Larundel: A New Age Facility For The Mentally Insane

Larundel:
A New Age Facility for the Mentally Insane

Figure 1- One of three buildings that remain of the Larundel facility today.
Ebony Warner 15th September 2015.

Mental health is something that should not be over looked by the Australian
government, however there is little that remains of Victorias early treatment
facilities. Larundel Mental Asylum was a once flourishing facility that played an
important part in Victorias development in Mental Health. Larundel and its
joining partners Mont Park and the Plenty Valley Repatriation Psychiatric
Hospital were classified as new age facilities for their time. This was due to
their layouts and new treatments they offered. In spite of this little pieces of
information and stories have been shared from past patients that contradict the
term new age in hindsight.

Emergency Accommodation for
History of Larundel
families in need, where the wards

were converted into flats. Larundel
Construction started in 1938, but
started to admit its first psychiatric
with the outbreak of WWII it was
patients in 1953, 15 years after
put on hold.1 During this period the
construction had began.3 Larundel
buildings that were finished were
was built to take the overflow of
used by the U.S military as a Hospital
patients from Kew Mental Hospital,
or for housing for a Childrens
as the facilities were outdated and
Welfare Depot. Even the W.A.A.F
the local residents objected to
used some of the facility as a training
having a mental hospital near.4
depot and a Hospital.2 In 1946 it was
Larundel dealt with patients that
used by the Department of Housing
were suffering from acute
psychiatric, psychotic and

schizophrenic disorders, but did not
host the more dangerous patients as
they were sent to Mont Park. By the
early 1970s a clinical laboratory had
been added to the facility.5

Was it really a new age facility?

There is not a lot of information
regarding what treatments were
used that I can get access to. For its
time, Larundel would have been a
new facility due to its layout alone.
In figure 3, you can just imagine the
views that the patients would have
had from the windows in the asylum.
The government needed to find land
that was located away from the city
and that had a lot of free space.
Figure 2 shows just how much land
was part of the Larundel Mental
Asylum. All of the areas in green
belonged to Larundel. So you can
imagine that Larundel would have
had a relaxed, open and therapeutic
feel to the facility.

Figure 2 -Green shaded areas

belonged to Larundel Mental Asylum.
Glimpses of the Past: Mont Park, Larundel
and Plenty,p6.

However there have been a few
comments on a number of blog sites
that have stated that although it was
a new facility they still used drugs to
sedate patients. Also compared to its
adjoining partner Mont Park,

Larundel did not house the most
dangerous or serious cases that
were on the premises.6 I have also
found on those same blogs that some
people have stated that they were
sane before entering the facility and
not so sane after leaving it.7 A man
that stated this was an escapee from
the facility, although I am not sure as
to how far I believe that. With the
installation of a lab facility, doctors
began trailing new drugs to treat
mental disorders. The use of lithium
as a treatment for schizophrenia was
discovered at Larundel, which
allowed patients suffering from it to
go home and allowed to return to
work.8 It also trialed many other
types of treatments such as a music
therapy, medical and other non-
medical treatments. Although these
seem to classify the asylum as a new
age facility for its time there is so
much that happened behind closed
doors that the public will never
know about.

Figure 3- View from

one of the
windows located in Larundel.

Stories from within

There are a number of stories that
have been posted on blog sites or in
memoirs regarding what happened
at Larundel. A mixture of both
positive and negative comments can

be found. One memoir of her father
by M.J.Hyland spoke positively of
Larundel and its facilities, stating I
liked Larundel for its friendly staff,
its vending machines, its smell of
disinfectant.9 Vending can be seen
as just one of the ways the facility
was classified as a new age facility.

Figure 4- blog post from Virginia who

states that they still drugged up
patients.
middle ages. Figure 6 is an article

that was published in The Age in
1948, although it was five years
before Larundel was officially
opened; similar conditions were
applicable in the asylum as it was
built during this time.

The Bohemian Blog 5th September 2015.

Virginia states in figure 4 that even
in the 1970s they still drugged
patients up into a zombie like state,
as this made it easier for the nurses
and doctors to handle them.

Figure 5- Virginia commenting on the

state of the buildings.
The Bohemian Blog 5th September 2015.

Considering Larundel was a new
age facility you would expect the
buildings would be fitted with
modern post war equipment. This
was not the case as Virginia states
that the place was a dump, the
buildings did not have hot showers
for patients as the boilers were that
old. They did not heat up properly..
This is shown in figure 5. You would
expect this in a prison or something
similar not in a government facility
that was treating ill people. What
about the public? The pubic did hear
some negative stories and there
were even some reports that were
published in newspapers that stated
the conditions and treatments at
mental asylums were from the

Figure 6- Article from The Age, 1948,
stating the conditions on Mental
Asylums.
Trove 23rd Oct 2015.

What remains?

