuing problems at the asylum more seriously. Despite the construction of two cottage wards in the early 1870s, overcrowding remained a chronic problem, and the commission urged the construction of additional wards, improvements to existing cells, upgrades to services, the planting of shade trees, the establishment of recreation facilities, and the provision of employment for patients. A modest building program began in 1878, with the construction of a cottage ward for 60 female patients, and continued with a block of cells for troublesome female patients in 1879; two wards, each for 35 patients, in the male and female areas in 1880, as well as the construction of a kitchen and laundry building to service 500 inmates [these buildings are not extant]. A boom in the Queensland economy and a significant increase in expenditure on public works were the impetus for a more substantial building program at the asylum during the 1880s. At the same time, the state's population was increasing rapidly, and accompanying social changes led to increased admissions. The hospital population doubled in the two decades from 1880. Two new cottage wards (Female no 6 ward, 1885, later known as Bostock House; and a refractory ward) were erected in the female area, while in the male area, a new refractory ward was constructed [not extant] and significant additions to the existing Male no 1 ward were undertaken. Despite this latest work, conditions for patients scarcely improved, as the additional accommodation barely kept pace with the growth in patient numbers. The Insanity Act of 1884 introduced new legislation, replacing the Lunacy Act of 1869. Modelled on New South Wales legislation, it reflected the growing medicalisation of the treatment of madness. The term lunacy was replaced by insanity, and the institution where such persons were treated became known as a hospital for the insane rather than an asylum. This Act consolidated the state's role in the treatment and regulation of ‘insane’ people and remained in force for more than 50 years. The institution was renamed Goodna Hospital for the Insane in the same year. In 1890, the asylum experienced severe flooding when the Brisbane River rose to 40 feet (12.19m), the highest level ever recorded. The entire male area was inundated; buildings, fences, and other structures were seriously damaged, and patients had to be relocated. Consequently, the low-lying area near the river was abandoned, with the main male area moved to higher ground to the northeast, where two male wards had already been erected [not extant]. The relocation brought the complex closer to the railway line (opened in 1875), which supplanted the river as the hospital's primary means of access. A Recreation Hall was erected in 1890, serving as a sewing room for female patients during the day and as a venue for dances, concerts, and church services, as well as a temporary timber building to alleviate overcrowding. In 1892, a substantial two-story brick building for male patients was opened. Severe flooding in February 1893 further damaged the male area. It inundated the primary staff residences and the original cemetery, as well as the original two-story brick building, which then comprised the Woogaroo Asylum and was situated on Woogaroo Creek. Local Mrs Carroll vividly remembers the destruction of this building in the flood of 1893, and the great difficulty of rescuing the 400 patients, which had to be effected in the middle of a pitch-dark night, with heavy rain pouring down, and the creek a seething, rapidly spreading body of water. The rescue was splendidly effected, and only one life was lost, that of a patient who jumped from a boat and was swept away by the rushing water. Following the decision to relocate to higher ground, work began on an outdoor recreation area and two similar single-storey wards to accommodate 75 patients each (by 1896) [not extant]; male no 5 ward (later Fleming House), a two-storey brick building (c1896); and a second two-storey block (male no 10 ward) opened c1900. These buildings overlooked the cricket oval that had been laid out by patient labour. In 1898-9, a substantial brick Medical Superintendent’s Residence, plus outbuildings [later Manor House, Offices], replacing a timber house badly damaged by the 1893 flood, was erected for the new medical superintendent, James Hogg, appointed in 1898. The residence was located on high ground with its main elevation facing southeast, away from the asylum complex. Ellerton Drive, Hogg Lane, and the western half of Boyce Road had been formed by 1896 to link buildings and areas on the site. The southernmost part of Barrett Drive led to a new cemetery (cemetery no 2) established north of the asylum buildings and adjacent to the cricket ground, which was used until the early 1910s. From 1898, the complex was known as the Goodna Hospital for the Insane for the next 42 years. The most significant building project of the early 1900s involved extensive alterations and additions to the original female ward. The first floor was extended across the entire building, which considerably increased the accommodation. A large two-storeyed block, the Male no 4 ward was also completed, bringing the male area to a well-defined group of eight buildings. A new morgue and two brick bathroom blocks were constructed in 1902 (the Female Bathroom Block was later known as Dawson Annexe, and the Male Bathroom Block was later converted into a pathology laboratory). Moral Treatment or Therapy Era (1909 - 1937) Following the death of James Hogg in 1908, Henry Byam Ellerton (c1871-1951) was appointed as Medical Superintendent of Goodna and Chief Inspector of Hospitals for the Insane. Conscious of the need to find the very best possible candidate, the Queensland Government had advertised widely for the position, including in Britain. Ellerton was chosen from a list of 26 applicants and had 14 years of experience in English asylums. He was an ardent advocate of 'moral treatment' or ‘moral therapy’. Moral treatment marked a major turning point in the understanding of madness and insanity. Formerly regarded as the total absence or distortion of reason and incapable of cure, insanity came to be seen as a product of an immoral or defective social environment; thus, people with mental illnesses could be improved in an appropriate and elevating environment. A critical aspect of moral treatment was the provision of a pleasant environment, emphasising well-lit, well-ventilated buildings with adequate bathing facilities and reasonably sized rooms with sufficient openings and views of the landscape. Recreation and employment were also considered vital parts of the therapeutic process. Ellerton was Superintendent of the hospital for 27 years, retiring in 1936. During this period, Wolston Park assumed its modern form through the construction of its core buildings and the consolidation of its institutional environment. As Ellerton's vision was to create an integrated and self-sufficient community, the grounds were converted into gardens, and wooden fences were replaced with less claustrophobic wire fences. A large bush house, 100 yards long and 20 yards wide (91.44m x 18.29m) [not extant], was established in 1911 to maintain a steady supply of pot plants for the wards and the Recreation Hall and to provide seedlings and young plants for the gardens throughout the hospital. The institution was open to visits from relatives and friends, and recreational activities became integral to its operations. While aesthetically pleasing gardens and views were considered integral to the therapeutic process, the grounds were also important to the institution's public image. A pleasant, landscaped environment with gardens, bushland, and open space suggested that the hospital was a benign institution and belied its true character as a place where overcrowding was chronic, and inmates were strictly controlled and managed. During Ellerton's administration, an extensive building programme was undertaken, with Ellerton providing specialist input at the design stage for medical buildings. An Assistant Medical Superintendent’s Residence (later Offices) was added east of the male area, and the Recreation Hall extended to its front (south) in 1912. Existing male wards were demolished, and Male no 9 and 10 wards (later Lewis House), Male no 11 ward (later McDonnell House) and Male no 12 and 13 wards (later Noble House) were completed in 1915.15. The Hospital Ward Block (later Hospital) was completed. A cedar, three-panel, World War I (WWI) Honour Board was unveiled in 1916. A new main entrance bridge over Woogaroo Creek, a female admission ward, Female no 7 ward (later Anderson House), the Administration Block (staff offices in 2020), the Powerhouse (offices, stores and small hospital museum in 2020), water reservoirs, and pumping stations were completed in 1914. The Laundry was completed in 1918. Male no 14 ward (later a ward for difficult female patients; afterwards Osler House) was completed in 1929, and Male no 15 ward for difficult male patients (later Pearce House) was completed in 1934; while the Male no 6, 7 and 8 wards (later Gladstone House, Jenner House, and Kelsey House respectively) were completed in 1936. Upon Ellerton's retirement, the male area comprised 13 blocks, all constructed of brick and designed to accommodate between 20 and 120 inmates. However, the upgrading of facilities and the increase in beds from 1910 to 1936 failed to offset the rise in patient numbers, and overcrowding remained a chronic problem. Compared with the extensive building program in the male area between 1910 and 1936, improvements in the female area were extremely modest. Ellerton felt that the expansion of the female area was constrained by the site's topography and advocated additional female wards at other institutions, such as Ipswich Mental Hospital (established 1878) and Toowoomba Mental Hospital (established 1890).19 However, a brick and concrete shelter shed with a fireplace was added near Female wards 1 and 2 in 1929 for ‘difficult patients. During 1910-20, the number of female inmates decreased by 20%, from 491 to 389, and the 1910 level of female population was not regained until 1929. The number of male patients, including war veterans, increased by 30% during this period, rising from 779 to 1010.21. The second cemetery (cemetery no 2), located north of the main buildings and adjacent to the cricket ground, closed in the early 1910s to allow construction of the two-storey male wards, which opened in 1915. A third cemetery (cemetery no 3), located in the northeast sector of the hospital site, appears on 19th-century survey plans. Still, it is unclear whether it also operated in the late 19th century alongside cemetery no. 2. Nevertheless, cemetery no 3 became the sole cemetery for the hospital from 1913 until 1945, as Ellerton reported in 1913 that the ‘disinterment of remains from [the] old cemetery and re-internment in[to the] new cemetery – to make room for new wards’ had been completed. During Ellerton's tenure, the institution underwent considerable material improvements, and several essential services, including a hospital, electricity, and water, were established. For example, pump houses, a water tower (demolished) and a rendered brick Reservoir, located adjacent to the main drive (later called Ellerton Drive) and connected to the Brisbane pipeline from Mount Crosby, were completed in 1914. Also formed was the backbone of the road network and upgraded paths that became the basis of the current layout. The main drive from Goodna (Ellerton Drive, 1870s) was realigned opposite the female wards for their extension c1913, and its level was altered. Foundation stones and kerbing and guttering stones for the drive were quarried from the sandstone ridge beside the river, while the surface gravel came from gravel pits in the institution’s grounds. After a new bridge was erected over Woogaroo Creek in 1916, a new road connecting with Ellerton Drive was formed in 1917 and planted with bunya pines and fig species. Hogg Lane, accessing Male no 5-8 wards, had been formed by 1896. Barrett Drive, which led to the cemetery. 3 (truncated in 1946), was established by 1932 28 but may date to the cemetery's inception in 1913. The track to the new Farm Ward (1916; realigned and upgraded to a road in 1950; later renamed Explorers Walk) was also constructed during this period. Many of the new buildings were well-designed and excellent examples of the Queensland Department of Works' output during this period. Some of the buildings demonstrated a refinement in approaches to patient care, such as the minor, domestic-scale Female no. 7 ward (later Anderson House), which was designed to accommodate female patients upon admission for observation and to receive more individualised treatment than was possible in a large ward. Recreational facilities had vastly improved, and the complex now included three tennis courts, a Cricket Pavilion, terraces, and a Cricket Oval (later the Recreation Ground, now known as the Eddie Gilbert Memorial Field), considered one of the best cricket grounds in the state. A golf course was constructed by patient labour in the 1920s and became the well-regarded Gailes Golf Course (1925), which continued to employ patients in the upkeep and maintenance of the greens. A small hexagonal, timber Visitors Pavilion was erected near the main drive within the landscaped Visitors Garden (1912) below the Administration Block in c1920.32 Patients were also employed in farming activities that aided the hospital's self-sufficiency and conformed with the moral therapy model of treatment. Farm activities included a piggery, a dairy, a small cattle herd, and vegetable and crop production, including oats, maize, and lucerne. These activities were extended with the addition of a Farm Ward (1916; later Community Hall, Pappora) [not extant], attached masonry Kitchen with scullery (c1916), masonry Dairy (1916), Sheds (1916) [not extant], and an Overseers Cottage (1918; later Quarter Way House, Residence) [relocated onsite], all about two kilometres northwest of the main hospital complex, set in a rural landscape with mature plantings, built landscape works, and views. However, no new techniques or treatment methods had been introduced. Even the later Male Wards 6, 7, and 8 (Gladstone, Jenner, and Kelsey) remained firmly grounded in the moral therapy model, despite their new designs featuring unusual plan forms. The institutionalisation of people with mental illness in Queensland had become an efficient system of control and regulation, with an emphasis on confinement rather than treatment or care. More patients than ever were admitted to Goodna, and no other solution to the treatment of mental illness was even considered possible. Mental Hygiene Era (1938 - 1962) Ellerton was succeeded as Medical Superintendent by Dr Basil Stafford, the former Superintendent of Ipswich Mental Hospital, in 1938. Ellerton's retirement provided the opportunity to review the entire mental health system in Queensland and, in particular, Ellerton's total commitment to moral therapy. By the late 1930s, psychiatry was a well-established specialty internationally, though still in its infancy in Australia, and Stafford was alert to the changes psychiatry was bringing to the treatment of mental illness. In 1937, he was sent by the Queensland Government to attend the 2nd International Congress on Mental Hygiene in Paris and to undertake a study tour of hospitals, psychiatric clinics, and universities in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. On his return, Stafford recommended various changes to the mental health system, including the implementation of new legislation. These recommendations led to the enactment of the Mental Hygiene Act of 1938, which closely resembled the British Mental Treatment Act of 1930. It required active treatment for the mentally ill, attempted to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness, and allowed for voluntary admission to mental hospitals. Until this time, hospitals such as Goodna received only certified patients, most of whom were sent there under a magistrate's order. However, the transition to a less coercive approach to treatment was slow, and in 1947 Stafford reported that only 34 of the 570 patients had been admitted under the Act's voluntary provisions. The changes were mirrored by the institution’s renaming to Brisbane Mental Hospital in c1940. The ideas of modern treatment introduced by Stafford emphasised the development of a comprehensive psychiatric approach supported by an adequate number of qualified medical staff. Insanity was seen as a disease of the brain and, like any other disease, required hospitalisation of patients and treatment with drugs. 