Karori Lunatic Asylum Explained

Karori Lunatic Asylum
Location:Karori
Country:New Zealand
Opened:1854
Closed:1873

Karori Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital in Karori. Established in 1854, it was New Zealand's first asylum. The first patient was admitted in the same year, but it would be 1858 before a second patient arrived.[1] Poorly run by untrained staff, there was only an occasional doctor's visit, and no attempt at cures. By 1871, there were 23 patients with a variety of disorders. The facility closed in 1873 with the patients transferred to Mount View Lunatic Asylum. In 1875, Karori School opened on the grounds of Karori Lunatic Asylum.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Mount View Lunatic Asylum. 2008 . Victoria University of Wellington . Wellington.
  2. News: Dekker. Diana. July 30, 2011. Conquering Karori It's sprawling, popular, and has a past. A new history of Karori recalls how only three lifetimes ago the place was forest. The Dominion Post. 7 September 2011.