Page 17 - eMuse Vol.9 No.06_Classical

Z Ward at “The Bin”

Parkside Mental Hospital, ca. 1925
There was a time, not so long ago, when sufferers of any form
of mental illness were treated badly by almost everyone. From the vividly recall such a place and recall my distress of the injustice of
prevailing attitudes of a mostly insensitive population these unfor- it all. With reservations, I hope this is a situation of “all’s well that
tunate people were branded with derogatory names like lunatics, ends well.”
idiots, mad, etc.
Places where such sick people were sent were called a variety of As for the ghosts, for some unexplained reason, little informa-
demeaning names which indicate how little a huge majority failed tion is available. For one I won’t question the existence or endorse
to care. “The looney bin”, “the nut-house,” And these places had it. But, if time heals all wounds like the clichés so often tell us,
fearsome reputations, to put the fear of God into any new inmates perhaps they will eventually come to a well deserved rest.
with an inkling of intelligence.
One such place was the infamous home for the criminally insane,
Z Ward, Glenside, South Australia. It housed a predominantly male
population of more than 1500 from 1888 to 1973. It was originally,
and perhaps more appropriate named “L” Ward until 1932 when it
was realised that it was phonetically linked to “Hell Ward”.
During the asylum’s time of operation there were at least 80
known deaths. Naturally, macabre statistics attract visits from the
slightly curious to the dedicated believers of the paranormal. Many
visitors report instances of patting, touching, strange sensations
and sightings of spectres. Apparently male visitors are targeted
most by the unexplained phenomena wandering the eerie halls of
this place of past horrors.
The gruesome history of the place began in 1847 when the 2nd to 5th April 2020
Public Colonial Lunatic Asylum of South Australia was founded at
the site in 1846 as the state’s first purpose-run asylum to house
residents deemed mentally ill. It was run more like a farm than a
hospital, and housed patients deemed too mentally unwell to be This year’s Festival was yet another victim of the
housed in the Adelaide Gaol. coronavirus. We’ll be back. Put these dates in your
It operated until 1852, when the Adelaide Lunatic Asylum diary now 8th to 11th April 2021.
opened at the eastern end of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and the
Glenside site was not used for such purposes for another 18 years. Start telling your friends

It reopened as Parkside Lunatic Asylum in 1870, housing the
chronically mentally ill as well as people nearing the end of their See you there!
lives, those suffering from undiagnosed illnesses, unmarried wom-
en with children and prostitutes.
The infamous “L Ward” (Later the “Z Ward”) housed the crimi-
nally and mentally insane from 1888. The whole establishment was
renamed Parkside Mental Hospital in 1913 at the time of changes
in the Mental Health Act 1913, when it was classified as both a
receiving and a mental hospital.
Parkside was also referred to as “The Bin”.
Today all that remains of the original Glenside hospital are ten
forensic mental health beds. A dedicated Forensic Secure Inpatient
Unit replaced the whole establishment. It is now a much better
place for the mentally ill to receive the effective care they have
always deserved.
In my growing years, as an observer on the outside looking in, I
May 2020 eMuse 17