There have not been many
photographs taken inside of the
asylum that are available to the
public, so it is very hard to tell just
how far advanced the facilities were.
From the remaining three buildings
there is little evidence left since its
closure in the late 1990s, due to
vandalism, natural decay and its
redevelopment into a housing
estate.10 However there are little
fragments of this facility remaining
that are untouched by the elements.
From the outside of the building it
looks like a fancy version of a prison.

Figure 7- Passage connecting

buildings.

Most of the buildings today look like
prisons, with bars on most windows
or small windows so that patients
could not escape through them.
Figure 7 shows a passage that is
located in between two buildings; it
can be clearly shown that barriers
were put into place to stop patients
from jumping off to their death or
escaping the facility. This may seem
like a practical idea, though it does
not seem to add any comfort in
knowing that is was classified as a
new age facility.

design. In figure 8 you can see what

little remains of the decorative
windows that might have been put
into place to give that room a more
homely feel to it and give it a less of
a prison feel to it. However these
little details were probably in the
rooms for the staff or a common
area where family came to visit.
Appearances and putting on a
display for people was enough for
visitor or officials to walk away and
report back to departments on what
a lovely facility it was running.

Figure 9 & 10 Rooms located in the
remaining buildings of Larundel,
which look like they belong in a
prison.
Ebony Warner 15th September 2015. Darmon
Ritcher, Watch room, Jan 28th 2013.

Figure 8- Little details on the

windows that remain of the
decoration of the building.

The Victorian Government
considered the asylum a new age
facility, this was most likely due to
the reforms made such as the new
open layout and little pieces of
luxury included in the buildings

From just looking at two rooms,
Figure 9 looks like it should be an
interrogation room as there was
probably a one-way mirror. Figure
10, looks like it was a room where
the staff could surprise the patients
or a control room. Both of these
rooms show that Larundel was not a
new age facility and that the
government was all talk in regards
to what Larundel was publicised as. I
could not tell what was in the room
as it was burnt and anything of value
would have been long gone from the
premises taken by vandals.

Changes in 1975-1995 to the
governing Mental Health Policy

During 1975 to 1995, there was a
shift in the psychiatry community to
move towards the modern era. The
government decided to move away
from institutional care of psychiatric
patients to a community based care
program.11 Too many patients
became reliant on hospital care to be
able to move out into the community
by themselves. Psychosocial
philosophy was the new term given
to describe the process of trying to
assimilate patients into the
community. 12 There were two
objectives to this movement. The
first objective was to ensure that the
treatment of mental illness moved
towards a community based system
instead of an institutionalized-based
one. The second was to make the
community a place where
psychiatric concepts were
understood and were integrated into
the social side of everyday life.13
During the 1960s there was a lot of
research in pharmaceutical
treatments for mental illness. This
allowed many patients to leave the
hospitals and institution and live a
normal life with the help of self-
medication.14 In the late 1980s
there was more development of
community organizations defining
how people with mental illnesses
should be treated.15 By 1992, states,
territories and the government
decided that having one coordinated
approach to mental health illnesses
was needed. All parties agreed on
the National Mental Health Policy,
which urged all states to follow one
consistent approach to the
treatment of mental illnesses.16 This
began with the closures of many of
the mental asylums and institutions
across Australia. Larundel like many

other institutions was closed down
in 1999, due to the new trend in
pharmaceutical treatments rather
than traditional methods of
treatments for mental health.17 The
remaining patients at Larundel were
moved to the Austin Hospital, as the
Victorian government moved
towards the new era in Mental
Health care.18

Figure 11- Bathroom in Larundel
displaying a message.
Darmon Ritcher, Watch room, Jan 28th 2013.

There is not a lot of information
provided by the government that is
available to the public on Larundel
Mental Asylum in general and let
alone what took place there. Little is
known in regards to treatments that
were used or its facilities that were
used. Which just goes to show that
there are a lot of details missing
from this period in Australias
Mental Health dark days. There are
many stories from ex-patients and of
relatives of ex-patients but these are
not recorded down for future
generations to read or for any more
information to be put into the public.
This is understandable considering
during the time it was open mental

occurred during Larundels period of
health was frowned upon. Society in
operation. Larundel and many other
that time was not as accepting as
places like it have played such an
what it is today. One of my friends
important part in developing
grandfathers attended Larundel but
attitudes and definitions of mental
it is not to be spoken about at all not
health in Victoria. It is a shame to see
even in the family. Today we should
that real estate taking over every
be thankful that places like Larundel
aspect of what was once a thriving,
and Mont Park do not exists
break through institution in the
anymore, and that attitudes have
Victorian mental health service.
changed towards people who are
Even though it was considered to be
suffering form mental illnesses.
a new age facility of its time, I guess
Figure 11 displays a message that I
that some treatments and attitudes
believe describes perfectly what
will never change in the world.

Endnotes

1 Larundel Mental Asylum, Darebin Heritage [webpage], (January 5th 2014)
http://heritage.darebinlibraries.vic.gov.au/article/328, accessed 4th September 2015.
2 Bircanin Ilya and Short Alex, Glimpses of the Past: Mont Park, Larundel and Plenty( Melbourne:
National Library of Australia,1995) 41,42.

