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 was considered a form of occupational therapy. Contents included announcements of […]
The Open Door: Patient Magazine Read More »
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 the bottom in pencil: Ada. I asked my mother, “Whose suitcase
A life in institutions Read More »
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 meaning of stigma, shame and family secrets through generations. We present
Stigma, shame & family secrets Read More »
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 clinical files reveals the use of numerous treatments, vaccines, and tests
Experimental Treatments Read More »
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 returned to Victoria and tried to pick up the threads of
Five Diggers from Mayday Hills Read More »
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 Lunatic Asylum with the aim of determining the extent of family
Lessons from the past Read More »
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: “Supposed Cause: The Deeming Case (she being the discoverer of body
Who was Marie Stella Hewitt? Read More »
