City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

VOLUME 2: THEMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORYof TB had dropped sufficiently to close the sanatoria (Victorian Year Book, 1973:551; O’Neill& Taylor, 1995:11-4). The site is now being developed for housing.Developing Psychiatric InstitutionsYarra BendDarebin’s isolation also made it an ideal district for treating people with mental disorders.Melbourne’s first mental asylum was established at Yarra Bend, just outside the present City ofDarebin, in 1848. Before that the mentally ill had been held in gaol. The Yarra Bend site hadrecently been vacated by the Aboriginal Protectorate. New nineteenth century theories on thetreatment of mental illness advocated pleasant surroundings, with sufficient land for theinmates to be employed outdoors, away from the gaze of strangers. However, by the 1850sthere was considerable criticism of the Yarra Bend Asylum. Management was poor, and the sitewas considered unsuitable. Nevertheless as Melbourne’s population grew, the Asylum wasextended to accommodate extra patients. Although the Kew Asylum was opened in 1867, andSunbury in 1890, Yarra Bend continued to be used until the 1920s, when the last patients weretransferred to Mont Park (Lemon, 1983:ch.3; O’Neill & Taylor, 1995: 4-7). The site was laterused for two other institutions that required seclusion - the Fairfield Infectious DiseasesHospital and Fairlea Women’s Prison, both of which have now closed.Figure 81Gateway of Yarra Bendasylum(image date unknown)[DHE, ID 1152]Mont ParkThe Mont Park Hospital for the Insane was built with the aim of closing the Yarra BendAsylum, and represented a new start in twentieth century psychiatric care. The new InspectorGeneral of the Insane Dr Ernest Jones, wanted an extensive site that would permit:… an organised scheme for the provision of institutional accommodation, sufficient if needs be,to dispense with the metropolitan hospitals entirely (O’Neill & Taylor: 20).In 1909, 1208 acres (489 ha) were acquired, comprising the former Stathallan Estate, part ofwhich had been acquired for closer settlement. Building commenced in 1910 with the FarmWorkers Block. The Hospital developed a large farm, because farm work was considered partof the therapy for mental illness, besides it made the hospital self-sufficient in fresh food.Women patients were employed in laundry work for the hospital, (then considered part of thetherapy!) and the Laundry Workers Block was built for women patients in 1911.In those days people with intellectual disabilities were classed as insane and kept in the sameinstitutions as the mentally ill. At Mont Park they were accommodated separately, reflectingthe changing trend, in a block called the ‘Idiot Ward’. The intellectually disabled men andboys accommodated there also worked on the farm.117