Adelaide - Asylums, Reformatories and Homes
Blind Institutions
Also see Brighton and Place Names - North Adelaide
A proposed "Asylum for the Blind" is discussed in the Chronicle,7 July 1866, page 2c,
Register,
24 July 1866, page 2e,
"Occupation for the Blind" is in the Observer,
9 May 1868, page 12e.
A feature article on the Blind Institution is in the Register,
3 December 1872, page 5a; also see
7 September 1874, page 5d,
8 December 1874, page 6c,
26 July 1875, page 5f,
8 April 1876, page 5d,
4 May 1876, page 5e,
21 August 1876, page 6d,
23, 24 and 25 November 1876, pages 5e, 5b and 5d-6b,
11 December 1876, page 5a.
Also see Register,
24 June 1878, pages 4g and 6f,
9 November 1880, page 5g,
3 May 1882, page 6e,
24 November 1883, page 6c (includes a history of the institution),
3 and 4 December 1884, pages 5f and 5h,
25 April 1887, page 7a,
7 November 1891, pages 4h-6a,
9 October 1902, page 4d.
A proposed home for the aged blind is discussed in the Express,
28 February 1891, page 3f; also see
12 September 1892, page 2d.
Asylums, Reformatories and Homes - Choose again
Destitute Asylum
Also see South Australia - Social Matters - Charity
Human Derelicts at the Asylum
(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience)
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Few dream that the tottering old man who passes along the street in the plain,
nay ugly, garb of the State charitable institution may have in his early
life taken high honours at Cambridge or Oxford or borne his part gallantly
in the front ranks of those who fight for fame and fortune: - How many shrink
into the sordid hut of cheerless poverty!
(Observer, 23 January 1892, page 42.)
Introduction
The general public are well aware that there exists in Adelaide such a haven for the old and unfortunate persons as the Destitute Asylum, but they little know what strange eventful histories are logged down in the memories of the inmates of the refuge. Entering the premises the visitor finds all in the same garb, but how different they are from their fellows. One man may have had an experience merely of hard labour or grinding poverty, with no events to lighten his existence through a period of sixty or seventy years, while another may have crowded into his lifetime enough to furnish material for a Robert Louis Stevenson.
In the previous chapter I recalled a visit to the asylum and I recount now some of the inmates reminiscences. The wonder is that old people have such marvellous memories of even the most trifling events, but it is a peculiarity of intelligent old age that events of early youth are presented more vividly on the mirror of memory than recent occurrences. Some of these narratives were simple and devoid of interest beyond that attaching to a tale revealing sturdy independence and patience under trial; there is not a deal of romance in the life of a poor hard-working man who has been fighting stubbornly for many years to keep the wolf from the door, and who has barely made a living. He knows little of luxuries and pleasures; in some cases the periods in his life which are marked with a white stone are when he has forgotten his troubles in the periodical spree, if he is given that way.
The bushman, for instance, too often works like a galley-slave, in foul weather and fair for twelve months, only to squander his modest cheque in riotous debauchery, an unscrupulous landlord of a bush pub not infrequently deliberately swindling him of his hard earnings under cover of the alleged 'shouting' in which he has been madly indulging:
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In England [it] is called 'standing drinks'; in the United States 'liquoring'
and a score of other names... It is a Protean nuisance, ubiquitous in its
protestations... It is a melancholy fact that we are a drinking community
and oftentimes drink is indulged in without the slightest rational warrant...
Its [proposed] reform is one that recommends itself...
The Church of England Synod is making an attempt to abolish a little rite, of deep significance in private life - the drinking together of friends for friendships sake... Go where we may, from the Arctic region to the Arabian deserts, the full rite of which the custom we have is but a part, the act of eating and drinking together is a more sacred pledge of friendship than the fullest... oath can be...
There is, as a rule, little romance in the histories of the human derelicts laid up in the Destitute Asylum, although they have found, during their drifting over the ocean of life, that its cross-currents, depths and shoals have been hard to meet and difficult to steer amongst. There are to be found characters such as Charles Dickens delighted to depict and curious traits that Thomas Hardy has found as gems. In humble life far from the madding crowd the inmates do not adorn a tale, although they may point a moral.
The larger proportion cannot say 'I am not in the role of common men'. The face of the fellow of no mark shows it; but there are examples of men and women who have done their duty in their day and generation, however humbly, and with those one finds a sort of contentment singularly expressive; they have a philosophy of their own that does not make their situation a shame to them, they have struggled hard and honestly and have gone under the heavy hand of fate; they live in the past and the pages of the past bear a fair record. The human derelicts are not all crank craft, with timbers decayed through hard and ill-usage, some of them have been strained in many a tempest, and the old hulks, like those of Chelsea pensioners, are interesting.
Lives' Histories Culled From the Destitute Asylum
The first two inmates interviewed were aged men smitten with blindness. One had not seen the light of day for over forty years; the other lost his sight twelve years ago. Both were ex-convicts. Their life history in Australia, fragmentary as I got it, is associated with matters which will have an interest for pioneers and generations that follow. Without further comment I will introduce the individuals referred to and let them tell their own story.
