Karori Lunatic Asylum was run by Wellington Province in the Colony of New Zealand between 1854 and 1873. Established under the Lunatics Ordinance 1846, it was the colony's first lunatic asylum. The asylum opened in January 1854 with one patient and one member of staff, the keeper (or master), both male. It was based in an existing house on a section. In the mid-1800s, Karori was a rural village isolated from Wellington city by a poor road.
The asylum's patients were paupers who were unable to care for themselves and did not have the support of family or friends. They had mental disorders or cognitive impairments. Patients had a daily routine; those who were able had work activities around the asylum. The staff were laypeople. In June 1857, the first female patient was admitted. The following month, a visiting medical officer was appointed to supervise the asylum and tend the physical health of patients. In 1858, the first married couple were appointed as keeper and matron.
From the mid-1860s, the number of patients at Karori Lunatic Asylum grew more quickly than the number of both wards and staff members. The asylum became overcrowded and understaffed, particularly on the women's wing. In 1871, the parliamentary committee on lunatic asylums singled out Karori for urgent improvement or replacement. The province responded by building Mount View Lunatic Asylum in Wellington which had wards for twice the number of patients then at Karori.
In May 1872, a provincial inquiry found a history of patients being ill-treated at Karori Lunatic Asylum. The keeper and matron were dismissed, the medical officer's supervision was criticised and vacancies for independent inspectors were filled. A new keeper and matron expanded the range of activities for patients with recreations and church services. Karori asylum closed in May 1873 when its 27 patients were moved to Mount View.
History Lunacy before asylums (pre-1854) Prior to 1854, the Colony of New Zealand imprisoned lunatics to keep the peace. The first step toward asylums was separating lunatics from other prisoners. Lunatic wards were added to prisons in Wellington then Auckland in 1844. Lunacy was typically caused by heredity or head injuries.
The Lunatic Ordinance 1846 set legal processes for lunatics and anticipated asylums. At the request of two justices of the peace, two medical doctors could certify an individual as a lunatic. Justices and doctors could also certify that a lunatic had recovered. A lunatic could be admitted to an asylum if they were not believed to be a danger to the public. They would stay until they recovered and were discharged, they were collected by family or friends who agreed to care for them, or they died. If a lunatic could not pay for their care then the cost would be covered by the state.
Staff in the first asylums were not medically trained. They were expected to follow the principles of moral management and non-restraint. Moral management kept patients active with a routine of physical work or exercise, recreations and religious services. Non-restraint confined violent or destructive patients to padded cells instead of physically restraining them.
Opening and gradual growth (18541864) Karori Lunatic Asylum opened on 1 January 1854 with one male patient cared for by a male keeper (or master). The asylum was an existing house on a section. Wellington city was away on a poor road. The section, with a corner on the main Karori Road and Donald Street, is now occupied by Karori Normal School.
The first female patient was admitted in June 1857. From July 1857, Karori asylum had a visiting medical officer who cared for the physical health of patients and wrote status reports. In the late 1850s, William and Elizabeth Sutherland were appointed as keeper and matron. They continued until 1872, the year before the asylum closed.
In 1861, doctor Charles France succeeded doctor Alexander Johnston as the medical officer. Their 1861 and 1862 status reports with later recollections by Johnston detailed day-to-day life at the asylum. It was divided by gender. The keeper and a male attendant (or assistant) cared for four men, while the matron cared for six women. The male patients tended a kitchen garden, which made the asylum self-sufficient in vegetables. They also prepared firewood. The female patients sewed and cleaned clothes. Patients were usually allowed out around the section, which had another flower garden. At Karori asylum, patient activities were limited to work and exercise. There were no recreations and no access to religious services. Patients could be physically restrained in a straitjacket, and they could be punished by being confined.
France visited at least twice a week, and he continued as the medical officer until the asylum closed in 1873.
According to Williams (1987), a history of psychiatric hospitals in the Wellington Region, the 1861 and 1862 status reports "... suggested that the asylum was running an effective service for the mentally ill."
Rapid growth and decision to replace (1865May 1872) From 1865, the number of patients at Karori Lunatic Asylum began to grow more rapidly. The provincial council added a little more patient accommodation (wards) then appointed a few staff. But the asylum's resources became inadequate to care for the number of patients.
+Karori Lunatic Asylum growth 18621871Month Patients Staff Wards Cells May 1862 10: 6 female, 4 male 3: 2 male, 1 female 8 January 1865 12 April 1865 10 4 AprilMay 1867 19: 12 female, 7 male 3: 2 male (including cook), 1 female July 1870 21: 13 female, 8 male 4: 3 male (including cook), 1 female January 1871 20: 10 female, 10 male 17 Late 1871 23: 12 male, 11 female 5: 3 male, 1 female, 1 cook 13 4 Most patients were from the British Isles. Only two Māori people are known to have been admitted, both in 1866.