'Modern treatment, ' he noted, 'demands exhaustive mental and clinical case histories, as well as in-depth physical examination. This cannot be done by a skeleton staff, however willing. This approach also introduced a degree of specialisation among staff and hospital procedures. Stafford advocated separating chronic wards from those for admission, convalescence, and hospital cases. He believed that mental illness demands active therapy, and treatment must not become merely custodial, and urged the use of new types of treatment such as insulin, cardiazol, and electrotherapy. The first building at Wolston Park to reflect Stafford's modern ideas was Female Ward no 4 (later Dawson House), completed in 1944. It accommodated 60 patients and was located on a sloping site near the existing female wards. It was recognised that a building with a basement could be built on such topography, with the basement accommodating treatment rooms for cardiazol therapy, insulin therapy, malaria therapy, somnifaine or continuous narcosis therapy, and other medical treatments. The most striking difference was the minimal attention paid to the external environment; this building was inward-looking, signalling the decline in the importance placed on the environment in 'moral treatment' and the increasing medicalisation of mental health treatment. Another critical building project for female patients at this time was the construction, between 1951 and 1955, of a special female recreation facility of approximately 2.5 hectares on the western edge of the reserve, adjacent to the Brisbane River. The principal building in the area was a brick Cafeteria with facilities to serve 500 patients (later the Ballroom at Wolston Park Golf Clubhouse). Patients could spend the entire day in the recreation area without returning to the wards for midday meals. Other facilities in the area included a packing shed, sewing room [not extant], tennis court [not extant], bowling green [later putting green], a large playing field, nine viewing shelters [not extant] and storage sheds [one extant]. The grounds were landscaped by staff and inmate labour. By 1957, more than 200 patients were regularly using the facilities, underscoring the institution's rigid gender-based segregation across all facets. In 1956, a small brick and timber Visitors Shelter [not extant] was erected west of Ellerton House on Ellerton Drive. By January 1942, 110 returned soldiers were inmates of Goodna Mental Hospital, and the Commonwealth Government expressed concern about the increasing number of admissions. War veterans had become a significant minority of the hospital population since the final years of WWI, and Ellerton had decided that using existing institutions was preferable to building new facilities. During World War II (WWII), however, the Commonwealth agreed to fund the construction of three special wards, with the Queensland Government agreeing to responsibility for the maintenance of the buildings and staffing. The Department of Public Works prepared plans for a complete repatriation unit in consultation with Basil Stafford. Their design essentially resurrected the principles of 'moral treatment' – the buildings were designed to minimise the sense of confinement associated with mental hospitals, and freedom was emphasised by wide verandahs and dining areas opening onto grassed courtyards and lawns. Construction of the wards began in 1946, and Governor John Lavarack opened the Wacol Repatriation Pavilion on 26 January 1948. It comprised three wards: Wards A, B, and C (later named Jacaranda, Silky Oak, and Lilly Pilly, respectively), each accommodating 88 patients, and a Kitchen/canteen block. An Occupational Therapy and Recreation Hall was erected in 1961. A cricket oval (later called Sports Oval) in 1954- 55.41 In 1943, the Superintendent of the Goodna Hospital had advised the Director General of Health and Medical Services that the existing burial ground (cemetery no 3) was ‘almost completely occupied’ and a new one was needed. Instead, the Department of Health and Home Affairs decided to use the local Goodna cemetery and ‘provide a motor hearse for funerals. Another possible reason for closing the cemetery was the proposed location of the new repatriation buildings between the male area and the cemetery. After the cemetery closed, headstones and grave markers were relocated to the Goodna cemetery. Bodies were re-interred, but the number is uncertain. In June 1947, the Courier Mail reported in a critical article on the hospital that the patients were ‘to disinter 4000 bodies from the hospital cemetery and re-bury them in Goodna town cemetery’. However, a heritage plaque at Goodna cemetery notes that 192 bodies from the former Woogaroo Asylum were exhumed and relocated to two areas of the Goodna general cemetery, along with about 2,300 grave markers. Between 1946 and 1951, as part of the site's agricultural expansion, a large dam was constructed south of the farm and irrigation plants were installed. A pumping station on the northern side of the lake supplied water from the dam to both the farm and the vegetable gardens near the male wards. The pre-existing track (later Explorers Walk) between the leading hospital site and the farm was realigned around the dam. In the late 1940s, planning began for a new farm ward complex. Farm wards at the hospital had traditionally operated as semi-independent units, in which patients enjoyed greater freedom and autonomy, unlike the central wards, where patients were locked in their cells. A new site on the summit of a hill east of the existing farm wards was chosen, and a building comprising two large wards, Farm Ward Block A (east) and B (west), with accommodation for 175 patients and a central dining/recreation block, was erected in stages between 1953 and 1957. Access was via a road completed in 1952, which partly follows a small track evident by 1946 (now called Aveyron Road). Patients included both people with intellectual disabilities and people who had responded well to treatment and had the potential for recovery and discharge. In 1958, part of the farmward complex was set aside for patients regarded as having intellectual disabilities and in 1964, a five-teacher school was established to teach the 160 children who lived there. In 1967, a new school building, providing educational and therapeutic facilities comprising classrooms, manual training, domestic science, and special-purpose rooms, grouped around a central courtyard, was completed. Gradually, this complex became occupied by children with intellectual disabilities and was renamed the Basil Stafford Centre. Villa-style patient accommodation was constructed nearby by 1978. 49 From an early period, visiting clergy conducted religious services, but the government provided no specific facilities until after the appointment of three full-time chaplains to the Brisbane Mental Hospital in 1959. To assist them in the conduct of services and in the counselling of patients, three chapels of similar design were erected in a semi-circular pattern at the eastern end of Ellerton Drive in 1961. These were the Anglican Chapel of Christ the King [not extant], the Roman Catholic St Dymphna Chapel, in honour of the Catholic Patron Saint of people with mental illnesses [not extant], and the Council of Churches’ Chapel of Hope (later renamed the Chapel of Resurrection, adapted for use as the Forensic Administration after 1996). In 1963, Brisbane Mental Hospital was renamed Brisbane Special Hospital. Psychiatric and Expanded Services (1962 - late 1970s) The hospital population peaked in the mid-1950s, averaging approximately 2500 residents per day (excluding Wacol Repatriation Pavilion patients) and 700 staff. However, by the late 1950s, the efficacy of large-scale, all-purpose institutions for the treatment of mental illness began to be questioned. It was recognised that patients became institutionalised to the extent that living in large institutions perpetuated their mental disorders and did not assist them in recovering. The Division of Mental Hygiene within the Health Department embarked on a program of expanding acute psychiatric beds in general hospitals and transferring elderly senile patients from mental hospitals to nursing homes. This resulted in a decline in patient numbers at Goodna, and in 1960, Director Basil Stafford reported that, for the first time, the hospital had an excess of beds. The complex began to develop a different role. No longer did it cater for every type of patient from every part of the state; instead, the majority of inmates were long-term chronic patients. The new Mental Health Act of 1962 emphasised the integration of psychiatry with other services and placed a greater emphasis on voluntary admission. The complex was known as Brisbane Special Hospital at this time; in 1969, it was renamed Wolston Park Hospital. With the reduction in long-term patients at the hospital, the old farm ward buildings at the northern end of the site were repurposed in 1965 as a new alcohol rehabilitation centre, known as the Wacol Rehabilitation Centre. Alcoholics had been patients at Wolston Park since the Inebriates Act of 1892 allowed for their admission to designated institutions; however, there had been no specific facilities for them. New buildings were erected adjacent to the former farm ward, including four wards, offices, and an occupational therapy area. These were a 1960s brick building [not extant]; a new Farm Ward (later called Weeroona), a two-storey brick building designed by Bligh, Jessop, Brentall and Partners, and completed in 1965, which initially served both male and female patients; and a separate complex for female patients (Melaleuca House and Poinciana House) [not extant], designed by Des Hanman & Associates and established in 1974. De-institutionalisation Era (late 1970s) In 1976, the Minister for Health released a paper on the Care of the Intellectually Handicapped, which catalysed significant changes in the delivery of mental health services. The Intellectually Handicapped Services branch within the Health Department was established in 1977 and took responsibility for the Basil Stafford Centre. Research into the long-term effects of institutionalisation and the lack of success in the treatment and care provided in institutional settings led to critical questioning of the institutional model for people with mental illnesses and people with intellectual or physical disabilities. In addition, the increasing criticism of conditions within mental hospitals and the abuse of patients' rights gave impetus to the development of alternative models, in particular, community-based mental health services. The community care model was adopted slowly in Queensland. Institutions were reformed; however, an emphasis on institutional care remained. Short-term care with intensive treatment was the preferred model. Several major building projects, reflecting these changing ideas, were undertaken at Wolston Park during the 1970s, as were extensive remodelling of existing structures. In 1978, the Barrett Psychiatry Unit was established to provide acute care. It comprised eight separate buildings: a reception and admission block; three wards with 32 beds; two wards with 16 beds; a cafeteria; and a medical officer's flat. In 1984, it expanded to include inpatients and specialised services for young people. A new medical centre opened in 1979, and in 1980, Nyunda Park, which included extensive bushland, Joshua Jeays’ former sandstone quarry, a dam, and tracks, was established as an outdoor recreation area. The John Oxley Centre, a forensic psychiatric unit, was built on the western side of the site, adjacent to the Brisbane River, in 1990. Several 19th-century buildings were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s, with renovation and rehabilitation of other remaining 19th-century buildings occurring in the late 1990s. At the time, the Wolston Park Hospital Complex was entered into the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992. Queensland Health owned the entire site, along with Gailes Golf Course and Wolston Park Golf Course (established c1975), both of which were leased. Afterwards, the Basil Stafford Training Centre was transferred to the Department of Community Services. In contrast, the northern sector of the site was transferred to the Department of Corrective Services, with maximum-security facilities, the Wolston Correctional Centre and Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre opening on this land in 1999.57 The Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, opened to the south of the Basil Stafford Training Centre in 2001.58 In 2020, a new youth detention centre (West Moreton Youth Detention Centre) is under construction beside (northeast of) the existing youth detention centre.59 As part of the 1996 Ten-Year Mental Health Plan for Queensland, Wolston Park Hospital was formally closed in 2001. The main hospital became known as The Park - Centre for Mental Health and decentralised its extended care services, placing greater emphasis on rehabilitation and recovery. The Park provided clinical treatment and rehabilitation programs to patients from central and southern Queensland, including care for people with a chronic mental disorder and for people with a mental disorder who also had an intellectual disability; forensic care services; and an extended treatment service for adolescents. New buildings were added, and some of its historical buildings were renovated. Most of the new buildings were of domestic scale and character and included accommodation for patients, as well as medical and administrative facilities. Some buildings were replaced in the 1970s, such as parts of the Barrett Psychiatric Centre. In December 2007, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) acquired a large portion of the former Wolston Park Hospital site, which included more than 30 buildings and other infrastructure, for the site of a new Police Academy and other police functions, including a Centre for Forensic Investigation, specialist operational facilities, and a warehousing and archiving facility. A master plan for the proposed development of the site was created in 2008. In 2009, an additional 41ha, including the early farm site, was acquired by QPS for use as the driver training facility under a memorandum of cooperation with the Department of Corrective Services. Since 2011, QPS has undertaken site infrastructure and landscaping changes to roads and paths, services, open space, and car parks; conserved and adapted six existing buildings for new uses; and added new buildings to the site. In 2020, a 37.75-ha parcel of land on the eastern edge of the site remains undeveloped.63 This was part of a 591-acre (239ha) Reserve for a Cemetery at Woogaroo (R591) gazetted in 1878 but never used for that purpose. The cemetery reserve was altered in 1889, cancelled in 1946, and its land (483 acres/195ha) was added to the then Brisbane Special Hospital Reserve (R593).65 From c1960 until the late 1970s, there was quarrying on the site, northeast of the Basil Stafford Training Centre, accessed primarily from Grindle Road. Gravel extraction from pits on the site, for use in landscaping at the Wolston Park Hospital Complex, also occurred. A strong association between the Queensland community and Wolston Park Hospital Complex has existed for a long time. Throughout much of the institution’s history, it served as a place that provided the community, families and friends of patients with hope for the care and treatment of people with mental illnesses. Individuals, Brisbane and Ipswich businesses, and community groups, such as the Country Women’s Association, Returned Sailors’ Soldiers’ & Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia, Red Cross, Women’s Auxiliary of the Queensland Ex-Prisoners of War Association, and the United Protestant Association provided support to patients through entertainments, gifts, donations, outings, and assistance with sports events. By the mid-1950s, Wolston Park Hospital Complex had become the largest mental hospital in Australia, with about 2,500 daily average residents and a staff of almost 800.69. One history of the institution stated it: ‘was a self-contained community with a close symbiotic relationship to the adjoining township (later, suburb) of Goodna, where most of the staff lived. For many locals, the hospital was the place of employment for generations of the same family.’ Its workforce included health-care workers and a large team of carpenters, plumbers, blacksmiths, engineers and other tradesmen [who] kept the place running, including the generation of electricity from a…powerhouse. During its long history, more than 50,000 people from throughout Queensland were admitted to the Wolston Park Hospital Complex. This led to strong associations with the place, not necessarily positive. Being sent there had lasting impacts on many patients. For those admitted between 1865 and the 1950s, their experience while incarcerated was often one of overcrowding, insufficient staffing, and unpaid work. Later, when the institution’s efforts turned to proactively treating mental illness and returning patients to the community, patients underwent experimental drug or electroconvulsive therapy. Physical and mental abuse of patients by some staff members was always a possibility, as was sexual abuse. With the transition to primarily community-based services, and the establishment of a patients’ advocate (Patients’ Friend from 1977, changing to Health Ombudsman from 2013) and the Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill (ARAFMI Queensland branch formed in 1977), the experiences of patients with mental illness or intellectual disabilities changed. In 2020, mental health and disability support functions remain on the site, serving patients from the Queensland-wide community (The Park-Mental Health Centre, Basil Stafford Disability Services) other community links to the site continue, through participation in sporting clubs such as Gailes Golf Club, Wolston Park Golf Club, and the Wolston Park Centenary Cricket Club, which utilise former hospital recreation facilities. Beginning in 1995, Project 300 was a Queensland Government initiative that aimed to prepare and discharge some 300 patients from Queensland mental health hospitals to community-based accommodation. Given that Wolston Park Hospital was the largest mental health hospital in Queensland at the time, Project 300 had a significant impact on its operations and purpose in the mid- to late 1990s. John Oxley When John Oxley surveyed the Brisbane River, he terminated his trip at the Asylum site. “Termination Point” was where John Oxley landed on 3 December 1823. He then proceeded 700m up the hill, which is now the high-security section of the “Park Centre,” and named it “Termination Hill”. This site was the furthest point that explorer John Oxley, Surveyor-General of Lands in the Colony of New South Wales, reached on his first exploration of the Brisbane River. Oxley’s party landed on the river bend below, and he turned back from here on 3 December 1823. To view the surrounding country, Oxley, with others, ascended “a low hill” which he named “Termination Hill.” The following year (1824), Oxley guided the establishment of the initial Moreton Bay Penal Settlement at Redcliffe. He then returned to this point on the river, and the party camped on “Termination Plains” (now known as Prior’s Pocket, on the opposite bank) before resuming the river survey. Recently, 2023 was the 200th anniversary of John Oxley’s famous voyage of discovery up the Brisbane River to Goodna on 3 December 1823. This led to the area being known as Dingo Hill, which was renamed Gailes by the State Government in 1925. In 2010, the actual hill was officially named Dingo Hill, believed to be the smallest officially named hill in Queensland, standing at just 61 metres above sea level. To mark the area's history, a sign was unveiled today at the corner of Old Logan Rd and Waterford Road to recognise the official geographic name. 1828 Newspaper report Click to view Map showing John Oxley's 1823-1824 survey of the Brisbane River superimposed with a location of the river shown in red Click to view Termination Identification Click to view Termination Plains Click to view Termination Point Click to view Possible Rock carvings Click to view Possible Rock carvings Click to view Early Indigenous Presence “According to Willie Mackenzie, an Aboriginal man born in Kilcoy in 1875, there were three tribal subdivisions that frequented the Ipswich area. The tribes resided in local groups, each occupying a portion of the tribal territory recognised as its particular right. One of the groups occupied the area from Ipswich to Oxley….” http://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_ipswich/history/indigenous_history (2012) It is well established that the Yerongpan clan lived in the Centenary, Rocklea, and Greenbank area. There are indications of a smaller group in the Wacol–Ipswich area. The whole number of Aborigines in this district (Moreton Bay) cannot be much under 5000… the Settlement blacks about 200 in number, the Limestone about 150 and the Woogaroo Tribe about 40. Annual Report on the State of the Aborigines in the Moreton Bay District for the year ending December 1843. Dr Stephen Simpson, Letters p 26, Lang… p12 Support for a clan border through Wacol is suggested by a single earth ring found in Ellen Grove (single rings are often found near clan borders as sites of dispute resolution). “The Woogaroo country stretched from Wacol west towards Redbank and Ipswich and south towards the Ripley Valley. The northern border was the river, and the eastern boundary of the Woogaroo territory with the neighbouring Yerongpan clan was seemingly through today’s Wacol and Ellen Grove.” Archaeologist Michael Strong Dr Simpson’s observations at Woogaroo/ Wacol (1840s). The first Lands Commissioner, Dr Stephen Simpson, established his Border Police Station on Woogaroo Creek/ Brisbane River in early 1843. He travelled throughout Moreton Bay in the course of his work, part of which concerned the Aboriginal people. Simpson adopted the native name Woogaroo for his station: Simpson at his Woogaroo Station had “rarely less than five or six (Aborigines). . . either assisting the Police in the Bush or labouring in the Garden.” 
Simpson to Colonial Secretary 1 January 1844 In September 1844, Simpson reported that tribal pressure had required him to employ a white man “…instead of Jemmy the aborigine – threats from his tribe if he joined the Police, Toby, another aborigine, also threatened…” However, Jemmy and Toby were named as troopers in later reports – until the troop was disbanded in 1847. 31 December 1844 – from Commissioner Simpson to the Colonial Secretary “It is impossible to keep anyone aboriginal consistently at the Station. They change about – sometimes Jemmy, at others Toby or Bomburrah, etc… Letters relating to Moreton Bay & Queensland: A2 series – Reel A2.13 p 729+ “My Station is much frequented by the Aborigines from many parts … Simpson to Colonial Secretary 20 February 1847 For more information: “Wacol, Wolston, Woogaroo 1823-2014” “150 Years – Richlands, Inala and Neighbouring Suburbs in Brisbane’s South West” Before European settlement, two Aboriginal groups lived in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas: the Jagera and the Turrbal, who spoke the Yugara language. Exactly where the territorial boundaries lay between the two groups is unknown; however, the Jagera traditionally occupied the areas south of the Brisbane River while the Turrbal primarily lived north of the river. The region around the Wolston and Centenary creeks was home to the Yerongpan clan, which is known to have occupied the Oxley and surrounding creeks. In 1823, the lost cedar cutters, Pamphlet, Finnegan, and Parsons were the first Europeans to observe this clan. They found two Aboriginal canoes tied at the mouth of Oxley Creek, which they then named Canoe Creek. The canoes were for use by those wishing to cross the creek when travelling east and west along the south bank of the Brisbane River. Later, in 1828, Cunningham and Fraser found Aboriginal huts in the vicinity of the boundary between the Oxley and Wolston catchments. The only documented evidence of an Aboriginal site in the catchments is a bora ring on the banks of Sandy Creek, now located at the end of Kertes Road, Camira. However, a site with a cave in a sandstone escarpment on the Brisbane River at Pullen Reach (Westlake) was identified by the late Neville Bonner as significant for Aboriginal peoples when he visited it with residents circa 1996 (E. Parker 2009, pers. comms.). The catchment, with its rainforests, eucalypt forests and connection to the Brisbane River, would have provided a source of fresh water and food for the local Aboriginal people. The rainforests yielded yams, black beans and wild figs, all of which still grow along the creeks today. Source: WACC & Wacol, Wolston Woogaroo Book Along the Brisbane River Click to view Identification of indigenous artefacts locate around the area Click to view Sandstone escarpment on the Brisbane River at Pullen Reach (Westlake) Click to view Sandstone escarpment on the Brisbane River at Pullen Reach (Westlake) Click to view

Wolston House When Dr Stephen Simpson was appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands for the Moreton Bay District in 1842, the area was first opened up for free settlement following the closure of the penal colony. He was a cultured man, a Doctor of Medicine, a Justice of the Peace, a Police Magistrate and a founding Member of the Queensland Legislative Council following Separation from New South Wales. His first home in the colony was at Woogaroo (where the Wolston Park Golf Club is situated), which was to become the site of the Wolston Park Hospital. In 1851, when the opportunity to buy land in the area arose, he purchased 640 acres (2.6 km2) to the east of his first house on land overlooking the Brisbane River. Wolston House comprises the homestead and garden from the Wolston Estate, a large pastoral property established initially by Dr Stephen Simpson in 1852 and extended during the 1860s by Matthew Goggs. The new property, which included a stockyard, stables, outbuildings and a house and garden, was laid out by surveyor William Pettigrew in 1852. The garden was planned with care. Pettigrew recorded in his diary the planting of fruit trees there, and Simpson was known for his interest in plants and gardening. It is possible that Simpson planted the fig trees at Wolston. The house in which Simpson lived was much smaller than the Wolston homestead that now stands. He had arrived in Brisbane as a recent widower and lived in a way that would have made a significant or formal dwelling unnecessary. He constructed a two-room brick cottage over a sandstone basement. The house was shingled and had a detached kitchen. This cottage now forms the core of the house. Simpson may have added the existing sandstone kitchen that adjoins this section before he sold the house in 1860, or by Goggs. After his wife and child died, Simpson designated his nephew, John Ommaney (for whom Mount Ommaney is named) as his heir. On 11 March 1856, the young man, aged 20, was riding from Wolston station and was thrown from his horse. The horse returned to Wolston, and a search was undertaken. Ommaney was found on the ground insensible and, despite medical attention, died. His body was taken by steamer to be buried in the Church of England cemetery at Paddington . This may have affected Simpson's commitment to remaining in the colony, and a few years later, he put the Wolston estate up for sale and returned to England. According to the auction notice that appeared in the Moreton Bay Courier of 3 January 1860, the estate was by then well established with 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of fenced land, an extensive garden and orchards, 250 head of horses and 400 of cattle. Matthew Buscall Goggs purchased Wolston in October 1860. He continued to operate the estate as a cattle and horse-breeding station and expanded the holding to 100,000 acres (400 km2). Goggs, a farmer's son, emigrated to Australia in 1841 and took up land at Chinchilla with his first wife. He purchased Wolston after his second marriage to Anne Gedge, and they had ten children. Goggs built a sandstone extension to the house in the 1860s to accommodate his family, and in the 1870s, a cedar annexe was added, containing children's bedrooms. Goggs died in 1882 and was buried in a mausoleum that he had built in the grounds of the estate. This was damaged in the 1893 floods, and the bodies of Goggs and two infants were reburied at Toowong Cemetery . Following Gogg's death, his eldest son, also named Matthew Buscall, ran the estate until around 1890, when he moved to Brisbane. A Mr Thomas Matthews is recorded in Post Office Directories as having lived at Wolston between 1890 and 1893 and may have leased the property from the Goggs family. Over the years, the family had bought and sold land, and by 1907, the Wolston property had been reduced to 650 acres (2.6 km2) around Wolston House. Wolston House, 1890 In 1907, the Grindle family purchased the property. They built it up and operated a successful dairy, milking 120 cows a day and selling the milk to Brisbane. They covered the shingle roof with corrugated iron. They rationalised the spacing of the verandah posts, which had previously been irregular, reflecting the stages at which the house was extended. In 1956, the estate was purchased by Robert Hurley. By this time, the property had become run-down, and the house was inhabited by three elderly Grindle brothers who were no longer able to manage it. At the time, this consisted of 117 acres (47 ha) of freehold land in poor condition. The Hurleys rebuilt the property, establishing an intensive dairy business. In 1960, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock resumed the property to develop a tick research centre. They demolished the farm outbuildings and intended to demolish the homestead as well; however, this was saved following an intensive campaign by the Queensland Women's Historical Association, the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and the newly formed National Trust of Queensland . In 1965, the house was transferred to the National Trust and became its first property. Sir Raphael Cilento , who was to become the second president of the Trust between 1966 and 1971, and the architect Karl Langer , were prominent in the acquisition of the homestead and in its interpretation. This interpretation rested on the property's occupation by Dr Stephen Simpson, and it was therefore decided to demolish the timber section at the rear, which was clearly of a later date. When acquired by the Trust, the house was in poor condition. In addition to urgent repairs, extensive reconstruction was carried out. Although it reflects the philosophies of the early 1960s, this approach is unacceptable today. The current conservation philosophy, in line with the recommendations of the Burra Charter , favours minimal intervention and interpretation and embraces the whole life of the house and its setting. The Trust has owned Wolston House for more than 30 years. It remains open to the public as a museum, allowing the effects of changes in conservation philosophies and methods over this period to be studied. Description Wolston House is on a rural site between Brisbane and Ipswich overlooking the Brisbane River. The surrounding land is now occupied by Wacol Correctional Centre and the Department of Primary Industries and retains its pastoral aspect. The house is surrounded by a mature garden containing large trees, a well and a pump. The house is constructed of sandstone and brick, with a galvanised-iron roof, and comprises six rooms. Two cellars with attached lean-tos form a half-basement accessed from the rear. The house is one room deep with the rooms disposed along a verandah supported by timber posts. The rooms are accessed through French windows, with no formal entrance. These consist of a large double room divided by folding cedar doors, a bedroom, a dining room, and a kitchen set at a slightly lower level. Much of the joinery is original; however, much of the plaster wall finishes have been reconstructed, and the ceilings, which were thought to have been pressed metal and plaster, have been rebuilt in secondhand timber. To the rear of the house, brick basement walls remain from the 1860s children's wing, which was demolished in the 1970s. Wolston functions as a house museum, and a modern caretaker's residence is situated to one side of the house. There is a modern toilet block behind the house, and a timber railway building has been relocated to the rear of the site to serve as a store. The gate posts and part of the wall shown in 1930s photographs survive, as do elements of original paving. The collection, which was developed to furnish the house, does not pertain to it but includes items associated with individuals who lived or worked on the property. It contains several significant early pieces of furniture and objects. Heritage listing Wolston House was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992, having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. It is also associated with the formation of the National Trust of Queensland and with Sir Raphael Cilento and Karl Langer, who played significant roles in the acquisition of Wolston House as the Trust's foundation property. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. Wolston House is a rare surviving early homestead, primarily constructed in the 1860s, incorporating an 1852 cottage. The materials and workmanship that survive from these stages of building illustrate techniques not commonly found in small rural buildings of this period. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. By its form and the absence of a formal entry, the building demonstrates aspects of the way of life of the district's first European settlers. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance The building's character and its relationship with the landscape have considerable aesthetic appeal and are well-received by the community. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. The earliest part of the house is associated with Dr Stephen Simpson (1792-1869), a prominent figure in public life during the early years of Brisbane. It is also associated with the formation of the National Trust of Queensland and with Sir Raphael Cilento and Karl Langer, who played significant roles in the acquisition of Wolston House as the Trust's foundation property. HISTORIC WOLSTON. By F.E. LORD. Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Click here to view Sir Raphael Cilento demonstrating laundry mangle to Governor Sir Alan Mansfield, Wolston House, Wacol. 1969 Click here 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, on balance, it was more desirable 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 emenainments, 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." Plans for a complete repatriation unit were prepared by the Works Department 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, the freedom being emphasised by wide verandahs and the 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 was opened on 26 January 1948 by Governor John Lavarack. 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. A cricket oval was constructed by patients 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 the 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 them with facilities for preparing light refreshments for themselves 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 laundry in the centre. An occupational therapy room was built in the basement in 1957, and in the 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 can 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 has significant features such as 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