Whaling and Organ-Grinding
H.G-, a bright intelligent man of eighty-two, with more than fair command of language and good diction, and who, considering the number of years he had lived in the darkness, had picked up a wonderful amount of knowledge. He was a man who, though bent and physically feeble, gave evidence of having been a man of robust constitution and good frame. He was a Cornish man. Sitting down on a bench in the shady plantation of the asylum the old man opened his story thus:
'I came here in June 1848. My native place is St Austell, Cornwall. My introduction to this colony was abrupt, for I was wrecked on the coast at Trial Bay. Our vessel was a whaler from Tasmania.' 'You are an old sailor, then?' 'Oh, yes.' 'How did you get out here?', I enquired. 'It's no use telling lies, I was a prisoner sent out to Tasmania for smuggling.' (Here the old man chuckled and I remarked that there were many high-toned smugglers who were not transported.)
Harry went on to say: 'But I was going to tell you about the wreck. I was on the anchor watch and told the mate that we were getting into difficulties as the vessel was dragging. Just as we were overhauling the cables a flash of lightning came and knocked me insensible. The ship went ashore but all hands were saved. Communication was made by boat with Port Lincoln and Port Adelaide and after a time a vessel was chartered and took us off. We had plenty of sperm oil on board, and this was sold. I got my share.'
I asked, 'How did you get to Tasmania?' 'Well', he replied, 'I came out with 396 others in a convict ship. We were not sent to Port Arthur, for there they used to send the very bad characters. We were employed at different stations in the colony after going to the Cascade depot.'
'Was there much brutality and flogging, as they say there was?', I asked. 'Well, I never saw much of it. I don't think it was as bad as represented. I was about 26 when I was sent out. Before that I served aboard a man-of-war. I was in the Warspite. 74 guns, and also in the Dublin, frigate, 50 guns, with Lord James Townsend. I was a master painter in those days. These people here don't think old Harry's been much, but I could tell them a lot', (with a chuckle.)
Harry reverted to the wreck and said he went back to Tasmania and stayed there for a year or two, getting his freedom in 1851. He then said he was engaged in whaling at Encounter Bay in Captain Hart's time. 'We had three boats' crews down there. We used to take ten or twelve tons of oil out of a whale, and fine whales they were too - some of the best off the Australian coast.'
Then I asked if the blacks were troublesome. 'Oh!', he said cautiously, 'we had a few rows. The place was full of them and we used to feed them high on whale blubber. 'Did you have any fights?' 'Well, we had to use cutlasses at Trial Bay when we were wrecked. I remember when a body of police came down to protect us one of the sailors said, 'Oh, look at the blacks coming on horseback and I can tell you I was a bit frightened. The captain got us under arms, but we found to our satisfaction that they were only horse police.'
My raconteur then proceeded to tell of a romantic reunion which would almost do for an incident in a modern novel. He said, 'I was stopping at the Royal Oak in Hindley Street and the landlady said to me, "You look like some one we had here, a lady named Mrs T." Soon afterwards I went over to South Terrace where I found Mrs T to be my sister. When she saw me she gave a scream and threw herself into my arms. We had been separated for many years and I had no idea that my sister was here.'
'But how came you blind?', I asked. 'That was owing to the time when I was struck by lightning at Trial Bay. My eyes were weakened by the shock, but I was not blinded altogether then. After I got back from the whaling at Encounter Bay I worked for Captain Ellis up at Port Gawler, where I was engaged in trenching and in the burning hot sun I got sandy blight. The soil was composed of sandy clay which was very trying to work in. From that time I have been blind. I was taken to the hospital in Adelaide where Dr Nash persuaded me to go and where I was operated upon.'
At this stage the intelligent old colonist, whose memory had not been impaired by a long life of vicissitudes, launched upon a story of pluck and endurance which marked him as a man of more than ordinary determination and fortitude, for we question whether there are any blind men who would have ventured across the Ninety-Mile Desert to Melbourne in those primitive days of colonial settlement with a mere boy as a guide. This was the time when the blacks were numerous and dangerous and the country sparsely settled by Europeans.
Harry said: 'I made three trips to Victoria after I lost my sight. The first time was in 1851 - in the diggings days. I left Adelaide with a boy of eight. His name was Henry Perry, and a plucky little chap he was, an English boy born here. We walked to Strathalbyn. A man there said, 'You will never get across the desert, the blacks will kill you.' The boy replied, 'No fear', quite pert and brave.
'We tramped on towards Wellington and when we got to Langhorne's Creek we met a blackfellow who had sneaked away from the rest of his tribe. There was a war between the blacks on the Murray and Angas Rivers. The black was on the roadside and said, "Where you sit down? Where your wurley?" I was frightened as I did not know his lingo and was not sure what he wanted.
'The black, however, led us right away into the bush and I asked the boy what he was doing. He said he was catching lizards and crawfish at the pools. We got to a shepherd's house and stopped there for the night. Next morning drays belonging to McLeod's station, returning from carting wool from Tatiara to Goolwa, met us and we got a lift across the desert, reaching Scott's station.
'At Binnie's Lookout we met a shepherd who took us to his place and promised to get a lift for us. We met five preachers bound for the diggings. They had clubbed together and had drays in which we rode to Fiery Creek, where there was a public house at the junction of two turnings, one going to Geelong and the other to Ballarat. The preachers and their dunnage went another way and we struck for Geelong, getting another lift in a bullock-dray which came along.
