callan park - hospital for the insane
In 1873 the Colonial Government of N.S. Wales purchased the Callan Park site, then known as “Callan Estates”, with the purpose of building a large lunatic asylum to ease the severe overcrowding at the Gladesville Hospital for the Insane, at Bedlam Point, near Tarban Creek in Gladesville.
The new lunatic asylum was designed according to the 'enlightened' views of Dr Thomas Kirkbride, an American. Colonial Architect James Barnet worked with Inspector of the Insane Dr Frederick Norton Manning to produce a group of twenty neo-classical buildings. These were completed in 1885 and named the Kirkbride Block.
The buildings were originally designed to accommodate 666 inmates, but by 1890 the asylum was seriously overcrowded with a total of 1078 inmates. A further group of buildings were built close to the Kirkbride complex around 1900 to ease the overcrowding problem.
The Kirkbride complex continued to be used for the housing and treatment of inmates until 1994, when the last remaining services were transferred to other buildings in the Callan Park grounds, towards the Broughton Hall at the southern end of the site. Many inmates were also transferred into half-way-houses in the local community, in line with the policy of the State Government (see The Richmond Report of 1983 which accelerated the move towards de-institutionalising care), creating a number of social and moral problems.
The Kirkbride building is now occupied by Sydney College of the Arts, the fine arts campus of Sydney University. Currently, the parklands are open to the public for their use and enjoyment.
Future The Kirkbride Complex, Callan Park One of many rock carvings in the hospital grounds, possibly the work of former patients Rozelle Hospital services and patients were transferred to Concord Hospital in June 2008. The NSW Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act 2002 restricts future uses of the site to health and education, but the New South Wales Government has not yet revealed its development intentions.
After a period of extensive renovation, the Kirkbride Complex which housed the former hospital, is now occupied by the Sydney College of the Arts.
Famous inmates Australian suffragist Louisa Lawson, her sons Charles and Peter, and The Bulletin publisher and editor J. F. Archibald (who famously published much writing by Louisa's son Henry Lawson), were inmates, but Henry Lawson was not.
Famous former staff Pioneering Sydney police detective Lillian May Armfield (1884–1971) worked as a nurse at the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1907–1915), before embarking on her police career. [edit]Theft of antiques A theft occurred in 2003 of thousands of medical antiques from the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, including a human skeleton, medical and dental instruments, lithographs and furniture.
Source: Wikipedia
The new lunatic asylum was designed according to the 'enlightened' views of Dr Thomas Kirkbride, an American. Colonial Architect James Barnet worked with Inspector of the Insane Dr Frederick Norton Manning to produce a group of twenty neo-classical buildings. These were completed in 1885 and named the Kirkbride Block.
The buildings were originally designed to accommodate 666 inmates, but by 1890 the asylum was seriously overcrowded with a total of 1078 inmates. A further group of buildings were built close to the Kirkbride complex around 1900 to ease the overcrowding problem.
The Kirkbride complex continued to be used for the housing and treatment of inmates until 1994, when the last remaining services were transferred to other buildings in the Callan Park grounds, towards the Broughton Hall at the southern end of the site. Many inmates were also transferred into half-way-houses in the local community, in line with the policy of the State Government (see The Richmond Report of 1983 which accelerated the move towards de-institutionalising care), creating a number of social and moral problems.
The Kirkbride building is now occupied by Sydney College of the Arts, the fine arts campus of Sydney University. Currently, the parklands are open to the public for their use and enjoyment.
Future The Kirkbride Complex, Callan Park One of many rock carvings in the hospital grounds, possibly the work of former patients Rozelle Hospital services and patients were transferred to Concord Hospital in June 2008. The NSW Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act 2002 restricts future uses of the site to health and education, but the New South Wales Government has not yet revealed its development intentions.
After a period of extensive renovation, the Kirkbride Complex which housed the former hospital, is now occupied by the Sydney College of the Arts.
Famous inmates Australian suffragist Louisa Lawson, her sons Charles and Peter, and The Bulletin publisher and editor J. F. Archibald (who famously published much writing by Louisa's son Henry Lawson), were inmates, but Henry Lawson was not.
Famous former staff Pioneering Sydney police detective Lillian May Armfield (1884–1971) worked as a nurse at the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1907–1915), before embarking on her police career. [edit]Theft of antiques A theft occurred in 2003 of thousands of medical antiques from the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, including a human skeleton, medical and dental instruments, lithographs and furniture.
Source: Wikipedia
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