Medical Superintendent’s Residence Built-in 1898 Today, known as Manor House This building was erected in 1897 as a residence for the medical superintendent. It replaced a timber residence which had been severely damaged in the 1893 flood. A new site was selected on higher ground and away from the main asylum. The residence was comprised of a drawing room, bedrooms, dining room, pantry, and servery, bathroom, kitchen, servants' room, nursery, office, and a detached washhouse and laundry. fireplaces (marble, timber, tile surrounds) Also located nearby are two small freestanding brick outbuildings retained to the house’s rear (north) – a former garage (coach house) and a smaller, square building (smokehouse) Chronology: 1898: building construction was completed 1912: additions added 1966: alterations to the kitchen wing Superintendent's Residence 1909 Click to view Superintendent's Residence around the 1950s Click to view Medical Superintendent’s Residence with Smokehouse can be seen in the right corner. Click to view Medical Superintendent’s Residence 1909 overlay with 2022 Click to view Smokehouse heritage collection from State Library of Queensland 2001 Click to view

Patients we have learnt about publicly thru various public sources "The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living" Marcus Tulliuis Cicaro The first known patient death at the asylum Eliza Gorman Age: 31 Birth Year: 1833 Death Date: 13th January 1865, Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum Arrival Date: 20 Nov 1864 Queensland, Australia, on the Fiery Star Eliza Gorman was a young Irish woman who had been committed as a lunatic from the South Brisbane immigration depot in February 1864. Fellow passengers on her ship said she had been placed under restraint on the ship that brought her to Australia for her ‘exceedingly violent behaviour’. The warden at the depot gave similar evidence, and Eliza was committed. She was among the group brought down to the new asylum, but she died the following day. The cause of death was said to be ‘gradual decay’, but she was described as having been in a state of ‘profound melancholy when admitted’. Susan Shrimpton 1880–1954 BIRTH 4 AUG 1880 • Nanamy Station, Forbes NSW DEATH 8 DEC 1954 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland Johanna Rice 1861–1894 BIRTH 1861 • Ballinvally, Carlow, Ireland DEATH 21 MAY 1894 • Wacol, Brisbane Region, Queensland Burial of Johanna BARTLETT, with her Brother John Rice, and her daughter- [May] Mary Josephine Bartlett, all buried together, at Ipswich General Cemetery - Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Death of Mary Josephine BARTLETT (24 June 1894, died only an baby infant) Ephraim Robert Claude Brooke 1881–1943 BIRTH 25 JULY 1881 • Normanby, Taranaki, New Zealand DEATH 16 MAY 1943 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia. Admission to Goodna Mental Asylum 13 December 1925 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia. Qld State Archive Item ID1384872 Declared Mentally Incapacitated 13 December 1925 • Qld State Archive Queensland State Archives Item ID1384872, Insanity file Death 16 May 1943 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia. Cause of death listed as cardiac failure and myocardial degeneration. buried on 18 May 1943 in Lutwyche Cemetery Margretta Elizabeth Wagner 1865–1954 BIRTH 11/9/1865 • London, Middlesex, England DEATH 12/8/1954 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna Ellen Sophie Kruck 1843–1943 BIRTH 11 FEB 1843 • South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia DEATH 31 JAN 1943 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Remembering Randall Carrington involuntary patient in Wolston Park Mental Hospital in 1970s. Randall Carrington Randall Scott Carrington was first admitted as an involuntary patient into Lowson House Mental Ward, Brisbane Hospital, on 16/06/1978, aged 17. After five weeks, he was admitted as an involuntary patient under the 1974 Mental Health Act for a year and transferred to Wolston Park Mental Hospital. Initially, he was placed in McDonnell House. After a few weeks, he was transferred to Pearce House, a brutal, locked ward for convicted violent offenders. John Milfull 1876–1948 Birth JUL 1876 • Cleator Moor, Cumberland, England Death 22 MAY 1948 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Herbert Dyer 1883–1947 Birth 1883 • Marrickville NSW Death 15 OCT 1947 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, QLD Charles Wesley Round 1867–1920 Birth 25 AUG 1867 • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Death 17 JAN 1920 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia John Devine 1879–1955 Birth 7 MAR 1879 • Baskinagh, Athboy, County, Meath, Ireland Death 7 APR 1955 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Elizabeth Matilda Parish 1852–1934 Birth 1852 • Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Death 02 JAN 1934 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, Qld Harriott Pikett 1843–1922 Birth 8 OCT 1843 • Camberwell, Norfolk, England Death 3 AUG 1922 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Sarah Ann Mace 1868–1941 Birth 1 NOV 1868 • Bonshaw Station, Tenterfield, N S W Death 29 JUNE 1941 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Qld. Aust James Scorgie 1862–1923 Birth 20 MAR 1862 • Buckie Banffshire Scotland Death 12 APR 1923 • Mental Hospital Goodna Brisbane Qld Australia Alfred Francis "Curly" Chandler 1883–1964 Birth 2 DEC 1883 • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Death 12 DEC 1964 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Queensland, Australia William Henry Henderson 1889–1953 Birth 25 JAN 1889 • Mackay, , Queensland, Australia Death 15 OCT 1953 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Queensland, Australia Emily Isabella Cannell 1856–1947 Birth MAR 1856 • Liverpool, Lancashire, England Death 26 JULY 1947 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Edward Joseph Weston 1855–1926 Birth AB 1855 • Suffolk, England Death 22 FEBRUARY 1926 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Qld, Australia Edward Joseph Weston 1855–1926 Birth AB 1855 • Suffolk, England Death 22 FEBRUARY 1926 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Qld, Australia Mary Jane Rush 1851–1930 Birth 1851 • St George, Queensland, Australia Death 3 SEP 1930 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Matilda Greinke 1880–1961 Birth 23 DEC 1880 • Kaschnitz, Pommern, Prussia Death 19 MAY 1961 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Catherine (Kate)Kathleen Boyce 1856–1929 Birth 1856 • Beechworth, Victoria, Australia Death 21 MARCH 1929 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Alfred Jonathan Runham 1851–1938 Birth 6 APR 1851 • Sawston, Cambridgeshire, England Death 26 DEC 1938 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Queensland, Australia Thomas Auton 1885–1936 Birth 1885 • New Plymouth, New Zealand Death 5 MAY 1936 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Frederiche Wilhelmine Auguste Zellmere 1851–1919 Birth 1851 • Neu Larzig, Dramburg, Pomerania, Germany Death 25 DEC 1919 • mental, hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Percy Young 1876–1950 Birth 01 JUN 1876 • Birmingham, Warwickshire, England Death 31 MAR 1950 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna John (Jack) Burrows 1896–1956 Birth ABT. 1896 • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Death 21 JUN 1956 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia James Madden 1855–1936 Birth 11 MAY 1855 • Jamberoo, New South Wales, Australia Death 10 OCTOBER 1936 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland Joseph McLean 1858–1943 Birth 1858 • Lostwithiel. St Winnow, Cornwall, England Death 16 OCT 1943 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Janet Kerr Barclay 1874–1928 Birth SEP 29, 1874, • Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland, Death MAY 16, 1928, • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Eva Mary Douglas 1872–1948 Birth ABT. JUN 1872 • Pancras, London, England, Death 7 OCT 1948 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Irvine Crain 1834–1919 Birth 08 SEP 1834 • Corkill, Kilskeery Parish, County Tyrone, Ulster Nth Ireland Death 5 DEC 1919 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Eileen Fysh 1834–1958 Birth 05 SEPT 1899 • Toowong, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Death 3 MAY 1958 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Martha Helena Gunzler DEATH 18/12/1953 Martha was admitted to Goodna Asylum in September for 'having a weak intellect and being troublesome at times' in September 1915. She was transferred to Toowoomba Mental Hospital in 1918, where she remained until her death. Anna Marie Karoline Meier 1887–1928 Birth 25 JAN 1887 • Mt Beppo, Queensland, Australia Death 9 MAY 1928 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Lillian Sherman Markwell 1874–1936 Birth 16 SEP 1874 • Slacks Creek, Logan River, Queensland, Australia. Death 01 NOV 1936 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Queensland, Australia Eva Emily Percival 1904–1922 Birth 6 MAY 1904 • Ayr, Burdekin Shire, Queensland, Australia Death 16 OCTOBER 1922 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Andrew Clanachan 1858–1934 Birth 11 DEC 1858 • Kirkcowan, Wigtownshire, Scotland Death 26 JUL 1934 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Qld, Aus Mary Hannah D'Arcy 1881–1958 Birth 12 JAN 1881 • Auckland St, Bega, New South Wales, Australia Death 6 MAY 1958 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland Mary Jane Tucker 1869–1952 Birth 17 MAR 1869 • North Pine, Queensland, Australia Death 07 JUL 1952 • Goodna Mental Hospital. Goodna, Queensland, Australia Eliza Arberry 1862–1945 Birth 9 AUG 1862 • 5 Lower College St, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Death 6 AUG 1945 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia James Bryan 1862–1935 Birth 1862 • Clogher, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Death 29 OCT 1935 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Qld, Australia Hugh Alexander Ellis 1888–1962 Birth 08 MAY 1888 • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Death 14 SEP 1962 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Queensland, Australia Denis Gregan Dillon 1866–1931 Birth SEPT 1866 • Kinard, Limerick, Ireland Death 7 JUL 1931 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Queensland Elsie Myra Lewis 1910–1967 Birth 27 APRIL 1910 • Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Death OCT 20, 1967, • Goodna Mental Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Edward Joseph Weston 1855–1926 Birth AB 1855 • Suffolk, England Death 22 FEBRUARY 1926 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Qld, Australia William John Forsyth 1895–1935 Birth 30 JAN 1895 • Fassifern Valley, Queensland, Australia Death 17 JAN 1935 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia Frances Helen Wooroolah O'Donahoo 1910–1946 Birth 31 JAN 1910 • Blackall, Queensland. Australia Death 9 DEC 1946 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia George Stenhouse 1872–1949 Birth 9 DEC 1872 • Channelkirk, Berwickshire, Scotland Death 4 FEB 1949 • Goodna Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Oda William Atkins 1887–1963 Birth 1 NOV 1887 • Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia Death 17 JUN 1963 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Harold Sheppard 1891–1935 Birth 13 DEC 1891 • Quay Street, Bulimba, Queensland, Australia Death 20 MAY 1935 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia George James Benham 1830–1902 Birth 19TH SEPTEMBER 1830 • Baptised Parish of Hinton Ampner, Hampshire on 19 Sep 1830 Death 4 AUG 1902 • Died stroke, Goodna Mental Hospital John Moffat Young 1861–1941 Birth 12 MAY 1861 • Milton, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland Death 31 MAY 1941 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland, Australia John Henry Grisinger 1889–1955 Birth 20 JUL 1889 • Bogambil near Lismore, New South Wales, Australia Death 9 MAY 1955 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, New South Wales, Australia Charlotte Fox 1849–1938 Birth 15 SEP 1849 • Nag's Head Hill, Clifton St George, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Death 26 SEP 1938 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Victor Ernest Henry White 1896–1948 Birth 22 JULY 1896 • Boundary Street, Spring Hill, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Death 15 AUGUST 1948 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia John Frederick "Joseph Hugh" Bebb Barry 1870–1956 Birth 19 JUL 1870 • Mortlake, Surrey, London, England Death 29 AUG 1956 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Blanche Hilda HANSEN 1905–1942 Birth 16 JUN 1905 • Limestone Creek, Yeppoon, Queensland Death 27 AUG 1942 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Queensland Mary Jane Crain (Fletcher) 1864–1943 Birth 14 JAN 1864 • Araluen, New South Wales, Australia Death 12 JUL 1943 • Brisbane Mental Hospital, Goodna, Brisbane, Queensland James Garrad 1887–1925 Birth 6 MAR 1887 • Hope Island, Logan, Queensland, Australia Death 26 SEP 1925 • Mental Hospital, Goodna, Qld Cecilia Kelly 1876–1939 Birth 7 OCT 1876 • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Death 4 NOV 1939 • Mental Hospital, Goodna. Aged 63 Years. Dulcie May Lake (nee Swindell) Dulcie May Lake (nee Swindell) Click to view Letter Click to view Letter to the Governor of Queensland from the Home Secretary's Office, Brisbane, providing information on the cases of members of the Australian Imperial Forces who have been admitted to Goodna Asylum. Dated 9th January 1917 Click to view Click to view Click to view Here we see the 1904 inquiry into the death of patient Thomas Ireland. Who drowned in a body of water at the former quarry located out the back of the Asylum. He was buried at the cemetery site no 2 Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Admission notice and medical reports for Carl Anderson or Andersen from Denmark, who was discovered wandering in Beaudesert. Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Courtesy of the Queensland State Archives here we see a patient file from the year 1900 of john Softley 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 Patient David Nolan Born: 1841, Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland Died: 6 July 1898, Woogaroo Asylum – Mania & Exhaustion Magisterial Inquiry held at Woogaroo Asylum, 7 July 1898, by W Yaldwyn PM Buried 8 July 1898, Asylum Cemetery 2 Great Grandpa David Nolan was born in County Tipperary in 1841 to Edmond Nolan and Catherine Morrissey, one of four known children. David was baptised in the Roman Catholic faith in the Parish of Cashel on 16 May 1841. In 1877, David boarded the brand-new immigration ship, Saraca, bound for Maryborough, one of 275 Assisted Passengers. The Saraca departed Greenock, Scotland, on 18 Aug 1877 and arrived in Maryborough on 14 December 1877. On 22-Nov-1882, David married Bridget Hogan, an Irish immigrant who had arrived just 5 months prior, in St Mary's Church, Maryborough, according to the rites of the Church of Rome. David worked for the Queensland Government Railways, according to the Staff records—the earliest known record dates to 1889, as a Labourer. The 1892 Staff record shows he was a lengthsmen. David & Bridget had six children before Bridget died on 14 Sep 1892, just 9 months after the birth of their 6th child. Great Grandpa Nolan then married another young Irish Immigrant, Eliza Tinkler, on 9 July 1893, again at St Mary’s Church, Maryborough. David and Eliza had three children: Alice Margaret, born 19 Jun 1894 and died 1 Jul 1894; and Lizzie, my grandmother, born 17 Sep 1895 and died 3 Apr 1980. Their 3rd Child, William John, was born on 20-Jun-1898 whilst his father was in Woogaroo Asylum and died on 13 Mar 1899. David was committed to Woogaroo Asylum on 23 June 1898 and died, just 2 weeks later, on 6 Jul 1898 of Mania and exhaustion. Woogaroo Asylum contacted Eliza to request a contribution toward the maintenance of our David whilst in their care. The letter she wrote in return says, “Sir, referring to your letter of 26th October, my husband David Nolan has no property of any kind. He has no relations in Queensland. He left eight children, including an eight-month-old infant. The oldest boy is only fifteen. I cannot earn sufficient income to purchase food for my children. I am relying on the Government for housing because my husband was a lengthsman on the railway line. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Obedient Servant, Mrs D Nolan. An article in the Maryborough Chronicle on Friday, 24 March 1899, advertises “A social and dance will be held in the Hibernian Hall on Easter Monday night, under the auspices of the HACB Society and in aid of the widow and orphans of Late D. NOLAN”. I cannot begin to imagine what it was like for Eliza and the children at the turn of the 19th and the start of the 20th Century. Times were tough for a lone woman. So different to our lifestyle now! Life improved for Eliza, who married Andrew Jessen, a widower with 14 children (yes, I said our Eliza was excellent) in 1900 and lived a happy life bearing him three children. I have not found any record of a grave marker for David Nolan in the relocated Goodna Cemetery Click to view Click to view Click to view Patient John Cook Till John Cook Till was a Pearl Trader, Gunrunner to French New Caledonia, and supplier of indentured labour from Vanuatu and elsewhere. He lived on Middle Percy Island 1860/80s. He went to Brisbane for medical treatment for Flu-like symptoms. Then spent the last 25 years of his life, from 1887 to 1912, at Goodna Asylum. He was a Master Seaman. He was also a person of interest to the French and British Governments. Click to view Click to view Click to view Click to view Patient Robert Mandy Edols Robert Edols was admitted to the asylum in May 1894, aged 29 and died there on 21st May 1940, aged 75. 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 Eliza Jaccard late of Rockhampton, aged 11 years, of epilepsy Birth 1878 • Switzerland Death 25 May 1889 • Goodna, Queensland, Australia Brisbane Mental Hospital, Wednesday 10 March 1886 An inquiry was also commenced on Friday Last by sub-committees appointed by the committees of the Rockhampton Benevolent Society and the Port Curtis and Leichhardt Districts Hospital for ascertaining if there was any truth in the charge made verbally by Dr Macdonald against the matron of the Children's Hospital. It seems the doctor told that lady, a Mrs Mills, that she had ill-treated a child named Eliza Jaccard, and that he would no longer permit it. She wrote to the society's committee, by which she was appointed, demanding an investigation. Dr Macdonald was examined and cross-examined at great length, The substance of his evidence was this:-"At 4 o'clock one morning I was lying in my bed in my residence, which is fifty yards distant from the Children's Hospital, and heard smacks; a child, Eliza Jaccard, screamed, and I heard Mrs Mills call her a dirty brute, and a dirty beast; I saw the child, too, on two occasions, tied up to the lattice with a cloth; she was partly suspended in this way, the band being around her waist." Mr Henry Jones, who was vice president of the Port Curtis Hospital when the alleged brutality took place, was also examined, and he declared that when he saw the girl on the day following the castigation, there were no marks save a few pimples on her. He also stated that she was an idiot and that, when he endeavoured to pat her head, she shrank back and howled. The inquiry was not concluded on Friday, and when the ladies and gentlemen met on Monday to continue it, they were presented with a letter signed by Dr Macdonald and several employees at the General Hospital, stating that the matron had been intoxicated the previous day and that the doctor had to discharge her. The visitors' book was produced, and it contained a memorandum signed by the police magistrate and the mining registrar, corroborating these assertions. A motion was then passed in favour of discontinuing the hearing of evidence as to the charge of cruelty, it being the opinion of all the members of the committee that there was no need for further prosecuting the investigation, as the matron, who had demanded it, was absent. The position of the Children's Hospital was then discussed, and it was decided to recommend that the named institutional committees take steps to place it on an independent basis under the management of an independent committee. Other matters of detail were arranged, and the proceedings terminated. Wikitree Biography (Information sourced from Family Tree research, compiled by Erica Knox, nee Goltz) All that I know of my mother’s maternal grandmother was that she died in Switzerland, survived by her husband and three little daughters. Her husband (Mum’s grandfather, Albert Jules Jaccard) was born in 1849 and emigrated from Switzerland as a widower with the three little girls. The eldest was Marguerite (known as Maggie), then Matilda Emma (known as Tilly - Mum’s mother) and their little sister, Eliza. Matilda’s marriage certificate gives her birthplace as St Croix, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Sadly, Eliza died as a child. Mum had always believed that she died as a result of eating poisonous berries. I located her name, written as “Glisa”, as well as those of Albert, Matilda and Marguerite, as passengers on a ship from England, the “Merkara”, owned by the British East India Company, which left Plymouth, England, in March 1883 and arrived at Cooktown about 11 th May 1883, then sailed on to Townsville. I seem to remember hearing (probably from my cousin Ivan) that a son, Paul, had previously died in Switzerland. I was anxious to unravel the mystery surrounding Eliza’s fate and originally thought that her name was either “Glian” or “Glisa” as that was how it was recorded on the Merkara’s passenger list. I had been unable to find any record of the death of either Glisa Jaccard or Glian Jaccard in Queensland, but there is a record in the Queensland Police Gazette 1889 of an Eliza Jaccard who died of epilepsy at Woogaroo Asylum in Goodna, in 1889 (parents unnamed). At this stage, I thought Eliza’s name was “Glian” or “Glisa”, and although the name “Eliza” was different, I had a gut feeling about it. Perhaps there might have been a case of mistaken handwriting on the Merkara’s passenger list, and “Glisa” and “Glian” were recorded instead of “Eliza”? A record in the Queensland Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages shows that Eliza Jaccard (parents unnamed) died in 1889, was born in Switzerland, and was aged 11 years. “Glian” Jaccard, listed as a passenger on the Merkara, was said to have been born “about 1879”, aged ten or 11 in 1889. The Australia Death Index lists Eliza’s date of death as 25 th May 1989. The article at right appeared in the Brisbane Courier Mail on 10 th March 1886. If the Eliza Jaccard referred to was my great-aunt, her short life was indeed tragic. She was only a child when her mother died, and she was subjected to unspeakable treatment at the hands of the matron of the Children’s Hospital, and then died in a mental asylum in 1889 at the age of eleven. I later found a report in The Morning Bulletin dated 2 nd March 1886 regarding the ill-treatment of Eliza Jaccard whilst a patient at the Children’s Hospital in Rockhampton. It included the following passage: “She is the daughter of a blacksmith who works at the Central Queensland Meat Export Company's Works, and the disease from which she suffered was caused by eating berries of some kind; she is subject to fits”. There was no longer any doubt that the ill-fated Eliza was the daughter of Albert Jules Jaccard Grandma Hill had told her children that her sister died from eating poison berries. Many years later, Ivan Williams (Rita’s son) did a lot of work on the family history, well before we had the benefits of computers and the internet. He was unable to find any mention of Eliza arriving in Australia with the rest of the family and wondered if she had died on the voyage and been buried at sea. Mum then wondered if Grandma had mentioned the poison berries to frighten her children about eating such things. Now we know that Eliza did indeed eat the berries. It must have been so difficult for Albert Jaccard, a single parent who had to work to support his children, and would have had no one to help him and give Eliza the care that she needed. She was eventually transferred from the Children’s Hospital in Rockhampton to the Woogooroo Asylum, so far away from her family, where she died alone in such tragic circumstances. The inquest into Eliza’s death recorded that she was transferred to the Asylum from Rockhampton in December 1886, aged eight. After we had discovered what happened to Eliza, Katie made some phone calls and found out that Eliza was buried at the Woogooroo Asylum, but from 1945 to 1950, 200 bodies were exhumed and transferred to Goodna General Cemetery, where a memorial wall has been erected. We were told that it was possible to have a plaque made and erected on the wall, so Katie and I had one done. In June 2018, Kevin, Katie and I had a holiday at the Scenic Rim and on our way home, we called at the Goodna Cemetery to see the plaque and pay our respects. It was a very sombre place, but we were pleased that we had recorded Eliza’s name. There were very few plaques on the wall. Memorial Plaque at Goodna Cemetery Click here Inquiry Paperwork Click here Click here Click here Click here Click here Click to view Click here Miscellaneous Files 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 Remembering the South Sea Islanders at Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum

Early Asylum Site Before the establishment of the Early Asylum Site (former Woogaroo Insane Asylum, established 1865, demolished following the 1890-93 floods), the area was the site of the former Simpson Residence (1843-44), which comprised a house located on the ridge, with stables to its southwest, and a series of dams along a north-south watercourse to its east. Historical documents indicate the Early Asylum Site was arranged with a cemetery near the confluence of the Brisbane River and Woogaroo Creek; a hospital to its northwest; and a men’s ward and various service buildings, along the central curved ridge where the cafeteria currently stands and to its south. Initial access was via a wharf on the river to the north, and later a series of bridges (a footbridge in the 1870s, a timber road bridge by 1896, a stone and timber road bridge in 1916) crossed the creek southeast of the men’s ward. A steam saw and a nearby cottage were located northeast of the footbridge. The female ward stood on higher ground to the north, with a doctor's residence to its immediate south. By 1896, water management and farming infrastructure included a dam along what is now Boyce Road, and a nearby sawmill, stables, and piggery. In 1862, the final site for the first Asylum building was determined: it was the site formerly occupied by Dr Simpson's Border Police Station, near the junction of the Brisbane River and Woogaroo Creek. This land was flat and already cleared, and had a wharf nearby. Building began in 1863, with bricks made on site and timber and stone cut locally. The first patients arrived by river in 1865. The new Lunatic Asylum at Woogaroo has been fairly commenced. It is the first block of a series of buildings to be constructed hereafter for the exclusive accommodation of the insane. The design partakes of the Italian order of architecture, and the building, when completed, will have a neat though not showy appearance. The walls, two storeys high, are to be composed of brick and stone, the roof of slate, and the building is estimated to accommodate 48 males and 32 Floods Whatever gains in improving and expanding the ward accommodation were achieved in the building work during the 1880s were suddenly negated when the asylum experienced severe flooding in March 1890. The Brisbane River rose to a height of 40 feet, the highest level ever recorded. All of the male section was inundated, and damage was caused to all the buildings, as well as fences and other structures. Three months were required to repair the damage before patients were able to return to the buildings. Fortuitously, the first wards at the new Toowoomba asylum were completed in April. In 1890, a group of patients were transferred from Goodna. Disastrously, another severe flood occurred three years later in February 1893. Abnormally high rainfall in the catchment of the Brisbane River raised the level to an unprecedented height. It caused, according to the Brisbane Courier, "lamentable havoc' at the asylum. All the male wards were again inundated, as well as the four main staff residences. The farm, recreation grounds, and fencing suffered extensive damage. As a temporary measure, more than 100 of the 'quieter' male patients were transferred to the former Diamantina Orphanage at South Brisbane. More patients were transferred to Toowoomba, and the building of new male wards became even more urgent. Relocating the male division The floods highlighted the unsatisfactory location of the main male section. After the 1890 flood, the decision was made to abandon the low-lying area near the river and consolidate the male section on higher ground where two wards had already been erected. In 1890, a temporary timber building was erected in this area to alleviate the immediate problems of overcrowding. A more substantial two-storey brick building for 50 male patients was opened in 1892." The main building program occurred after the second flood. Between 1894 and 1900, four new wards were completed for male patients: in 1894, two similar single-storey wards, each with accommodation for 75 patients; a two-storey brick building in 1898 [Fleming House]; and in 1900, a large two-storey block. By the turn of the century, the male section comprised a well-defined group of eight buildings. A cricket ground was laid out in 1895 by patient labour adjacent to the male wards. Early Dams A series of three dams along the watercourse that runs roughly north-south and feeds into Woogaroo Creek North Dam - Substantial earth dam forming part of the current Boyce Road alignment, and a reservoir Central dam/crossing - Stone and earth dam/crossing remnants, located along an early (1860) former road alignment South Dam – Earth dam Stone Bridge Abutment (1916) End of Ellerton Drive Areas where potential archaeological evidence could contribute to a greater understanding of the early layout and operation of the complex, the activities and living conditions of occupants, and associated transport infrastructure include the following: Simpson Residence Site Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes footings of former buildings and artefacts associated with the site's mid-19th-century residential occupation. Original Asylum Cemetery Site 1 Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes interments, stone and metal grave markers and other artefacts and features associated with asylum burial practices. Original Asylum Hospital Site Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes footings and postholes from former buildings and artefacts associated with asylum medical practices. Original Asylum Men’s Ward, Female Ward, Cottage, Doctor's Residence and Associated Building Sites. Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes footings and postholes from former buildings and artefacts associated with the early asylum site's occupation. Asylum Sawmill, Stables and Piggery Site. Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes footings and postholes from former buildings and artefacts associated with asylum farming practices. Wharf Site & Bridge Sites Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes stone and timber abutments and piers. The Simpson Letterbook Click here to view a very detailed plan of Woogaroo Asylum in 1896, showing the layout of buildings to this day remain as well as some geographical features. 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 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 1893 Flood Click to view 1890Flood newspaper report Click to view The Goodna Asylum Farm. By D.J. Click to view GOODNA— ASYLUM PATIENT DROWNED. 