'We were on the diggings seven years, going from camp to camp, and I got enough to purchase an organ. The diggers were very kind to me and many who were from Adelaide would say heartily, "Why, here's Harry, bless him." At one time I had £60. When I got down to Melbourne I met some of the old boys and they took me to the theatre and circus. I stayed at an inn for one day and next morning when I was going to pay the landlady, she said, "You have spent all your money, and would have gone through more if you had it."
'You gave it to her to keep', I enquired. 'Yes, and did she keep it', he chuckled. There was no doubt of the bona fides of the old fellow here, as he added. 'I don't think I could have drunk £60 in one night, or even shouted it.'
Harry finished his narrative by relating how he was sent back to Adelaide by steamer; how he tramped to Melbourne twice afterwards along the Coorong via Kingston; how he had various conductors, male and female; how they treated him variously, some making capital out of his affliction, depriving him of all the money he had from organ-grinding and leaving him stranded.
The third time this blind traveller walked to Melbourne he was accompanied by a man named Murray, who afterwards became an inmate of the Destitute Asylum. On one occasion our blind adventurer got as far as Horsham by himself on his way back to Adelaide. Having bought a horse from 'Widow Hamilton' he was joined by a man who wanted to go overland and who treacherously stole Harry's horse and money when they got near Naracoorte.
However, he was placed on another horse near Struan and rode past 'Poor Man Robertson's' on to Mount Gambier alone. He reached Adelaide by a vessel from MacDonnell Bay. Harry wound up with some dry, humorous reminiscences of oakum-picking in 'Howells Hotel'. He had been in the Destitute Asylum for twenty years.
Convictism to the Salvation Army
The next gentleman I interviewed was the anecdotal James B. He, too, was sightless. His connection with South Australia dated back to 1851. Previous to that, however, he served in English prisons, afterwards in Bermuda and later still in Western Australia. He lived as a prisoner for 35 years.
'I was born', he said, 'so I am told, on 28 March 1816 in the west of England and was first transported to Bermuda.' 'What for?', I asked. The broad and comprehensive explanation was 'for breaking the laws of my country. I served ten years in Bermuda where we were engaged in quarrying and making roads. When I got back to England it was not long before I was in trouble again. Then they sent me for another ten years, this time to Western Australia.
'I got out on a ticket-of-leave there and worked for people. Then I left in a ship for Sydney, but stopped at Port Adelaide. For years I sawed timber at Angaston. I earned a lot of money, but it was no good to me. It all went on drink. However, I joined the Salvation Army and God Almighty gave me the power to knock it off, so I have not touched a drop for eight years.'
The Taciturn Bushman
I interviewed this man who evidently had a history, but the moment he suspected that I was taking notes he drew in his head, like a tortoise, and I found him a hard shell. This man had a mystery, something about a map drawn to show the locality of a murder of which he knew something, though not the perpetrator. His lips could not have been opened with an oyster knife when he chose to keep the shut.
The Garrulous Boatswain
In old G I came across a mine of garrulity. When once he was prospected he yielded good results. He had been a boatswain in his youth and came to Australia in the brig Seabeam in 1852, landing at Hobson's Bay in the height of the diggings fever. The vessel was sold for £1,200 and everybody went to the diggings. G made for Forest Creek, but met with ill-luck and made his way back to Melbourne with a light heart and little in his pocket. He then struck for Ballarat and in about five months he and his mate found themselves passing rich with £4,000 worth of gold.Instead of squandering it like many reckless diggers, they packed their fortune in a box and sent it home to London, following it themselves. There they went into business, said my informant, where he got married and 'we disagreed and my troubles began. I bought a brigantine, the Active, with my share of the money and her bones are now lying on a coral reef in the Torres Strait.
'Before that disaster I traded successfully between New Guinea and Queensland and I afterwards sold the craft and the purchaser lost her. I have had an active roving life, but I would have got on all right if I had not married the wrong woman. She was a terror; nothing satisfied her and I had no rest, no peace.
'I went to the diggings again and I was among the first in the rush to Pleasant Creek, but I knew better than to dig for gold. I turned storekeeper and got the gold without the trouble of sinking holes for it and bottoming duffers. I made all I could and went to Maryborough, where I found the diggers fairly straightforward, although there were some rum, rough customers amongst them; there were men of all nations.
'I had to give lots of credit to the diggers and some of them owed me as much as £300 individually, but they always paid up when they struck gold. I followed the rush to Diamond Flat deep lead and then went to Melbourne to take advantage of the New Zealand rush. I sent a ship over with cattle but she was caught in a storm and the cattle were killed.
'In 1868 I went to England and sailed in the Great Eastern in her last voyage from Liverpool and I soon found myself back in Victoria on the Woods Point and Snowy River diggings. I did well trading with horses and stores and for six years and made £1,000 a year. I should have ended a rich man but I lost it all speculating. I bought a crushing plant for £300 which cost a company £5,000 and I spent £2,000 in erecting it. 'I have made a lot of money in my time and here I am now at seventy, paralysed and in the Destitute Asylum, but I had my fight with fortune when I was strong.' The old fellow, whose appearance showed that he had been a man of energy and determination, here launched into a story of litigation and loss - even the lawyer he sent to Ballarat to fight his case went over to the other side on arrival.
