Archives



Ipswich Mental Hospital

The Ipswich Mental Hospital was previously known as the Ipswich Hospital for the Insane. In 1940 an extra wing was added to the building that accommodated mentally handicapped children. It became known as Dagmar House. [Taken from ‘Ipswich Mental Hospital (1938-1964)’: UQ Ipswich Campus Progression of an Institution] Dr Basil Stafford was Superintendent at Ipswich…

Ipswich Hospital for the Insane

The Ipswich Hospital for the Insane, situated at Ipswich, was previously known as the Ipswich Branch of the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum. In 1910 it became known as the Ipswich Mental Hospital. [Taken from ‘Ipswich Hospital for the Insane (1910-1938)’: UQ Ipswich Campus Progression of an Institution] The institution expanded rapidly between 1910 and 1920. A…

Toowoomba Mental Hospital

The Toowoomba Mental Hospital, in North Toowoomba, was opened in 1953. It was a government-run residential facility for the mentally ill and was previously known as Willowburn Mental Asylum. On 27 August 1968 the name changed to Baillie Henderson Hospital.

Goodna Hospital for the Insane

The Goodna Hospital for the Insane, situated at Wacol, Queensland, was a State run facility. The Goodna Hospital for the Insane was previously known as the Goodna Asylum for the Insane. Evidence shows that children who were wards of the state were placed in Queensland mental institutions however more research is needed to find out…

Wolston Park Hospital

The Wolston Park Hospital, situated at Wacol, Queensland, was a State-run facility. Wolston Park Hospital was previously known as the Brisbane Special Hospital. It is known that children who were wards of the state were placed at Wolston Park during the 1960s-1980s. It is estimated up to 60 wards of the state were sent to…

Brisbane Women’s Hospital

The Brisbane Women’s Hospital was situated at Herston and was opened on 13 March 1938. Operating as a maternity hospital, it replaced the Lady Bowen Hospital, Wickham Terrace, Brisbane. In 1967 it was renamed the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital. In 2003, it merged with the Royal Brisbane Hospital to create the new entity, Royal Brisbane…

Lady Bowen Hospital

The Lady Bowen Hospital, situated in Ann Street, Brisbane, was previously known as the Queensland Lying-In Hospital. It was renamed the Lady Bowen Hospital, after the wife of Queensland’s first governor, in November 1867. The Lady Bowen Hospital provided hospital care for indigent, unmarried and destitute women of Queensland and their babies. On 29 December…

Bethesda Mothers’ Hospital

The Bethesda Mothers’ Hospital, in Rockhampton, was run by the Salvation Army. It functioned as a maternity hospital and a rescue home for girls. Before 1938, it was known as the Glenties Mothers’ Hospital. In 1968, it was again renamed Bethesda Hospital and Hostel. An article in Rockhampton’s Morning Bulletin on 2 July 1938 stated…

Stockton Mental Hospital

Stockton Mental Hospital was opened in 1917 in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Prior to that it was known as Stockton Hospital for the Insane. It is not clear exactly when children began to be admitted but from 1937 the idea of new wards or buildings especially for children within the hospital was reported….

Mount Arcadia Children’s Home

Mount Arcadia Children’s Home in Parramatta North that was established by the Smith Family in 1933. It was a convalescent home for children suffering from juvenile rheumatism and other illnesses. Most children stayed at Mount Arcadia for around 5 months before returning home. The hospital was rebuilt in the mid 1950s, and in 1958, the…