1890 Click to view Contract for New Wards 1893 Click to view Click to view Related Documents to the Early Asylum 1877 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum and the Lunatic Reception Houses of Queensland - Eyles Irwin Caulfield Browne, William Graham, William Henry Groom, William Gill Bailey, William Leworthy Good Drew, Joseph Bancroft Click to view Commission of Appointment - Commissioner re Enquiry Lunatic Asylum, Woogaroo - Patrick Macarthur, Police Magistrate at Ipswich and Albert Maxwell Hutchinson, Sub Collector of Customs at Ipswich - Dated 1869 Source - State Archives Click to view Commission of Appointment - Commissioner re Enquiry Lunatic Asylum, Woogaroo - Patrick Macarthur, Police Magistrate at Ipswich and Albert Maxwell Hutchinson, Sub Collector of Customs at Ipswich - Dated 1869 Source - State Archives Click to view Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld.: 1861 - 1908), Tuesday 18 May 1869, page 4 WOOGAROO LUNATIC ASYLUM. The following is the special report sent to the Colonial Secretary by Mr Hutchinson: Sir,- Although scarcely justified in so doing, officially, I trust I may not be deemed intrusive if, in my private capacity, I venture to submit for your consideration, the following cursory observations, with intention to attract your special notice to what, from a non-professional point of view, appear to be the most salient deficiencies and defects in the condition and management of the Lunatic Asylum, at Woogaroo. As designed for the mere purpose of safe custody, the Asylum, in point of equipment, is not on the customary effective footing of a common goal. As an institution for the treatment of the insane, with a view to the restoration of mental health, as far as my unprofessional understanding enables me to judge, I should say it is simply a delusion. When it is said that the buildings are admirably kept with respect to cleanliness and that the ordinary patients are fairly clad and well-fed, the measure of deserved praise may be considered exhausted. Unfortunately, tile deficiencies at the establishment that warrant condemnation are far more numerous. Briefly, they may be epitomised as including either the insufficiency or utter absence of everything popularly supposed to be desirable or essential for the successful treatment of lunacy. The principal defect that most conspicuously demands early attention is the manifest insufficiency of accommodation for proper classification of the patients. In the male department, the number of leaping rooms admits of a partial though inadequate subdivision by night; but by day, the means are restricted to a separation of the most violent and noisy from the quieter, and the more peaceful from the infirm. In practice, this is effected by drafting them, on release from the sleeping wards, into their respective yards, wherein, and in the mese room attached to each, they are confined until evening, except a few who form what is called "tie outside working party." These yards are three in number, of the absurdly small dimensions noted (No. 1-81ft. x 61ft., No. 2-81ft. a 86ft., No. 8 141ft. a 81ft.), and divided from each other, as well as walled in by a close plank wall, 12 feet high, completely shutting out all view of the surrounding grounds. Being undrained, they are, moreover, muddy beyond measure in rainy weather, and in all weathers unsheltered, save by a not-too-large shed in one and the shade of a tree in another. From early morning until withdrawn for the night the wretched inmates can be seen pacing to and from in various degrees of restless excitement, or lounging listlessly brooding over their misfortunes, whereof, to 10 out of 20; the least endurable would seem to be the galling sense of a gaol-like imprisonment, which, as they cannot understand as a necessity, they resent as an injustice. Without occupation, without amusement of any kind, for the confines in No. 3 yard, there is literally nothing to break the monotony or divert the tedium of the dreary day, except the momentary gratification of consuming their meals. The confines in No. 2 are substantially very little better off. Their enclosure is smaller, and absolutely without shelter from the broiling sun or falling rain as either may happen to prevail; but for them a couple of bagatelle and draught boards, with a pack or two of cards, nod, weather permitting, a game of cricket, would serve, at least for some, to while away for an hour br so the weariness of life. The bagatelle and draughts fail to inspire either a lively or general interest; cricket is held in greater esteem, less perhaps for the pleasure of the game than the chance it affords for a passing glimpse of the outer world. No. 1, still smaller than No. 2 yard, is devoted to paralytics, and semi-hospital patients in various conditions of chronic debility; and this brings me to the second grievous defect in present arrangements, the absence of a proper infirmary for the due treatment of sufferers from bodily ailments requiring special medical care and supervision. One of the chief errors into which the witness Thomas White has, by a not unreasonable misconception, fallen is in supposing the building in No. 1 yard to be the hospital of the establishment. In point of fact, there is no infirmary, nor, as far as I am competent to judge, any hospital arrangements adequate to the proper medical treatment of the sick. Patients requiring such treatment for acute disorders are kept indifferently in wards No. 3 and on the ground floor of the main building, which are not devoted exclusively to their use; and, with the wooden building referred to, called the 'hospital in the yard,' are wholly unfurnished with any of the conveniences of a sick room. The care of the sick by day is dependent on the perfunctory attention of the hall warder, who has other duties to perform, and by night on such casual attention as the sole warder in charge of the entire premises may bestow. I am not prepared to say that in the matter of prescribed sick dirt, and medical comforts, they are altogether neglected. The chief warder, in conjunction with his other numerous and really arduous duties, seems not unmindful of their interests. On the whole, however, I am inclined to believe that all practicable attention under present circumstances is. Insufficient to the requirements of the infirmary patients proper, as well as the usual confines in the "hospital in the yard"-that is to say, patients in a state of chronic debility and of filthy habits. The institution's total inadequacy in ablutionary arrangements constitutes another of its principal deficiencies. Setting on one side the desirability of the most scrupulous personal cleanliness on the part of the inmates, it is almost incredible that in an establishment where plentiful, ablutions in every shape and form are a primary necessity in a then poetic point of after a five years' existence, there is neither bath-room nor bath utensils of any kind save and except three half-hogsheads inn one yard, two in another, and one in the third; four hand-basins in an unused cell, and a dilapidated shower bath, of inconvenient construction, behind the kitchen. With the occasional loan of a tub from the laundry, the appliances mentioned constitute the entire provision for the ordinary and sanitary ablutions of from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty patients, more or less afflicted with insanity, and, as a consequence, for many reasons, requiring more than average liberality in that behalf. But were the appliances better, the means of a copious supply of water are lacking. This is the more unaccountable in that, stinted as it is in the extreme for water, Asylum stands within a distance of a hundred yards in front of the Brisbane River on the one side, and Woogaroo Creek on the other,-from either whereof abundance for the coarser uses of the institution could be made available, at a trivial outlay judiciously expended. The rainfall from the roof of the building itself, collected in a suitable system of underground tanks, would afford a more liberal supply for general purposes than the present method of drawing from the creek by horse and cart, not what is required, but what is used, the difference between the two being in the proportion of one to twenty gallons. So far, however, there is no system of underground tanks; there are only a few galvanised-iron tanks, the contents of which are reserved for drinking purposes. Another deficiency, to which your attention has already been directed, deserves a passing notice, viz., the absence of padded cells, lock beds, and other expedients for dealing more tenderly than present resources permit with patients of violent and destructive habits, especially such as are addicted to tearing up their clothes and bedding. Confinement, in all seasons, in bare hardwood cells, without clothing or other bedding than loose straw, seems scarcely humane or proper treatment. But, under existing circumstances, there is apparently no other course. This is a grave defect and demands prompt remedy. The deficiencies of the dormitory and messing arrangements hardly fall within the scope of my present object. Indeed, little exception can be taken to the former. The wooden linings of the walls certainly impede the complete extermination of vermin. Still, they may perchance be necessary as a protection against the petty destructive inclinations of many of he patients. Both dormitories and mess-rooms are lofty and well-ventilated. The messing also is, on the whole, good, and the ordinary patients are better than perhaps the generality are accustomed to be. This, however, would be rendered more certain of continuance if someone were charged with the special duty of inspecting the rations upon receipt from the contractor, with respect to both quality and quantity. On more than one occasion, I have had to find fault with the bread as being scarcely according to contract. The female department is, in some respects, superior to the male department. But here again, conditions prevail subversive of the objects of the institution. The dormitories are overcrowded, and there are no means of secluding or adequately tending the sick, or dealing kindly with patients of violent and destructive habits. There is a capacious underground tank on the premises, and an excellent corridor available for exercise. But the first is partially rendered ineffective for want of a serviceable pump, and the other is set off by the literally complete absence of even a pretence shelter in the yards, two in number, and surrounded with the inevitable close plank fence so suggestive of penal imprisonment. The drainage of this branch is worse than in any other branch of the establishment. Having referred to a few of the most prominent deficiencies of the asylum, I would now chiefly advert to a few seeming defects in the general management. It cannot be to the advantage of patients that only inexperienced persons be employed as attendants. Still, the fact is that neither warders nor nurses have ever before been employed in an institution of the kind, with the single exception of warder Bailey, lately appointed by yourself, who was for a very short time an employee in the Gloucestershire Asylum. The value of experienced and skilled attendance on the insane is too apparent to admit of doubt. The existence of the defect needs, therefore, only to be pointed out to suggest the remedy and the expediency of its application in making selections for future appointments. The present practice of appropriating the clothes and personal effects of patients for the use of the institution is, to some degree, objectionable. It may be that generally, they are of no great value and that nothing would be gained by storing them for any length of time. Nevertheless, it seems desirable that means should be provided to protect them from use at least for a fixed period. If, ultimately, it became impracticable to return them to their owners upon discharge, they should be replaced by similar articles of a description known to the police, issued only to discharged patients, to obviate the inconvenience that sometimes arises from patients being supplied on liberation with clothes bearing the asylum brand, in connection with the disease. Some patients may note the apparent harshness. Missing in a penniless condition such as have been brought from considerable distances, without any assistance towards enabling them to return p the localities from whence they came, or where they are known. The greater number of patients are of a class who would find the best means of amusement in congenial occupation. Nothing, I feel assured, would contribute more to the benefit of the institution and the individual welfare of the inmates than moderate employment. Not being competent to decide whether they could be employed more than they are, I can only say that if they could, they ought to be. Nor is there any lack of opportunities to utilise their labour. Enlarging and draining the yards, constructing 'underground tanks, improving the spacious and picturesque grounds belonging to the institution, gardening, and even agriculture on a small scale, might well occupy some of the time now spent by many in painful idleness. Trilling indulgences, such as were formerly allowed, would stimulate willingness to labour; but as a rule, being allowed without the sais would, I am inclined to believe, be found to operate as sufficient inducement. The propriety of allowing the warders' non-residence to continue may be doubted. For several reasons, their being quartered in, or in too close proximity to, the institution might not be an unmixed advantage. Still, under a better system, the residents of some areas at different points within the grounds would be served with appreciable benefit. At present, the surgeon-superintendent and the chief warder are the only officers provided with quarters and permanently in residence; the circumstance of one warder currently residing on the premises being a casualty. I have no knowledge of the 'internal condition of the surgeon-superintenont's abode (a prettily situated cottage overlooking the Brisbane River, about equidistant between the two branches of the asylum); and judging from the outside, and unaware of any imperfections, I cannot give even this damaging testimony in favour of We chief warder's quarters, to whom better and not so contiguous to the refractory yard (No. 3) should without delay be assigned. Patient attitudes toward the dying and the dead do not appear desirable. Without this, they seem, in general, sufficiently subjected to dispiriting influences. And here, incidentally, I would venture to suggest that on the demise of a patient, a certificate of death, upon view of the body, should be forwarded at once to your office by the surgeon-superintendent. The cause of death was made the subject of magisterial inquiry by the visiting justice on the next occasion of his periodical inspection. In the future, interments might also be made in the Goodna Cemetery. Small enclosure on the grounds, presently used for that purpose, is full and liable to complete submersion in time of flood. From all that has lately fallen within my knowledge, by personal observation and otherwise, I have little hesitation in expressing a belief that the prevalence of insanity and the treatment of the insane, in their relations to public policy, call loudly for investigation. Both the law and practice regarding committals seem susceptible to improvement, particularly with respect to dypsomaniacs; whilst, as to the asylum itself, the least that can be said is that the buildings require to be remodelled, the establishment to be reorganised, and the administration to be radically reformed. But whether undertaken by the Legislative or the Executive, I would respectfully suggest that inquiry, with a view to the amendment of existing conditions of the institution, will probably fail, without preliminary professional and local survey, with a view to decisive evidence as to site, plans of enlargement, and sufficient means of water supply. It must be remembered that the seemingly excellent plan for the asylum, in the real meaning of the term, initially prepared by Mr Tiffin, has not been carried the present male department being merely part of the administrative block of the proposed structure; whilst tie female department was erected for the special use of paying patients, and forms no part of the permanent plan, according to the original design referred to. Since its erection, the male department has once, if not more frequently, been closely surrounded by an overflow of the Brisbane River. As there is no guarantee that the waters of a flood will not again cut it off, it is an open question whether the higher ground in the neighbourhood of the female establishment would not be a more suitable site, especially if the present building could be applied to some other useful public purpose. As well nigh every detail of the routine and general management is disclosed in the voluminous evidence taken at the late inquiry, now in your hands, together with the plans of the present buildings, I have not deemed it expedient to enter into a description of the premises, or upon an elaborate report on the condition of the institution. Trusting the cursory object. The serrations I have made may not be considered out of place. 