After losing this lawsuit he went into business in Sydney and Queensland and then tried his hand at carpentering at Wilcannia. He came to Adelaide with an injured leg and a bad back, but tried to keep his family together, as he phrased it. He had previously made his property over to his wife, but she went back on him and ten years ago he got paralysis, and, falling down in the Central Market, he broke his leg. His wife and son turned him adrift and he found refuge in the Destitute Asylum.
The One-Legged, Cheery German
Sitting by a table in a long dormitory I found a happy, contented cheery old German gentleman of seventy-one, with one leg and quite a courtly manner. In the pleasantest of tones, and with a cheery smile on his ruddy face. and a kindly light in his clear blue eyes, he answered my greeting in English with quite a taking German accent.
He came to the colony on 22 December 1847 in the Gellert from Bremenhaven and, he remarked with a delightful laugh, 'I haf mein Christmas dinner at der Hamburg [Hotel] and so goot dinner it was surely.' His hair was white as snow and he reminded me of one of Dicken's Cheerybyle Brothers. There was heartiness and happiness in the tone in which he said, laughingly, 'I haf had so goot a time und now I haf my leg cut off I feel better shoost as if I haf new blood in my veins, and am a new man.' This Mark Tapleyan spirit rather surprised me until I ascertained that he had injured his leg and suffered so much that it had to be cut off to save his life.
He told me that he was educated in Professor Von Grosheim's College in Lubeck and was taught English by Sir Newman Sherwood, also a professor. There were thirty noblemen and many rich merchants' sons trained at the college and the system was excellent for the period. He had to go into the German Army and after serving three years he went to Russia, but tired of St Petersburg and came out here.
'I was glad to get a job breaking stones', he said, 'and then went shepherding on the late Hon. J. Baker's Talunga.' Then he worked in the old government quarry behind the University under Mr Smith, the town surveyor. 'Oh! he was so goot a man', he said enthusiastically, his eyes glistening at the recollection of past kindnesses received. He went to the Bendigo diggings but did not strike it rich. He tried his luck in Long Gully, Napoleon Gully and Schnapps Gully, but after a while Bendigo saw him no more.
The bushrangers were watching the roads from the diggings and one night seven men were murdered for their gold. 'We had to make two of our number stand sentry with loaded guns and were than once threatened by the desperadoes.' Speaking of the time when Adelaide was almost depopulated by the gold fever, he said he saw good polished cedar tables and chairs sold for eighteen pence, a well-bred horse for five pounds, - people being so eager to go to the diggings.
In conclusion my cheery friend said, 'Since I haf lost my leg I cannot go to the picture gallery. A gentleman kindly offered to help me up the stairs if I was near there any time, but I went and did not see him. I so love pictures.' I said I would be glad at any time I met him on North Terrace to assist him and take him around the gallery and he expressed his gratitude profusely.
The Nonagenarians
At the time of my visit there were seven inmates who had looked upon this life for over ninety years, the average was 93 and the grand total was 656. All of these nonagenarians had homely histories and their memories went back to dull days of toil. so there is little to be got out of any of them except, perhaps, that old self-marooned mariner, George Bates, 95, the hermit of Kangaroo Island.
The others I met were:
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James Graham, 91. He has been over sixty years in Australia and landed at Hobart
in 1823 by the Mary, of New Bedford.
Mrs Ann M. Huhne, 93. This cheery old woman had buried three husbands and looked capable of seeing another under the sod if she were not so heavily handicapped as to age. She had a soft, mellifluous German accent on her English which had so delightful a savour. She was born in 1802 and came out here in the Pestonjee Bomanjee and in 1852 went with her husband to the diggings, where she saw the rough side of life with no gilding. Later she settled for a rural life at Clare.
John Byrne, 94. He arrived from Western Australia He came to the colony in 1844 and entered the asylum in 1881.
Mrs Ann Boon, 95. She came out in the Hooghly in 1852 and her husband died at the asylum in 1894.
Joseph Parker, 94. He was born at Botany Bay and arrived here in 1839 and could tell some strange tales, no doubt, if he chose. He has been in the asylum nineteen times.
Caroline Viant, 94. This elderly lady was in a state of senility and I could not elicit any information from her.
The Armless Artist
William Smith was born in 1887 and at the age of nine years his adventurous nature led him to climb a tree of dangerous proportions. He slipped and fell a great distance and broke both arms; death threatened and it became necessary to amputate both arms. His Aunt, with whom he lived, died, and in 1904 he was committed to the Destitute Asylum where he bore up wonderfully under his terrible handicap and his interest in the artistic things of life aroused the sympathies of Mr T.H. Atkinson, Chairman of the Destitute Board, who spoke to Adelaide's veteran painter, James Ashton, concerning the boy.'I shall never forget that first interview', said Mr Ashton, 'Will Smith was then about 15 years of age and it seemed so sad that, with his splendid physique and evident bright mentality he should be unable to do anything for himself. However, his keen interest in the studio, and the manner in which he answered my questions, led me to hope that I might be able to teach him to paint.
He stayed with Mr Ashton for three years and 'I know they were happy ones for the poor chap. He told me that I had given him a new interest in life and he worked very earnestly. He was quite a fair artist, too, but, of course, the phenomenal sales of all his works were due much more to the public's sense of sympathy than to any outstanding merit. From his earliest lessons I made him turn to Nature for his inspiration and never allowed him to use copies. Thus, he grew to appreciate the reality of art and could express himself in that way.
