Mayday Hills Blog

Museums of yesteryear were often large, gloomy places, barely accessible to people with limited mobility, with information about exhibits written in small print only legible to those with excellent… Read more: The Digital Museum

Asylum postcards provide an excellent visual record of the mental hospital over time. While today’s audiences may find these postcards rather grim, photographers of the past found asylum buildings… Read more: Asylum Postcards

Mayday Hills patients and staff produced The Open Door magazine and engaged in all aspects of the magazine’s production. From hand-colouring each front cover to binding and distribution, it… Read more: The Open Door: Patient Magazine

Children who lived in Beechworth learned at first hand what mental illness was all about. The grounds of Mayday Hills provided ample opportunities for play, and trusted patients were… Read more: Beechworth’s Children: <br> Living In Town</br>

From its earliest days, senior staff at Mayday Hills lived in official houses within the grounds, together with their wives and children. These children had the unusual opportunity to… Read more: Beechworth’s Children:<br> Living in the grounds</br>

Researcher Dr Eileen Clark recently worked on an episode of the television program Who Do You Think You Are (Australia) shown on the SBS channel on Tuesday 18 June… Read more: Who Do You Think You Are

These two black and white photographs of the Beechworth Asylum are titled and dated differently. Photograph One is titled ‘Visitors’ Day’ (circa 1900), and the second is titled: ‘At… Read more: Beechworth Asylum: Visitors’ Day photographs (1880-1900)

Voices from the Asylum is a dramatic monologue that showcases the seldom heard voices of patients which can be uncomfortable to hear. It includes readings from Bedlam at Botany Bay by… Read more: Voices from the Asylum

James Neilson BRADLEY (1868–1943)James BRADLEY was born in Sandhurst (Bendigo), one of seven children of William BRADLEY and Jane NEILSON. In 1892 he married Ida Emily SCOPES and they… Read more: Asylum Staff Cricket Team

Childhood memories of visits from Dr Eric Cunningham Dax. In 1956 Dr Donnan and his family moved to Beechworth to take up the position of Chief Superintendent Psychiatrist at… Read more: Dax was fun & bought us gifts

The former Beechworth Asylum, built in 1867, is located at Albert Rd, Beechworth, VictoriaIt and has had several name changes over the years: In 1863 the Victorian government selected… Read more: Beechworth Asylum

Thomas Alexander David Fuller 1895 – 1955 Thomas Alexander David Fuller started employment at the Beechworth Mental Hospital in June 1940 as an attendant. Beechworth on the 14th July… Read more: Hospital attendant Thomas Fuller meets tragic end

Edith Agnes HARRINGTON was a patient in Mayday Hills from about 1950 until her death in December 1980. She is remembered by staff because of the exquisite and unusual… Read more: Edith Harrington

This Mayday Hills Blog showcases our current research, stories and news.

One minute video introduction narrated by Dr Jenni Munday

We’re very proud to announce this article was awarded the Inclusive Museum International Award for Excellence: Collections from the Asylum in 2024. Building on the success of the exhibition… Read more: Award for Excellence

As a child, I found a small, brown suitcase in my wardrobe. It had two silver latches and a squeaky wooden handle. I didn’t recognise the name inscribed on… Read more: A life in institutions

Stigma, shame and family secrets as consequences of mental illness in previous generations: A micro-history approach Abstract: In this article we evaluate micro-history as a method for investigating the… Read more: Stigma, shame & family secrets

The Honourable Helen Haines launched the Virtual Tours site in March 2022 at the Mayday Hills Arts Society located on the grounds of the former asylum in Beechworth Victoria,… Read more: Virtual Tours Website Launch

I started my nursing training in mid-1969 and have worked mostly in bed based services, I have to say I have enjoyed my time and hopefully I have made… Read more: 50 years in mental health

This article investigates new and experimental medical treatments used to cure ‘maternal insanity’ in women committed to Victorian psychiatric institutions between 1920 and 1936. Close examination of the women’s… Read more: Experimental Treatments

These short biographies tell the stories of five men who served on the Western Front in World War One. They suffered injuries and illness but after the War they… Read more: Five Diggers from Mayday Hills

When I began my research for my PhD back in 2009, I was primarily interested in my grandmother’s story. Ada was hidden from our family for nearly thirty-years when… Read more: Maternity Insanity in Victoria

Lessons from the past: Family involvement in patient admission and discharge, Beechworth Lunatic Asylum, 1900–1912 In this study, document analysis is used to examine case books from the Beechworth… Read more: Lessons from the past

Marie Stella HEWITT was admitted to the Beechworth Lunatic Asylum on 23 July 1907 suffering from dementia but it was the cause of her illness that caught my eye:… Read more: Who was Marie Stella Hewitt?

The following images are from the Mayday Hills Art Society collection, located within the former Mayday Hills psychiatric hospital building at Beechworth, Victoria. I’m including David Lawrence’s identification of… Read more: Mayday Hills Art Society

The exhibition Collections from the Asylum gives a fascinating glimpse into life inside and outside the walls of the former Mayday Hills Mental Hospital, Beechworth, Victoria. Mental AsylumsMental asylums,… Read more: Collections from the Asylum: Past Lives, Present Tense