1 would beg to be understood as in no way expressing, by implication or otherwise, an opinion as to the professional management. Whether the surgeon-superintendent is or has been equal to the requirements of his position is a question I am neither competent nor called upon to decide. Indeed, the only conclusion I could draw regarding the subject is that no amount of professional skill or ability could, under existing conditions, render the institution adequate to the due care and proper treatment of the average number of patients confined therein. Before bringing this communication to a close, I feel constrained to acknowledge the valuable assistance, received in the discharge of my late duties as a commissioner on the inquiry, from the information contained in the well-ordered and admirably written: letter of Thomas White, published in the Queensland Times, of 9th February last-a letter, I have reason to believe, entirely and in every way his own. Reserving a few practical suggestions of minor importance for a more convenient season.- I have, &c., A. M. HUTCHINSON. (The Courier of yesterday sits very heavily on the above report, rather more so than it deserves. - Q. T.) Link Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.: 1866 - 1939), Saturday 27 November 1869, page 9 THE WOOGAROO LUNATIC ASYLUM. Perhaps the saddest and most painful scenes it is possible to witness anywhere are to be found within the walls of a madhouse. The man or woman who could visit an institution of this kind without being affected by the sights to be seen must possess an unenviable strength of nerve and indifference to human suffering. Eastern travellers report that the Turks and Arabs treat the insane with marked consideration and respect, under the belief that they are divinely inspired. It is not difficult to conceive how such a belief originated amongst an ignorant, devout, and imaginative race with respect to such a mysterious, peculiar, and terrible visitation. To see a number of fellow creatures, most of whom seem to be in the possession of robust health and all their faculties except for that crowning one reason, to listen to their strange weird talk, and observe their conduct, arouses feelings of awe and dread, of pity and commiseration, of deep humility and self-abasement, which are never experienced in the same force under any other circumstances. It is a painful task to witness such a scene, and very few persons ever think of undertaking it except from a sense of duty in some shape. This, in all probability, is the chief reason why the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum was allowed to become such an accumulation of unutterable horrors before any effectual steps were taken to reform the abuses which had crept in. The only visitors were officials of one kind or another, who, as a matter of routine duty, went through the form of an inspection at stated times, and hurried away as soon as possible from the disagreeable scene. The public left the management to the Government and the officials appointed by them and were content to accept the word of these people that everything was being done which could be done for the unfortunate inmates until at last the horrible truth leaked out that nothing, absolutely nothing, was being done for them except locking them up in a foul den out of sight, and leaving them there to their own fearful devices, until the place became more like a pandemonium than a habitation of human beings. Of course, it was never the deliberate intention of any Colonial Secretary or other official person that the Asylum should become such a den of horrors. No one was, or pretended to be, more shocked than these officials when a searching inquiry finally revealed the truth—still, that miserable parsimony which was eternally begrudging any outlay or expense in connection with the institution. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of pounds were being recklessly squandered in other directions; the ignorant apathy of the public, and the apparent want of sufficient firmness and decision of character on the part of those entrusted with the management, produced the result just as certainly as though it had been a carefully devised scheme from the first. With the present Acting Surgeon Superintendent in charge, and after the public exposure which has taken place, it is hardly likely that the Asylum will be allowed to again fall into such a state as it was found to be at the commencement of the present year. Still, the only sure way to prevent this is for the public to keep a vigilant watch over the institution and ensure that it is not neglected. The most devoted and energetic of surgeon-superintendent is apt to lose heart in time if he finds himself left single-handed to battle with all kinds of obstacles, and the present Government seem just as much wedded to the " penny wise and pound foolish" policy as were any of their predecessors. An overactive zeal for economy by saving the " pickings" is, unless checked, almost certain to result in the striking off of necessaries, where it can be done with impunity, rather than superfluities, which are likely to be resisted. The present Government, like all previous ones we have had in this colony, are exceedingly pacific, not to say pusillanimous, and its action is influenced in a great measure by the probabilities of meeting with active resistance from any quarter, not by any simple rule of right. If the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum is made what it ought to be, and can be made,—a clean, comfortable, and healthy re-treat where the insane can be treated under the conditions most favourable to their recovery—it will be because the Government are urged on to make it so by the pressure of public opinion not from any voluntary action on their part. At present, the asylum is far from what it ought to be, and there are already symptoms of peddling, with makeshift expedients advocated by the Government rather than a thorough and sweeping reform as is needed. We paid a visit to the asylum a few days ago for the purpose of seeing what had actually been done and what was proposed to be done, for the purpose of rendering the place more endurable, and a more fitting hospital for the treatment of the insane. We dropped in quite unexpectedly in the afternoon and were received very cordially by the Acting Surgeon-Superintendent, Dr Challinor, and shown over every part of the buildings and grounds. The Doctor seems to take a real pleasure in pointing out what has been done, what he intends doing, and what he hopes to be able to do, in the way of improvements and reforms, and he is justified in feeling a little proud of his work so far. He, at all events, appears to be the right man in the right place at Woogaroo. He has evidently entered upon his duties con amore and made the treatment and cure of the insane an absorbing study, to which he brings that genuine kindness of heart, singleness of aim, and persistent tenacity of purpose, which rendered him such an intractable politician. He also seems to have a good first lieutenant in the present chief warder, Mr Jessie, who, in addition to his experience as a warder in the Melbourne Lunatic Asylum, evidently possesses the qualities of kindness, decision of character, love of order, and administrative faculty, so requisite in an officer of this kind. The Doctor and Mr Jessie have already effected many and significant improvements, as may be seen at once by anyone visiting the place, but having, as it were, to begin with chaos, the distance from thence to perfect order is very great, and the Government are beginning to discover that it is also costly to traverse. They have not yet gone the length of decidedly refusing to carry out the reforms to the desired consummation which have been commenced. Still, they are not showing the alacrity required by the necessities of the case and demanded by the public. The male wards are fearfully overcrowded, and although the number of patients continues to increase, we could not ascertain that any provision whatsoever was being made, or in contemplation, for increased accommodation for them. The building itself was not originally intended for occupation by patients, and therefore can never be made a very commodious and well-arranged asylum. Still, a great deal could be done to improve the accommodation at present provided. In the first place, the over-against without any unnecessary delay. The building is a brick two-story one, and the upper-floor rooms are used as dormitories. These are being made as comfortable as circumstances permit. The ghastly white walls are being colored to a warm, cheerful tint, and the patients are provided with clean sheets, pillowcases, and coverlets to their beds, in addition to the blankets, or fragments of blankets, which before time were their only bed clothing. But the beds themselves are so thickly placed that it is difficult to walk between them. The occupant of one bed can, by merely stretching out his arm, reach over to the middle of the bed occupied by his neighbour on either side. Even in the daytime, when all the rooms were unoccupied, as they were at the time of our visit, those rooms in which the windows were closed to keep out the rain, had a close and sickly smell. When every bed is occupied, and the door closed, during a hot summer's night, the atmosphere must be terribly oppressive and injurious to health, not to speak of comfort. The dormitories, four on each side, if our memory serves us correctly, are divided by a narrow corridor. Each room is crowded with beds in the manner described, some containing as many as fifteen, and there is no means of separating the noisy from the quiet patients. A sane man of nervous and excitable temperament, doomed to pass a week in such a place, would inevitably become as mad as the maddest of his fellow denizens. The warders are no better provided for than the patients. The chief warder, his wife and family, seven in all, occupy, and are obliged to reside, in a couple of rooms at the end of a range of wooden buildings near and at right angles to the main entrance. The remainder of the building is used as a doctor's office, a chief warder's office, and a storeroom. By taking a portion of the storeroom, the chief warder has added a small sleeping room to his quarters, and, by close packing, he and his family can now sleep there. But the door is close to the refractory yard on the one side, and the hospital on the other, every word uttered in these places and the language is sometimes horrible, is heard by the chief warder's wife and children, even when the door is closed, and there is no back-yard accommodation whatever. Another range of wooden buildings, running parallel to those already mentioned, forms the kitchen for the men, and a miserable little room at the end is made to accommodate four wardens. The size of the beds and their closeness together reminds one of the 'tween decks of an immigrant ship more than anything else, and the proximity to the kitchen, being only divided by a wooden partition, must render the room particularly lively at night with one kind of vermin or other. The remaining warders are accommodated in the same luxurious style within the main building. The ground floor of the main building comprises hospital dayrooms for patients, a warders' dayroom, and a dormitory for soiled patients. Currently, only eight patients are required to be placed in this ward. Under the old regime, patients were left to decide for themselves how they went to bed, and the result was that some, from perversity, and others from paucity of bedclothes or the like, went to bed without undressing. The majority of the j patients did so, and some even carried the practice so far as to go to bed in their hats, as well as in their coats and boots. Now that clean sheets, pillows and pillowcases, blankets, and coverlets have been provided for the beds, the doctor has had shelves installed on the corridor wall at the entrance to each dormitory, and the patients are obliged to undress and place their clothes on the shelves until morning. The poor, unfortunates not only understand and duly appreciate the change, but already there is a marked improvement in their habits. Cases of dirtiness are becoming less frequent, and men who would never rise to satisfy the calls of nature have latterly been known, during an attack of diarrhoea, to get up four times in a single night. A few of Mr Tiffin's self-acting earth closets have been supplied to the institution on trial and have been found to perform admirably. The presence of these in the rooms has undoubtedly contributed to the gratifying result. The sooner a full supply of these is provided for every ward, the better. The old hospital, a miserable little shed quite unfitted for the purpose, has now been converted into a bath and lavatory, where a certain number of the patients are once a week provided with a very comfortable plunge bath, with ample supply of soap and water, and can get an extra swill from a shower bath to wash the soap off after. Indeed, baths and lavatories have now been fitted up in every ward, and in addition to a force pump, which supplies water from the creek, a new underground tank has just been constructed, capable of containing 32,000 gallons, to store the rainwater from the roof of the buildings, so that an ample supply of water will be provided. The present hospital consists of three adjoining rooms at the main entrance to the building on the left-hand side; they have recently been furnished with half-tester iron bedsteads, which are to be provided with mosquito curtains in addition to the sheets, coverlets, and other modern conveniences. The third room is darkened and designated for the use of patients with ophthalmia. The hospital might be rendered more comfortable by opening a door from the first room into the yard at the back, called No. 1 yard, which is currently unused, and by erecting a verandah over a recess in the building near the door. It is doubtful whether this will be done without some pressure being brought to bear in the proper quarter, the objection being the expense. The extra space and greater comfort, however, that would be thereby provided, fully justify the outlay, which, after all, would not be considerable. The day rooms for the patients are at the opposite end of the building from the main entrance and open onto a yard known as No. 2 yard. Initially, this was a small place enclosed by a tall hardwood fence that completely blocked everything except the sky. The cross fence has been removed, and the yard extended nearly to the river so that now the poor fellows can obtain a view of the river and a portion of the surrounding country, as well as having more space for exercise, and a much better supply of fresh air. The yard is not so complete as it might be made, as it is still only provided with the old-fashioned privies, the wells of which are now full to overflowing. Half a dozen new earth closets are standing in the shed of No. 1 yard, apparently for the purpose of supplying the place of these privies, but they have not been put up as yet, although they have been there some time. To the right of the main entrance is the refractory ward and yard called No. 3 yard. This yard, which used to be a mudhole in wet weather, has been gravelled and made comfortable, and on the far side, a lavatory, bath, and shower-bath have been provided. The tank over the bathroom can hold 1400 gallons of water. Once a week, the refractories are stripped to the skin, thoroughly cleansed with soap and water in the plunge bath, and finished in the shower bath. The latter is designed to discharge only a small volume of water. Because the operation is performed in the afternoon, the water in the tank above is generally tepid and therefore not disagreeable. The only room in the building remaining to be mentioned is the warders' day and dining room. A list is kept in this room of every patient in the hospital, and each warder has to enter a return on this list three times each day, morning, noon, and night, of every man under his charge. All the rooms are kept scrupulously clean, the men are supplied with clean clothes, and the beds with clean sheets and pillowcases once a week, and clean blankets, coverlets, and bed ticks as frequently as occasion requires. How this is managed is a mystery that we shall not attempt to fathom, but we were assured that it was done, although the laundry is only supplied with two ten-gallon coppers, the Government being such rigid economists. Mr Hodgson, in the first burst of public indignation on the discovery of the state of the asylum, took it upon himself to order a recreation ground of about four acres in extent to be fenced in; this has been done, and an admirable improvement it is, for the men can and do make holiday here