'He wrote to me regularly. I received letters from him from all parts of Australia, and he even went to New Zealand. Later on he married in Melbourne. He told me he was making money and had been able to purchase several houses as a standby for his old age. His wife, he said, was a great help to him.'
In 1904 Sir Jenkin Coles, Colonel Bayly and Mr T. Rhodes, Chairman of the State Children's Department, visited the artist's improvised studio and were so impressed by the boy's oil paintings they subscribed to a fund being conducted by The Advertiser for the purpose of giving him a fair start in life. Sir Jenkin said: 'Being deprived of arms, he paints by holding the brushes between his teeth. Although I am not a judge of art, the blending of colours seemed to me to be truly wonderful...'
General Notes
The Destitute Asylum is discussed in the Observer,
24 March 1860, page 6c,
2 December 1865, page 2c (supp.),
14 April 1866, page 6b,
Express,
16 March 1864, page 2b,
2 October 1865, page 2e,
Chronicle,
7 October 1865, page 4f,
Register,
21 November 1865, page 2c,
13 June 1867, page 2c,
26 February 1868, page 2d,
21 March 1868, page 2e,
Express,
22 October 1867, page 2b,
13 July 1868, page 2a,
Chronicle,
18 July 1868, page 9a.
Entertainment for the inmates is discussed in the Express,
30 August 1871, page 2e.
"Outdoor Destitutes" is in the Express,
2 August 1875, page 3d; also see
24 September 1878, page 3a,
23 October 1878, page 2d,
27 December 1878, page 2e,
17 August 1883, page 2g,
5 February 1886, page 4a,
2 January 1892, page 3d,
19 May 1893, page 3e,
6 January 1894, page 3f,
21 July 1894, page 4e.
"The Asylum Picnic" is in the Observer,
16 February 1884, page 41a.
"Outdoor Relief at the Destitute Asylum" is in the Chronicle,
6 February 1886, page 22d.
Feature articles are in the Advertiser,
19 and 24 May 1893, pages 6d and 7g; also see
12 June 1893, page 3h,
Observer,
14 July 1894, page 41,
Chronicle,
2 and 16 January 1897, pages 16c and 22b,
Advertiser,
11 January 1897, page 7c,
13 May 1898, page 6e for "a visit of inspection"; also see Express,
31 December 1897, pages 2e-3f.
"In the Destitute Asylum" is in the Observer,
28 October 1899, page 34c; also see
Weekly Herald,
12, 19 and 26 November 1898, pages 9a, 8a and 8a,
3 October 1908, page 3b,
Express,
2 February 1903, page 4f,
4 June 1904, page 1d and Destitution.
"Among the Old Folk" is in the Observer,
5 November 1910, page 53c.
A visit by the Governor is reported in the Advertiser on
2 June 1910, page 11d;
its demolition is reported on
22 April 1925, page 13e.
A history of the Destitute Asylum is in The Mail,
7 April 1928, page 3a.
Photographs are in the Observer,
10 March 1917, page 26.
Asylums, Reformatories and Homes - Choose again
Female Asylum
A proposed Female Reform Asylum is discussed in the Register,
5, 9, 15 and 30 July 1856, pages 2f, 3e, 2e and 2e,
Observer
9 August 1856, page 3c; also see
6 February 1858, page 3f,
31 March 1860, pages 3d-6e.
The first public meeting in connection with the female reformatory is reported
in the Register on
27 April 1869, page 3e (it includes a historical background to the movement);
also see
20 December 1869, page 2g,
30 April 1870, page 6a,
20 May 1870, page 6e,
Express,
3 June 1875, page 3a,
25 July 1876, page 2c.
Information on a female refuge is in the Observer,
9 August 1856, page 3c,
6 February 1858, page 3f,
31 March 1860, pages 3d-6e,
27 April 1861, pages 7c-1d (supp.),
Register,
15 April 1862, page 3f,
Register,
11 April 1865, page 3f,
30 May 1866, page 3e,
10 April 1867, page 3a,
Observer,
2 June 1866, page 2b (supp.),
13 April 1867, page 4f (supp.),
Express,
30 May 1866, page 3d,
8 May 1868, page 3b,
9 March 1869, page 3d,
5 May 1874, page 2f,
Register,
27 April 1869, page 3e.
"An Appeal on Behalf of the Female Refuge" is in the Observer,
7 May 1870, page 10c;
the refuge is discussed in the Register,
30 April 1870, page 6a,
19 and 21 May 1870, pages 5a and 5c; also see
27 June 1870, page 5d,
12 October 1871, page 5b,
24 April 1872, page 3d,
12 March 1873, page 6f,
Express,
24 April 1872, page 3b,
Observer,
27 April 1872, page 15b,
22 March 1873, page 13f,
1 May 1875, page 13f,
Register,
5 May 1874, page 6g,
23 and 27 April 1875, pages 6g and 4d,
26 May 1876, page 6d,
28 May 1878, page 7a,
28 May 1879, page 6e.
Information on a Catholic female refuge is in the Observer,
5 August 1876, page 4f.
Also see Advertiser,
4 June 1878, page 4d,
Register,
28 May 1879, page 6a,
27 September 1884, page 1e (supp.),
Observer,
14 February 1880, page 282a,
Advertiser,
23 July 1880, page 6e,
Register,
3 August 1880 (supp.), page 1c,
Register,
2 August 1881, page 6a,
10 August 1882, page 6d,
Advertiser,
8 August 1881, page 4f,
21 June 1883, page 4d,
13 and 20 October 1885, pages 7b and 6f,
Express,
30 August 1883, page 3f,
15 September 1885, page 3c,
17 September 1886, page 3c,
24 November 1886, page 3d,
Express,
2 October 1888, page 3e,
2 October 1889, page 7d,
15 September 1892, page 3e,
26 July 1895, page 4a.
Also see Place Names - Norwood under "Civic
Affairs."
