State of Western Australia
A Royal Commission to inquire into the administration of Heathcote and other mental health hospitals was held in Western Australia in 1938. The Report of the Royal Commission does not mention children, but it does describe conditions at Heathcote and Claremont during years when children were sent there. Hospitals in the mental health system were found to be over-crowded, with generally poor facilities and few activities to occupy and rehabilitate patients.
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Report of the Royal Commissioner appointed to inquire into the Heathcote Mental Reception Home and the administration of mental hospitals generally', in Royal Commissions Held in Western Australia, Parliament of Western Australia, 30 November 1938, http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/WebFiles/Report+of+the+Royal+Commissioner+appointed+to+inquire+into+the+Heathcote+Mental+Reception+Home+and+the+administration+of+mental+hospitals+generally/$FILE/Heathcote+mental+reception+home.pdf.
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 29 April 2013, Last modified: 6 September 2013