every Saturday, playing cricket, quoits, and a number of games, to their evident gratification and permanent benefit. But there is no shady place for them to retire to except a temporary shelter contrived by the chief warder with some fragments of Osnaburg cloth utterly inadequate for the purpose. And what is worse, the laundry is within the fence, and the women employed are therefore subjected to some annoyance from the male patients when admitted to the recreation ground. The other available amusements for the patients are cards, draughts, dominoes, and bagatelle, most of which are impossible due to insufficient room to play without interruption. Mr Hodgson, before leaving, presented the Asylum with a very handsome and costly bagatelle board, his private property, but the Doctor is obliged to keep it packed up in his store because there is no room in which it could be set up for play. The kitchen for this division of the Asylum is large and appears to provide ample accommodation for all requirements. The rations, too, are of excellent quality and ample in quantity, as the following dietary scale will show: Each patient receives daily 1 lb. of fresh meat, 1 lb. of bread, 1 lb. of vegetables, and 1 oz. rice, 1/2 oz. Salt, 1 gill milk, 1/2 oz. Tea, 2 ozs. Sugar, 2 ozs. Maize meal for hominy, 2 ozs. Molasses, 1 oz. Soap and 1 oz. of butter to sick patients, or those who desire it. The weekly diet list is Sunday, roast beef, plum pudding, soup, vegetables, and tea; Monday, corned meat, potatoes, pumpkins, or other vegetables; Tuesday, stew and roast beef; Wednesday, mutton, roast and boiled, soup and vegetables; Thursday, roast beef and vegetables, and soup; Friday, mutton, roast and boiled, and vegetables; Saturday, roast beef and vegetables. All the men who work are supplied with tea each day, and half a pint of beer each day. The work for the men consists of road-making, fencing, gardening, and other occupations of a similar character; and, from a daily return of the chief warder, we found that, out of 118 healthy patients, the daily average number of workers is over 76. Of 54 women, 38 are employed in useful occupations of one kind or another. These facts speak volumes in favour of the new management. In fact, all that is now required to render the male portion of the Asylum very comfortable, and tolerably complete, are the addition of a cottage-ward, capable of accommodating about forty patients; ten or eleven new cells for refractories; new quarters for the chief warder; better accommodation for the under warders; the removal of the laundry to a more convenient situation; and providing it with a better supply of utensils; and the erection in every ward and yard of the self-acting earth-closets. As yet, however, we could not determine whether any of these improvements would be implemented. The Colonial Architect prepared plans for the whole. Still, when the estimates were submitted, some members of the Ministry shrank from the outlay. They thought it must be deferred until the public purse was better supplied with cash, an event which may happen in some succeeding generation, but is not at all likely to occur in this. In the female portion of the Asylum, a number of extensive improvements have been commenced, which, when completed, will leave little to be desired. Fortunately, they were well begun before the Government were taken with their last fit of economy and retrenchment so that they are in a fair way of being carried out. They will consist, in the first place, of a detached cottage ward of wood, two stories in height, with eight-foot-wide verandahs around three sides and most of the fourth. This building is being erected on an elevated site, a short distance from the present female wards. It will command extensive views of the river, the village, and the surrounding country, including Mount Flinders in one direction, altogether a beautiful and pleasant site. The ground floor will consist of a day room and a dormitory, 24 feet by 40 feet, and the remainder of the available space, both below and above, is divided into a lavatory and bathrooms, a nurses' room, sleeping rooms, and the like. Six of the sleeping rooms will be single ones, 8 feet by 9 feet 6 inches, for quiet and convalescent patients. The windows, instead of being barred, will be made with narrow panes in frames of wrought iron, in shape and size like the ordinary wooden sashes, from which, when painted, they cannot be distinguished. This will eliminate the prison-like appearance of the place, which is now objectionable and depressing to patients. There will be no balcony to the upper rooms, but the windows will be fitted with Venetian shutters. The entire ward is to be enclosed by a substantial fence to provide a significant recreation ground of approximately four acres. Another improvement, which is also at a satisfactory stage of progress, consists of a large, well-appointed kitchen and offices. The ground floor is about equally divided. One part of the main building, consisting of a kitchen 20 feet by 20 feet, is to be fitted with a Russell stove capable of cooking for 80 persons, two large boilers, and other kitchen requisites. The other part, consisting of a large room, also twenty feet by twenty feet, is to be a warders' or nurses' dining and day room. It was initially designed to have the kitchen chimney so constructed as to admit of a fireplace for this room, but, by an unwise alteration, as we think, the fireplace in the dining room is to be dispensed with. Even in Queensland, and especially by the riverside, in winter, a fire in a room is necessary to render it all comfortable, and there is no reason why the nurses should not be made as comfortable as circumstances will permit. In addition to the rooms already mentioned, there will be nurses' bedrooms, a storeroom, a pantry, & etc. At the front of the kitchen will be a verandah eight feet wide, floored, and at the back a ten-foot-wide verandah, not floored. Among the minor improvements in this portion of the institution are the enlargement of the yards and the construction of covered airing courts in the refractory yard. The main yard has been opened out nearly to the river, giving a splendid view from the upper part of it, and the refractory yard has been vastly extended in the opposite direction. The previously mentioned covered airing courts are an excellent scheme developed by the Doctors for dealing with refractories. They consist of a series of courts 7 ft. 6 in. wide and about 20 ft. long, covered at the top, with the sides constructed of narrow hardwood boards fixed upright, allowing small spaces, much like an ordinary sawn-wood paling fence, only much higher. The boards are all nailed on from the inside, so that escape is impossible, and the inmates cannot injure either themselves or the building. However refractory and troublesome a patient may be, all that is necessary is to put her into a strait waistcoat and lock her up in one of these courts for a few hours. She is there, secluded from the other patients, and at the same time has the benefit of fresh air and the exercise she prefers, without the necessity of being attended by a nurse. One poor creature we saw there could never be taken out into the fresh air without two nurses to attend to her until these courts were constructed. Adjoining the courts are the refractory cells, or rather, they are in the process of removal from their old site to the bottom end of the new refractory yard. The female ward, although at present too crowded, is much better adapted for a lunatic asylum than those occupied by the men. One-half of the ground floor forms a day room or covered court, and along the sides are the sleeping rooms, each capable of comfortably accommodating three beds but now containing four. The chief nurse's cottage is also as crowded as the male warder's rooms, but when the new kitchen and cottage ward are completed, this objection will be removed. An objection has been raised to the site of the asylum, but we cannot agree with the objectors in this particular. There are all the natural features requisite to render the site both healthy and pleasant. By rearranging the fences, extending the yard, and other similar improvements, a good deal has already been done in this direction. The doctor appears to have been indefatigable in his efforts to effect improvements in this way and has been eminently successful. Indeed, the amount of valuable work accomplished by the patients alone in fencing, road construction, clearing, and beautifying the grounds over the last six or seven months is truly remarkable. A great deal more is under consideration and will, we hope, be carried out, as it involves very little expense and provides beneficial occupation for the inmates. One of these is the construction of a wharf and approaches, partly done already, for the landing of Government stores and other requisites for the asylum from the river. Another is the laying out of a large garden, so that the inmates may grow their own vegetables. A third is to beautify the grounds, and for this purpose, Mr Walter Hill has not only promised to furnish designs but also the requisite number of trees and ornamental shrubs. A very popular innovation has been introduced in the form of biweekly balls on Tuesday and Friday evenings, to which the neighbouring villagers are occasionally admitted, as well as all patients who can attend. One of the patients, a warder, and two visitors provide the music, and the dancing is performed with equal enthusiasm. The enjoyment is as real and significant as at the most fashionable ball in the grandest room in the colony. What is better still, it has been found to have a permanent beneficial effect on the health and spirits of patients. Sometimes visitors drop in from Ipswich, although it is ten miles distant; Brisbane is almost out of the question, being fifteen miles away, and attending one of the balls would necessitate staying in the village all night and returning to town the next day. The general impression left on our mind by this visit to the Asylum is that Dr Challinor is well qualified for the duty he has undertaken, is really and heartily desirous of conscientiously performing that duty both to the letter and spirit, and that he is well seconded by his present chief warder and chief nurse. That a wonderful change for the better has been effected in almost every direction, but that still more is required to be done to render the Asylum decently comfortable; and that the only way of securing this end is to keep public attention constantly directed to it. Link

Anderson House Built-in 1917 Anderson House (former female patient ward 7) is named after Mervyn Anderson, Toowoomba MLA, who was the former president of the Queensland Sub-Normal Children's Welfare Association and known to many as "Curley". The building remains highly intact and stands facing Ellerton Drive. Purpose-built as an admissions ward for female patients, the concept of an admission ward was to provide a facility where patients could be accommodated when first admitted to the institution. It was designed so that new patients could be kept under observation and receive more individual treatment. To achieve this aim, a building of a domestic scale and with individual cells was proposed. Initial sketches for the building were prepared by Ellerton in 1912, but final plans were not completed until February 1915. William Kerr was awarded the contract for a sum of £13,900, and construction commenced in 1915; the ward was 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 was developed in asylums in England in the late 19th century and was a departure from the practice of accommodating 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 and emphasis was placed 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, and more utilitarian buildings such as the School of Musketry at Enoggera. In 2020, the building accommodates 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

Visitors’ Garden and Pavilion Built-in 1920 The Visitors’ Garden is located across from the Administration building and is highly visible from the Ellerton Drive approach. Originally a fenced yet attractive meeting space for patients and visitors, it now serves as the foreground setting for the area's main buildings. The Visitors’ Pavilion (1920) is highly intact and stands centrally in the garden at the end of Wolston Park Road. The garden terrain gently slopes to the south, and its original extent (a semicircular shape defined by the curving Ellerton Drive/Cricket Lane on its northern side) has been obscured by the progressive development of the eastern half since c1955; however, some mature trees and open spaces are retained among the buildings. Early plans indicate that the area was intended for offices and stables for horses. Visitor's Garden Click to view Visitor's Garden Click to view Visitor's Garden Click to view Visitor's Garden Click to view Visitor's Garden Click to view Visitor's Garden Click to view Visitor’s Pavilion Click to view Visitor’s Pavilion Click to view Visitor’s Pavilion Click to view Visitor’s Pavilion Click to view Visitor’s Pavilion Click to view Visitor’s Pavilion Click to view

Riverbank & Nyunda Park Area This area comprises a mix of open and enclosed bushland, a dam, picnic facilities adjacent to the dam and was the location of the former John Oxley Centre. It has remained substantially undeveloped throughout the history of the institution and was prominent in the outlook of the female wards. This area is an important component of the landscape character of the site, and contrasts with the more open and developed golf course area. This area also contains two former sandstone quarry sites, which were worked by Joshua Jeays. Stone from these quarries was used in a number of buildings in Brisbane and Ipswich, the most notable example being Parliament House. It was also the source for the stone used in the female no 1 ward and later in kerbing for the driveways. One site is adjacent to the riverbank and has evidence of workings remaining, while the other site is partially submerged by the dam. Former Sandstone Quarry and Track (1860s) The area west of Explorer’s Walk contains a series of quarry workings where stone was extracted from outcrops along the sandstone ridge. This quarry was one of the first sandstone quarries developed in Queensland. It was owned by Joshua Jeays, and sandstone from the quarry was used in the construction of Parliament House in 1864. The quarry is regarded as significant as one of the first sandstone quarries in Queensland. There are two main workings (north and south) and other smaller workings scattered around the centre of this area. The workings are evidenced by worked faces (vertical) and benched areas (horizontal). They are accessed by a track along which stone was transported to a jetty on the river, approximately 600m to the north. A second track diverts southeast to access the main hospital complex. Northern workings, comprising a group of four faces and benches that step down towards the river; the largest face (closest to the river) is approximately 80m in length. Southern workings, comprising a single face and bench approximately 50m in length. Smaller workings, comprising a collection of worked faces scattered throughout the centre of the area. Early tracks, including route, clearing and formation. Stone jetty remnants along the riverbank (not sighted in 2020), timber bridge remnants, located along the track approximately 60m southeast of the jetty remnants (not sighted in 2020). Hospital Dump Sites The Hospital Dump Sites comprise a series of medium- to high-density artefact scatters located adjacent to a modern powerline easement north of the former Quarry Workings. The scatters contain discarded material associated with the hospital and farm complex, with some evidence that it has been deposited systematically, grouped by type. The largest scatter contains a concentration of glass, ceramic, and metal kitchenware and tableware, including large and small fragments of white-glazed earthenware and stoneware jugs, cups, and other vessels; white-enamelled metal jugs and pans; and assorted metal containers and utensils. Other scatters contain collections of metal milk cans, water tanks, bed frames, wire fencing and electrical equipment. Tracks and sandstone ridge Click to view 1860s track today Click to view 1860s track today Click to view 1860s track today Click to view 1860s track today Click to view 1860s track today Click to view Strange site along the track Click to view Early maps had shown this area as horse stabling area Click to view Early maps had shown this area as horse stabling area Click to view Early maps had shown this area as horse stabling area Click to view Early maps had shown this area as horse stabling area Click to view Hospital Dump 1961 Click to view Hospital Dumpsite today Click to view Hospital Dumpsite today Click to view Hospital Dumpsite today Click to view The Quarry site that is partially submerged by the dam. Click to view 1946 Image Click to view