Asylums, Reformatories and Homes - Choose again
Lunatic Asylums
Also see Place Names - Parkside and South Australia - Health - Insanity
Information on an asylum is in the Register,8 March 1855, page 3d,
2 May 1855, page 3d,
Observer,
10 March 1855, page 3c.
"Management of the Lunatic Asylum" is in the Observer,
5 May 1855, page 4e,
"Treatment of Lunatics" in the Register,
4 March 1856, pages 2c-3d.
The Lunatic Asylum is described in the Advertiser,
23 January 1860, page 3f,
21 and 24 January 1861, pages 2d and 3a and discussed in the Register,
3 July 1862, page 2f,
11 July 1864, page 2g,
19 December 1865, page 2e,
14 April 1866, page 3a,
Observer,
30 December 1865, page 6d,
23 May 1868, page 9g,
Express,
2 May 1867, page 2d,
16 October 1867, page 3d,
10 January 1868, page 2d.
"A Visit to the Lunatic Asylum" is in the Chronicle,
12 May 1866, page 1a (supp.),
Register,
27 October 1869, page 2d; also see
Register,
20 September 1870, page 7a,
3 March 1871, page 4f.
Entertainment at the asylum is reported in the Observer,
20 April 1867, page 2g (supp.),
4 May 1867, page 2e (supp.).
"New Lunatic Asylum" is in the Chronicle,
2 May 1868, page 15a,
Observer,
4 and 25 April 1868, pages 12d and 13f,
31 December 1870, page 2g; also see
11 March 1871, page 13d,
6 April 1872, page 13c,
Express,
30 May 1883, page 3d,
13 June 1883, page 3b,
Chronicle,
2 and 16 June 1883, pages 8d and 5c,
Express,
11 February 1884, page 2e,
30 July 1884, page 6g,
30 July 1885, page 4a.
"The Lunatic Asylum Committee" is in the Register,
6, 7, 21 and 27 October 1869, pages 2d, 2d, 2g and 2d.
Christmas Eve at the asylum is discussed in the Observer,
31 December 1870, page 5c.
Also see South Australia - The
Colony - Christmas in South Australia
Entertainment of the inmates is reported upon in the Express,
25 October 1871, page 2c.
"The Lunatic Asylums" is in the Register,
2 April 1872, page 4e,
20 April 1877, page 4f.
A gas explosion at the asylum is reported in the Observer,
6 April 1878, page 11f.
Information on the Adelaide hospital for the insane, at Hackney, is in the Observer,
14 and 21 December 1878, pages 18c and 18f.
Information on the lunatic asylum is in the Register,
23 February 1883, page 4d.
A picnic for its inmates is reported in the Register,
11, 12 and 18 February 1884, pages 6e, 5a and 5c;
sketches are in the Pictorial Australian in
January 1885, page 8,
Express,
14 January 1891, page 5; also see
Advertiser,
10 May 1866, page 2d.
"The Treatment of Lunacy" is in the Register on
24 June 1885, page 4h,
"The Adelaide Lunatic Asylums" on
5 March 1886, page 4g,
18 March 1887, page 4g; also see
Express,
20 February 1889, page 4c.
"In a Lunatic Asylum for Seven Years" is in the Register,
31 March 1888, page 7e; also see
7 and 10 April 1888, pages 4h-6e and 7g,
10 July 1888, page 6c,
16 February 1889, page 7a,
21 September 1896, page 6g;
Observer,
7 April 1888, page 40d,
26 May 1888, pages 15b-27c.
"Among the Lunatics" is in the Chronicle,
10 January 1891, page 7g;
a sketch of the North Terrace Asylum appears on
17 January 1891, page 8; also see
Express,
6 January 1891, page 2e.
An obituary of Mrs Alice Curran, matron at the lunatic asylum, is in the Register,
27 November 1893, page 5c,
of Dr A.S. Paterson on
7 January 1902, page 4e.
"Our Lunatic Asylums" is in the Weekly Herald,
15 November 1895, page 3a,
Express,
24 June 1898, page 2f.
"South Australian Lunatics" is in the Register on
24 June 1898, page 3d, 23 June 1899, page 4g,
Weekly Herald,
4 February 1899, page 9a,
"Our Lunatic Asylum" in the Advertiser,
24 and 28 June 1898, pages 6e and 4e,
Observer,
1 July 1899, page 13e,
"Our Lunatic Asylums" in the Observer,
1 July 1899, page 13e,
Weekly Herald,
8 July 1899, page 3a,
Chronicle,
29 June 1901, page 32b,
12 January 1904, page 4e (conversion of).
Information on and photographs of the first asylum are in the Advertiser,
2 October 1937, page 12.
An obituary of a head attendant at the asylum, J.J. Watson, is in the Observer,
4 January 1913, page 41a.
Asylums, Reformatories and Homes - Choose again
Miscellany
Information on the Female Immigrant Depot is in the Observer,10 March 1855, page 3c.