3 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Escapee comments, The Bohemian Blog [website], (12th April 2013),<
http://www.thebohemianblog.com/2013/02/urban-exploration-larundel-asylum.html>,
accessed 5th September 2015.
8 Robson Belinda, From Mental Hygiene to Community Mental Health, The Journal of Public
Record Office Victoria, 7, (2008), 7.
9 Hyland MJ, Memoir Elegy, Meanjin, vol 63/4(2004),78.
10 Bircanin Ilya and Short Alex, Glimpses of the Past: Mont Park, Larundel and Plenty( Melbourne:
National Library of Australia,1995) 52.
Record Office Victoria, 7, (2008),7.
13 Ibid 11.
Record Office Victoria, 7, (2008),11.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.

Illustrations

Figure 1- One of the three remaining buildings of Larundel. Photograph, Ebony
Warner, 15th September 2015, private collection.

Figure 2- Green shaded areas belong to Larundel. (1995) Bircanin Ilya and Short Alex,
Glimpses of the Past: Mont Park, Larundel and Plenty, National Library of Australia,
Melbourne, p6.

Figure 3- View from one of the windows located in Larundel. Photograph, Ebony Warner,
15th September 2015, private collection.

Figure 4-Blog post from Virginia who states that they still drugged up patients. Virginia
comments, The Bohemian Blog [website], (8th Aug. 2015) <
http://www.thebohemianblog.com/2013/02/urban-exploration-larundel-
asylum.html>, accessed 5th September 2015.

Figure 5- Virginia commenting on the state of the buildings. Virginia comments, The
Bohemian Blog [website], (8th Aug. 2015) <

Figure 6- Article from The Age, 1948, stating the conditions on Mental Asylums.
Conditions in Mental Homes, The Age, 3, 29th Oct. 1948,3, in trove [online database],
accessed 22nd Oct. 2015.

Figure 7- Passage connecting buildings. Photograph, Ebony Warner,15th September
2015, private collection.

Figure 8- Little details on the windows that remain of the decoration of the building.
Photograph, Ebony Warner, 15th September 2015, private collection.

Figure 9 - Rooms located in the remaining buildings of Larundel, which look like they
belong in a prison. Photograph, Ebony Warner, 15th September 2015, private collection.

Figure 10- Rooms located in the remaining buildings of Larundel, which look like they
belong in a prison. Darmon Ritcher, Watch room[image] ( Jan 28th 2013) <
asylum.html>,accessed 5th September 2015.

Figure 11- Bathroom in Larundel displaying a message. Darmon Ritcher, Horror[image]
( Jan 28th 2013) < http://www.thebohemianblog.com/2013/02/urban-exploration-
larundel-asylum.html>, accessed 5th September 2015.

*Permission granted to use Darmons Photos for my essay:

I hereby give Ebony Warner full permission to use my images of Larundel
Asylum in a free and academic context.
Best,
Darmon

Bibliography

Primary

Conditions in Mental Homes, The Age, 3, 29th Oct 1948,3, in Trove, [online database],
accessed 22nd Oct. 2015.

Photo

Secondary
Bircanin Ilya and Short Alex, Glimpses of the Past: Mont Park, Larundel and Plenty(
Melbourne: National Library of Australia,1995).

Escapee comments, The Bohemian Blog [website], (12th April 2013),<

Larundel Mental Asylum, Darebin Heritage [webpage], (January 5th 2014)

Hyland MJ, Memoir Elegy, Meanjin, vol 63/4(2004),78.

Darmon Ritcher, Watch room[image] ( Jan 28th 2013) <

Darmon Ritcher, Watch room[image] ( Jan 28th 2013) <

Photographs, Ebony Warner, 15th September 2015, private collection.

Robson Belinda, From Mental Hygiene to Community Mental Health, The Journal of
Public Record Office Victoria, 7, (2008), 2,7,11.

Virginia comments, The Bohemian Blog [website], (31st Aug. 2013),<

Larundel: A New Age Facility For The Mentally Insane

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Larundel:

A New Age Facility for the Mentally Insane

Ebony Warner 15th September 2015.

psychiatric, psychotic and

Figure 2 -Green shaded areas

adjoining partner Mont Park,

Figure 3- View from

positive and negative comments can

Figure 4- blog post from Virginia who

middle ages. Figure 6 is an article

The Bohemian Blog 5th September 2015.

Figure 5- Virginia commenting on the

Figure 7- Passage connecting

design. In figure 8 you can see what

Figure 8- Little details on the

Ebony Warner 15th September 2015.

across Australia. Larundel like many

Darmon Ritcher, Watch room, Jan 28th 2013.

during the time it was open mental

National Library of Australia,1995) 41,42.

*Permission granted to use Darmons Photos for my essay:

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