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Did your ancestors ever spend time in a mental health institution in Victoria, Australia during the 19th and 20th centuries? Discover the dates of their stay and what ailed them. You may also learn the names and residences of their next of kin and their medical histories.
This collection is comprised of both transcripts and images of the records from eleven different mental health institutions in Victoria, Australia. These records cover admission years ranging from 1811 to 1919 and discharge dates from 1838 to 1914. While records vary from institution to institution, each transcript will include these basic details regarding your ancestor:
Images, however, will include additional information, such as
Please note that most admission records consisted of two pages. Use the previous and next buttons in the image viewer to see all the relevant images pertaining to your ancestor.
Admission to such mental health institutions could be granted in a number of ways:
Unsurprisingly, it was trickier to get released than admitted. For discharge, eight signatures were needed while only two were required for admission.
Common diagnoses during this time period included
Up until the 1880s, children deemed especially difficult or mentally challenged were housed with the adult inmates. By 1879, there were close to 600 children housed in such institutions in Victoria. That figure represents a quarter of all inmates at that time.
For example, we can find in the records two results for Sarah Ann McGregor. From the first, we learn that she was only nine years old when admitted to Kew on 22 January 1879. Her form of mental disorder is listed as “idiocy” and the supposed cause is an accident. Her bodily condition is noted as “feeble and helpless.” In her second record, we discover that her cause of discharge on 3 May 1880 was death. We also learn the names and relations of two of her relatives.
Again, we find Edward Steinman, age 11, admitted to Kew on 23 April 1879, with three other boys who are likely his brothers: William Steinman (age 17), Charles Steinman (age 15), and Robert Steinman (age 14). The form of mental disorder listed is identical for all four boys: “imbecile” with the supposed cause being “natural.” For bodily condition, they are all listed as “in good health.” Their removal dates are all different, with three having died in care and one, Charles, appearing to have been transferred to Ballarat with the note “not improved” on 21 September 1933. Edward died on 30 December 1921, Robert on 20 August 1928 and William on 21 August 1921.
During the 1880s, the government deemed it prudent to designate separate buildings to accommodate child inmates.
Mental health institutions represented within these records are as follows:
Note regarding the names of these institutions—The Lunacy Act of 1903 changed all 'asylums' to 'hospitals for the insane'. A further change occurred after the Mental Hygiene Act of 1933 where the titles were altered from 'hospitals for the insane' to 'mental hospitals'.
VPRS 7423/P1 Nominal Register of Patients, Royal Park, 1907-1913 – Contains patient admission records for the Royal Park Receiving House between September 1907 and December 1913.
VPRS 7493/P1 Register of Patients, Bendigo Receiving Ward, 1874-1908 – Comprised of admission records for the Bendigo Receiving Ward at the Bendigo Hospital.
VPRS 7680/P1 Register of Patients, Kew Asylum, 1871-1919 – Admission records for those patients admitted to the Kew Asylum.
VPRS 7721/P1 Register of Patients, Collingwood Asylum, 1866-1873 – Admission records for patients admitted to Collingwood Asylum. An index of patient names precedes the admission records.
VPRS 7395/P1 Case Books of Male Patients, Beechworth Asylum, 1867-1912 and VPRS 7396/P1 Case Books of Female Patients, Beechworth Asylum, 1878-1912 – Contain case histories of patients admitted to Beechworth Asylum between 1878 and 1912 for female patients and between 1867 and 1872 for male patients. These case histories are organized by admission date.
VPRS 7427/P1 Nominal Register of Patients, Ararat Asylum, 1867-1906 – Contains a list of those individuals admitted to the Ararat Asylum. Male patients are listed on the left-hand side and female patients on the right-hand side. They are organized alphabetically by the first letter of surname and then chronologically by admission date.
VPRS 7428/P1 Nominal Register of Patients, Ballarat/Sunbury Asylums, 1877-1907 – List of patients admitted to Ballarat Asylum between 1877 and 1879 and then subsequently to the Sunbury Astlum from 1879 to 1907. The list is organized alphabetically by the first letter of the surnames and then chronologically by admission date. Male patients are recorded on the left-hand side of the register and females on the right-hand side.
VPRS 7490/P1 Asylum Records [Case Books], Sunnyside Licensed House, 1905-1915 – Records case histories of patients admitted to Sunnyside Licensed House, Camberwell. The records are arranged by admission date.
VPRS 7446/P1 Alphabetical List of Patients in Asylums, 1849-1885 – An 8-volume collection titled “Lists of Patients,” where each volume correlates to a specific asylum (Ararat, Ballarat, Beechworth, Collingwood, Cremorne, Kew, Sunbury, and Yarra Bend Asylums). The patient lists are organized alphabetically by first letter of patients’ surnames and then chronologically by admission dates.
Edward/Ellen De Lacy Evens
The admission record for Edward/Ellen De Lacy Evans to the Bendigo Receiving Ward can be found within these records. Edward, born a woman, lived his life as a man in Australia for 20 years before his secret was revealed. The truth only came out after his transfer from Bendigo to Kew Asylum, where they forced Evans to bathe after his refusal to do so for six weeks. In the records, he’s registered as Ed De Lacy Evans. His age is listed as 40. His admission date is recorded as 22 July 1879. The revelation caused an uproar in the local press. A main point of shock arose around the fact that Evans had been married three times over the span of twenty years and was at that time currently married to his third wife, who had, much to his surprise, conceived a child.
Harry Trott
Harry Trott, best known for his skill as a cricketer and team captain, was admitted to Kew Asylum in May 1899 after suffering from fits and bouts of unconsciousness for several weeks. His stay at Kew would last 400 days. He was described as apathetic and antisocial during the early days of his stay. However, in early 1900, his fervor for cricket at least returned as he played, and stared, in the asylum’s cricket matches. Soon thereafter, Trott was declared recovered. He returned to cricket after his release, playing until the age of 44.
In the records, his age is listed as 33 and his admission date as 3 May 1899.
These records are part of the mental health collection from the Public Record Office Victoria.
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