Situated at the top of Albert Road, the heritage listed Gatehouse is the first building visitors see as they enter the Mayday Hills complex. Completed in 1870, the Gatehouse is of two storeys, built in the Italianate style echoing the design of the main asylum building, with arched windows, a tower and portico. Originally, there were three bedrooms, a living room and kitchen, with a shed and earth closet at the rear. There were two pairs of wrought iron gates across Albert Road, with a turnstile pedestrian entrance adjacent to the gatehouse. A dining room/sitting room was added in the early 20th century, with further extensions and modifications in the 1970s.
The Gatehouse was the Steward’s Residence. The Steward (general manager) was responsible for overseeing all the non-medical aspects of the asylum, including maintenance, stores, employment of tradespeople, and the keeping of meticulous financial records. Daniel Charles O’Connor was the first Steward, serving from 1867 to 1894. A Tasmanian by birth, O’Connor was a senior clerk and storekeeper at Yarra Bend Asylum in Melbourne before his appointment to the Beechworth asylum. O’Connor was a devout Catholic who was involved in many activities in the town. He was a bachelor and his sister, Charlotte, lived with him and ran the home. He remained in Beechworth after his retirement, living in ‘Craig House’ just three doors down Albert Road from the Gatehouse until his death in 1906.
By a strange twist of fate, in 1937 Craig House became the new residence of the Steward, now termed the Secretary. The last Secretary/Manager of Mayday Hills was Douglas Anthony Craig. Appointed in 1976, he and his family lived in Craig House until his position was declared redundant in 1991. In his retirement he wrote The Lion of Beechworth, an extensive history of the asylum and its place in Beechworth.
By the 1970s, the building was being used to house patients. Following the decommissioning of the asylum, it was sometimes used as base for on-site security staff. It is now privately owned and operated as an accommodation business, The Gatehouse@Beechworth.
Written by Dr Eileen Clark, Adjunct Research Fellow at Charles Sturt University.
See Eileen’s full bio here
Sources:
Craig, D. A. (n.d.) The Lion of Beechworth. An account of the history of the Mayday Hills Hospital Beechworth 1867–1995.
Lovell Chen Architects and Heritage Consultants. (2012) Former Mayday Hills Hospital Conservation Management Plan Review. East Melbourne, VIC: Author Publisher.
Asylum gates and lodge (1890) photograph courtesy of the Bourke Museum Collection, Victorian Collections: https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/60fbb5fe101cf8a533522914
Explore the Beechworth Cemetery Virtual Tour
Explore the Mayday Hills (formerly the Beechworth Asylum) Virtual Tour