By 1867, Karori asylum's official visitors were Jonas Woodward and John Johnston, the local member of parliament who lived nearby. In May, the visitors reported the asylum was not satisfactory. It had reached its capacity of 19 patients and was understaffed. They noted dilapidated buildings and disagreed on whether the asylum was well managed. The provincial council responded by allocating funds for improvement. Understaffing was worst on the women's wing where the matron continued to work alone. In 1868, a newspaper report said "... the matron's very irksome duties would be much lessened by the help of a female assistant."
The Lunatics Act 1868 formalised regular independent inspections of asylums. In June 1870, the new role of inspector was filled by Thomas Adolphus Bowden, but Woodward and Johnston stopped visiting. In January 1871, Bowden wrote a detailed status report. Of the 20 patients, 10 female and 10 male, 80% were believed to be incurable including all the women. The report noted a shortage of accommodation for patients and staff. Bowden wrote "The present buildings cannot accommodate patients of a better class than paupers, and consequently none but paupers have been received; causing ... a loss of revenue to the asylum." He also said that male attendants were sleeping on the kitchen floor, while a female attendant could not be appointed until a room was found for her. Bowden went on to recommend replacing the asylum. He resigned in June 1871, but a year passed before Karori asylum's next inspector was appointed.
Later in 1871, the parliamentary committee on lunatic asylums produced an improvement plan, which singled out Karori for urgent attention. The committee's chairman, doctor Andrew Buchanan, made an inspection.
He wrote that the 23 patients, 12 male and 11 female, were well fed, and their care appeared to be humane. However, the asylum was overcrowded, the male patients were idle indoors, the female patients never went outdoors for exercise, there was no bathroom and, apart from the medical officer, there had been few visitors. Buchanan also recommended replacing Karori with an asylum that was better resourced and equipped, and closer to Wellington city so it would be easier to inspect. The provincial council agreed and started to build Mount View Lunatic Asylum on a site overlooking the city. It was designed to accommodate 50 patients, twice the number then at Karori. The site, off Adelaide Road in the suburb of Newtown, is now occupied by Government House.
In September 1871, a female attendant finally joined Karori asylum. Mary McDonald arrived from an asylum in Tasmania with over two years experience in a similar role. McDonald noticed ill-treatment of some female patients by the matron. She raised her concerns with France then the provincial council who launched an inquiry.
Inquiry into ill-treatment (AprilMay 1872) Public hearings were held in late April. McDonald alleged the matron had subjected some female patients to sustained verbal and physical abuse with unjustified physical restraint and confinement.
A male attendant gave some support to McDonald's allegations. He and the cook had also seen male patients struck. Matron Elizabeth Sutherland admitted occasionally striking patients, with her hand or a length of supplejack, when she felt they had misbehaved or had not followed her orders. However, two of the matron's alleged victims, the other attendant and the medical officer did not raise concerns.
Newspaper coverage brought forth more witnesses, so the hearings were extended.
Two former staff members alleged that the Sutherlands had been ill-treating patients for some years. William Dunn, an attendant August 1868May 1871, read accounts of violent incidents from his diary. James Sproul (or Sproule), the cook March 1866December 1867, raised concerns about ill-treatment with medical officer France and official visitor Johnston. Sproul was then dismissed, for work and personal failures according to France and keeper William Sutherland. Former official visitor Woodward raised one violent incident by the keeper, but former inspector Bowden had no concerns.
The inquiry report, published on 4 May, concluded "... patients have been treated with unnecessary violence ...". It also criticised France for not noticing the ill-treatment and said he needed to supervise the asylum more rigorously. Vacancies for an inspector and two official visitors were filled.
The Sutherlands apparently resigned. They were then charged with ill-treating patients in their care under the Lunatics Act 1868: two counts for Elizabeth and one for William. They were convicted on all charges but were fined the minimum amounts because they had already lost their livelihoods by dismissal.
New leadership and closure (June 1872May 1873) In mid-May 1872, Henry and Charlotte Seager were appointed as the keeper and matron of Karori Lunatic Asylum. Henry had worked at Sunnyside Lunatic Asylum in Christchurch. Sunnyside was led by Henry's brother Edward who was widely regarded as one of the colony's most progressive and effective keepers. The Seagers led Karori asylum in its final year. Although the leadership had changed, the issue of caring for a growing number of patients with inadequate resources had not.
In July, an inspector did not find any patients restrained or confined. Another inspector visited in August and September. He wrote that the number of patients had grown to 26, 13 male and 13 female. The number of staff was unchanged at five: the keeper, two male attendants, the matron and a female attendant. Both inspectors declined to comment on accommodation at Karori asylum but anticipated that Mount View would be better resourced. These were the last known independent inspections of Karori asylum.
Henry Seager wrote to the Wellington superintendent explaining how the range of activities for patients had been expanded at little cost. Male patients landscaped the section and planted trees for the new asylum.