- Title
- A sensory history of the Newcastle Asylum for Imbeciles and Idiots, 1871-1900
- Creator
- Hardy, Ann; Cushing, Nancy
- Relation
- Journal of Australian Colonial History Vol. 19, Issue 2017, p. 139-160
- Relation
- http://www.une.edu.au/about-une/faculty-of-humanities-arts-social-sciences-and-education/school-of-humanities/research/journal-of-australian-colonial-history/jach-volumes
- Publisher
- University of New England, School of Humanities
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2017
- Description
- The negative reputation developed by psychiatric hospitals during the twentieth century has cast an undeserved shadow over Australia's earlier colonial asylums. While the mental health system had its origins in a gaol-based model, asylums of the second half of the nineteenth century manifested a notable commitment to a more humane approach to mental health. One of the early successes was the Asylum for Imbeciles and Idiots opened in central Newcastle in 1871. At a time when the merits of offering treatment to those considered incurable, including the intellectually disabled, were still being debated, this asylum provided a stimulating environment where inmates were actively engaged in work and leisure activities on their own and in the company of the broader community.
- Subject
- Newcastle Asylum for Imbeciles and Idiots; psychiatric hospitals; Australian colonial history; colonial asylums; Newcastle, (NSW)
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1387808
- Identifier
- uon:32667
- Identifier
- ISSN:1441-0370
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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