Karori Lunatic Asylum

Karori Lunatic Asylum
Map
Geography
LocationKarori, New Zealand
Coordinates41°17′05″S 174°44′30″E / 41.284682°S 174.741601°E / -41.284682; 174.741601
History
Opened1854
Closed1873
Links
ListsHospitals in New Zealand

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. The first female patient was Rebecca Parnell, daughter of James Bingham Parnell and Catherine (Kitty) Parish. Margaret Major wrote an article about Rebecca, her background and illness.[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]

References

  1. ^ "The Mount View Lunatic Asylum". Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. 2008.
  2. ^ Dekker, Diana (30 July 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. Retrieved 7 September 2011.


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