This site has been used for a number of institutions with the purpose of containing or restricting parts of Melbourne's population. The first of these was Melbourne's first purpose-built asylum, which opened in 1848. Usually referred to as "the Melbourne Asylum" or "the Metropolitan Lunatic Asylum," it was established to house people defined in the medical language of the time as "insane", who had previously usually been held in Melbourne Gaol. In 1856, an inquiry was held into reports of poor living standards in the asylum, and these found in part that the buildings and location were deemed unsuitable. This led to the construction of the much larger Kew Asylum which would open in 1872, yet the Yarra Bend Asylum continued to operate, with a further Royal Commission into both Yarra Bend and Kew held between 1884-1886 to investigate mental heath treatment, which found that underfunding and overcrowding were significant problems. While further facilities were opened to relieve pressure on the Yarra Bend Asylum it remained in operation as a mental health facility until 1925, when the remaining patients were transferred to a new facility at Mont Park in Macleod, and many of the more thoroughly deteriorated buildings were demolished. From 1927 onwards, part of the facility was repurposed as the Fairhaven Venereal Diseases hospital, which operated until 1955. Many of the remaining bluestone buildings remained on this site until 1985 when they were demolished.
by laurenpiko on March 14, 2019Please login to comment on this item