"Government Institutions" is in the Observer,
28 December 1861, page 6b,
11 January 1862, page 6c,
22 February 1862, page 6c,
8 and 29 March 1862, pages 6d and 6d,
5 April 1862, page 6c,
5 July 1862, page 5g,
13 September 1862, page 1d (supp.).
Julia W. Farr's reminiscences of "The Old Charities" such as the Norwood
Refuge, Orphan Home, Home for Incurables, etc, are in the Register,
7 July 1905, page 7c.
Information on an orphan home is in the Express,
17 June 1865, page 2a-e,
1 August 1867, page 3f,
23 July 1868, page 3d,
16 August 1870, page 3e,
27 August 1872, page 3c,
18 July 1874, page 3c,
16 August 1876, page 3f,
15 July 1881, page 3e;
Register,
3 August 1867, page 3h,
Observer,
31 August 1872, page 11c,
25 July 1885, pages 4g-7c,
Observer,
1 October 1887, page 33b. Also see
Place Names - Goodwood, Place
Names - Kensington, Magill, Place
names - Walkerville and Adelaide -
Streets - Carrington Street.
"An Industrial School for Children" is in the Register,
17 August 1866, page 2c.
The orphanage of St Vincent de Paul is discussed in the Register,
22 August 1866, page 2b and
the Orphan Home on
9 April 1868, page 2e,
18 January 1868, page 2h.
"The Catholic Orphanage" is in the Chronicle,
22 February 1868, page 6c.
"The Deaf and the Dumb" is in the Register,
13 November 1866, page 3c,
5 and 25 March 1867, pages 3c and 3b.
The Deaf and Dumb Mission in Wright Street is discussed in the Advertiser,
3 and 25 October 1898, pages 4e and 7a,
Register,
22 August 1903, page 6e.
Information on The Home for Deaf Mutes is in the Express,
9 March 1904, page 4h,
Advertiser,
28 September 1904, page 6f,
10 and 17 October 1904, pages 4e and 8a.
Also see Place Names - Parafield.
Information on the Adelaide Reformatory is in the Register,
16 January 1867, page 2e; also see
Express,
27 April 1869, page 3d,
Observer,
29 May 1897, page 43c.
"Our Uncontrollables" is in the Observer,
29 May 1897, page 43e.
Christmas Day "at the public institutions" is reported in the Register,
27 December 1866, page 3a.
Information on the Catholic Female refuge is in the Catholic Herald,
20 November 1867, page 32,
Register,
9 March 1869, page 3f.
Also see under Place Names - Walkerville
"Reformatories" is in the Register,
29 January 1868, page 2d,
27 March 1868, page 3f.
The "Orphan Home" is in the Register,
22 March 1866, page 2d,
9 April 1868, page 2d,
18 July 1874, page 7a,
6 August 1875 (supp.), page 3e,
Observer,
14 August 1875, page 3f (supp.),
Express,
16 August 1876, page 3f,
Register,
17 August 1877, page 5c,
Observer,
9 August 1879, page 12f,
Register,
2 July 1878, page 6d,
6 August 1879, page 1f (supp.),
29 June 1880, page 7b,
15 July 1881, page 6d,
25 July 1885, page 7c,
18 September 1886, page 7d,
24 September 1887, page 6h,
Express,
18 September 1886, page 3f,
24 September 1887, page 4a,
4 August 1892, page 4a.
Information on a Convalescent and Servants' Home is in the Chronicle,
31 July 1869, page 10b;
A proposal for an Inebriates Asylum is discussed in the Register,
30 November 1868, pages 2d-3c,
11 April 1873, page 4f,
2 December 1873, page 5a,
6 January 1874, page 5a,
18 February 1874, page 5a; also see
25 April 1874, page 6f,
18 July 1874, page 4g,
6 August 1874, page 7c,
8, 11 and 29 January 1875, pages 5b, 5b and 6d,
15 January 1876, page 5a-c,
Express,
29 November 1873, page 2b,
13 January 1874, page 2c,
14, 19 and 21 February 1874, pages 3b, 3e and 2e,
7 and 23 March 1874, pages 2c and 3g.
See Belair - Inebriates Retreat.
Information on the Inebriates' Retreat is in the Chronicle,
21 February 1874, page 12e,
Express,
9 and 30 January 1875, pages 2f and 2g;
a proposed home for inebriates is discussed in the Register,
11 November 1905, page 10e,
16 June 1908, page 8e.
A proposed almshouse at Lower North Adelaide is discussed in the Observer,
4 September 1872, page 13f,
29 March 1873, page 11f.
Information on the reformatory school at Ilfracombe, near Burnside, is in
the Observer,
15 January 1870, page 2g,
26 August 1871, page 13e.
A home for fatherless boys is discussed in the Express,
5 March 1878, page 3b.
"The Reformatories and the Industrial School" is in the Register,
28 March 1878, page 4e.
A home for destitute, orphaned female children is discussed in the Advertiser,
20 April 1882, page 4d,
"Homes for the Unfortunate" in the Chronicle,
19 September 1885, pages 6a-11.
"Industrial and Reformatory Schools" is in the Register,
12, 22 and 31 March 1883, pages 4e-7b, 2b (supp.) and 5a-6f.
