Kew Asylum, located in the Melbourne suburb of Kew, was commissioned to address the growing need for mental health institutions during Victoria's population boom following the 1851 gold rush. Initially, people with mental illness were detained in Melbourne's city jail, which soon became overcrowded and inadequate. To address this, the Yarra Bend area was selected for a mental hospital, which opened with modest facilities in the early 1850s. However, reports of abuse, unsanitary conditions, and overcrowding soon emerged, prompting the government to search for a new site for a larger asylum.
By 1870, the need for a replacement facility became urgent. A hilltop site along the Yarra River, 100 feet above the water, was chosen for its fresh air and summer breezes, reflecting the Victorian belief that such conditions were crucial for treatment. Despite local opposition, 340 acres were allocated for the new Kew Asylum, which was designed using the E-plan model, similar to England’s Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum.
Construction began in 1856 but was halted for a decade, finally being completed in 1872. The asylum initially housed 214 patients but quickly expanded to over 1,000 within five years, partly due to overcrowding at Yarra Bend.
The Kew Asylum was envisioned as a "magnificent asylum for the insane," surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and Ha-Ha walls, which provided security without the appearance of confinement. However, early on, the asylum housed not only adults but also children with intellectual disabilities, reflecting the era's lack of distinction between different types of mental illness.
In the 1880s, the government decided to build a separate facility for these children. This led to the creation of the Kew Idiot Ward, later known as Kew Cottages, which initially admitted only children but often retained them as adults.
Throughout its 117-year history, Kew Asylum faced numerous inquiries, including a Royal Commission, due to ongoing issues such as poor sanitation, overcrowding, and disease outbreaks. One notable incident was a typhoid outbreak in 1907, linked to contaminated milk from the hospital's farm, which resulted in several deaths.
Yarra Bend Asylum ceased operations in 1925 and was largely demolished after a fire in 1982, leaving little evidence of its existence. In contrast, Kew Asylum was closed in 1988, and the site was transformed into a residential complex known as Willsmere. Despite the modern developments, many historical features of the asylum, including brickwork, tiles, and architectural elements, have been preserved.
Today, Willsmere stands as a thriving community with a rich history, but its past as an Asylum raises the question: could one live peacefully with the lingering ghosts of its troubled history?
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