In 1955 a journalist for the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner’s Advocate reported that when touring the Morisset Psychiatric Hospital he observed a blind patient weaving a basket. At the Hospital in this time, and until 1965, items such as these baskets were made by patients in the Male Occupational Therapy Department. But there are also […]
In 1936, Morisset Psychiatric Hospital opened a new ward for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to as the ‘Crim’ by staff. Patients of this maximum-security ward were men with mental illnesses which contributed to their offence or prevented their integration into the regular prison environment. By the 1970s, the most common diagnosis of patients was […]
There’s a marble stone plaque on Morpeth’s war memorial statue that reads, ‘For King & Country’. Listed there are the names of the local ANZAC soldiers who served in World War One. Third on that list is Lieutenant H. Maynard MM, and below, on another plaque is a commitment, ‘Lest We Forget’. This is a […]
The recorded histories of institutions such as Morisset Hospital are rarely given by its patients. Through the 1900s, the hospital, once known as an insane asylum or mental hospital, cared for people with a variety of needs: disability, alcohol addiction, mental illness, those experiencing the late-stage impacts of sexually-transmitted diseases, and criminals considered unsuitable for prison. […]
On a Monday night in 1950 a group of women gathered at Booloroo Uniting Church and sang from the heart. Based around Lake Macquarie (NSW, Australia), and adopting the Awabakal word for ‘mother’, they became known as the Babaneek Ladies’ Choir. This is a story of faith, friendship, and the gift of song. […]
‘… there was no air – can you imagine five people locked in a cell with no air?…’ – former prisoner Allan James remembered his experience at Maitland Gaol in 1961. Established in 1848, Maitland was the oldest intact gaol in NSW and had become notorious as one of Australia’s toughest prisons. Ventilation grills like […]
Minnie Hall was just a teenager when the First World War began. Like many girls her age, she had an autograph album – a personalised book for those nearest and dearest to her to decorate with memories and anecdotes. Have a look inside the pages for a glimpse at Minnie’s world. […]
Making hand-wrought nails has always been a highly repetitive, laborious job. But these iron and copper nails from the earliest buildings at Maitland Gaol, completed by 1848, were made during a turning point, when nail making machines had recently been invented. Were Maitland Gaol’s nails made one-by one, pulled from a forge and shaped by […]
With most of our appliances requiring power, new houses have multiple power points. If you’ve ever lived in an older, unrenovated building the frustration of not enough power points is very real. Electricity was first introduced into Australia for lighting. Stoves burnt fuel such as wood, heating was an open fire or oil heaters, while […]
What would you do to ward off boredom if you were facing a life behind bars? Despite being resigned to his life sentence in Maitland Gaol, Vietnam War veteran Ken Graham found a focused way to remain resilient. In the late 1980s, recycling whatever timber he could gather from around the gaol, Graham spent five […]
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