Information on the Adelaide Retreat for Women is in the Express,
7 March 1883, page 2b,
Chronicle,
22 March 1884, page 7e,
Express,
2 October 1888, page 3e.
"A Model Home for the Unfortunates" is in the Register,
26 June 1884, page 7c.
"The Management of Reformatories" is in the Register,
30 August 1884, page 7f,
6 and 27 September 1884, pages 7f and 2d (supp.).
"Reformatories and Industrial Schools" is in the Register,
18 February 1885, page 4h.
A proposed institution for truant children is discussed in the Register,
13 April 1885, page 6f.
"Supervision of Asylums" is in the Register,
17 June 1885, page 5a.
"The Catholic Refuge" is in the Register,
16 September 1885, pages 4g-7b,
"St Joseph's Refuge" on
28 May 1903, page 6g.
"Our Gaols, Asylums and Reformatories" is in the Observer,
5 May 1886, page 33e; also see
Register,
11 February 1890, page 5d,
Observer,
15 February 1890, page 22d.
"Our Asylums and Protection From Fire" is in the Register,
9 May 1890, page 5b,
Observer,
10 and 31 May 1890, pages 31a and 29c.
"Day, Industrial and Truant Schools" is in the Register,
8 June 1891, page 6c.
Children's Christmas Cheer - Visiting the Institutions" is in the Register,
24 December 1892, page 7a.
"Important Destitution Asylum Case" is in the Register,
29 May 1895, page 7a.
Information on the Queen Victoria Home for Convalescent Children at Mt Lofty
is in the Chronicle,
17 July 1897, page 20d,
5 November 1898, page 16c;
Observer,
15 May 1897, page 41d,
5 June 1897, page 15a,
17 July 1897, page 41c,
11 November 1899, page 33e.
The "Home of Truth", a "healing" institution in Wakefield Street, is discussed
in the Chronicle,
13 August 1898, page 20.
The Deaf and Dumb Mission in Wright Street is discussed
in the Advertiser,
3 and 25 October 1898, pages 4e and 7a.
Information on The Home for Deaf Mutes is in the Express,
9 March 1904, page 4h,
Advertiser,
28 September 1904, page 6f,
10 and 17 October 1904, pages 4e and 8a.
Also see Place Names - Parafield.
"State Children Reformatories" is in the Weekly Herald,
10 December 1898, page 9a.
Information on the Carrington Street Orphan Home is
in the Observer,
28 December 1895, page 31c,
18 August 1900, page 30a,
Register on
15 August 1905, page 8a and
a history of it on
11 June 1907, page 4h,
15 April 1909, page 7e and
20 June 1910, page 6e; also see
13 July 1911, page 6d.
Also see Adelaide - Carrington Street.
Details of a Servant's Home in Freeman Street (now Gawler Place) are in the Register,
17 February 1877, page 5e; also see
22 October 1878, page 6b and South
Australia - Domestic Servants.
Information on a Home for Incurables is in the Register,
31 January 1879, page 1b (supp.),
Observer,
8 February 1879, page 10g,
21 June 1879, page 20g,
Register,
1 July 1880, page 6c,
5 June 1884, page 7b,
Chronicle,
2 July 1881, page 9f,
3 June 1882, page 5c,
18 July 1885, page 5b,
2 December 1905, page 41a.
Register,
7 December 1907, page 12d (history of).
Also see Place Names - Fullarton.
A proposal to form a Young Women's Institute is traversed in the Advertiser,
6 August 1881, page 4f; also see
7 November 1882, page 6b,
14 July 1885, page 4f.
A Girls' Reformatory is discussed in the Register,
4 August 1877, pages 4f and 6c-e and
"Reformatories and Industrial Schools" on
25 January 1883, page 6e;
Observer,
10 May 1884, page 37d,
Register,
7 January 1887, page 4h.
Information on a Home for Weak-Minded Children" is in the Express,
13 September 1895, page 3f,
13 and 20 January 1897, pages 2c and 2c,
Chronicle,
26 January 1898, page 18a,
Express,
6 April 1898, page 2b,
6 August 1898, page 4c,
17 and 19 September 1898, pages 4c and 3f;
Register,
19 September 1898, pages 3f-4g.
"Wanted - A Maternity Home" is in the Register,
7 December 1900, pages 4f-6c,
8 and 15 February 1901, pages 4c and 6f.
A letter headed "The Old Charities" from Julia Farr is in the Register,
7 July 1905, page 7c - It includes comment on the Norwood and Carrington Street
Refuges and the Home for the Incurables.
A proposal for a Working Girls' Home is in the Register,
14 June 1907, page 3d.
Information on a boys' reformatory is in the Register,
3 June 1914, page 14f.
A proposed hostel for girls is discussed in the Register,
9 February 1918, page 9b.
"Boys and Reformatories" is in the Register,
22 February 1919, page 10c.
"Thirty Five Years at the House of Mercy", the reminiscences of Miss E. Sanders,
is in the Register,
10 July 1923, page 7d.
Also see under Place Names - Walkerville
The opening of the Methodist Boys' Hostel on South Terrace is reported in
the Register,
5 July 1926, page 8g.
