In the early morning of August 17, 1951, a fire destroyed the male wing at Beechworth Mental Hospital. The fire had begun in the ceiling at around 5:30 am when an attendant noticed smoke coming from the ceiling. Five attendants were able to evacuate all the patients safely while firefighters got the fire under control.
The male wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, which housed 179 patients, were destroyed, while male wards 5 and 6, accommodating another 97 patients, were partially damaged. During the evacuation, one patient had to be rescued through a second-floor window in a dramatic operation. Mr. Ronald Gladstone performed the rescue, who later collapsed from exhaustion and a dislocated shoulder and was admitted to the Ovens District Hospital.
Four patients absconded during the fire but were later found. 85 patients were relocated to various other facilities, including Mont Park, Ararat, Kew and Sunbury. Temporary accommodations were provided, including 57 beds at the Beechworth Town Hall.
Later, the building was demolished and rebuilt at the cost of £45,000 for occupational therapy and artisan purposes.
Mayday Hills Hospital closed in 1995 and was subsequently sold to La Trobe University, which operated it as a campus until 2011. It was then sold to a private owner.
The former male wing now houses oneofftwo Studios, where you can view and purchase original paintings and jewellery by artistic couple Dore Stockhausen and Marcus Foley.
Visit https://www.oneofftwo.com/
https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5b6ce43721ea690e586c60a1
The men who raised the alarm when Beechworth Mental Hospital began to blaze yesterday…
cooks Mr FJ Beatson and Mr AA Jessup.
ABOVE:
Some of the local firemen who helped put it out.
CENTRE:
Sky where the roof used to be: ruin where walls used to be.
BELOW:
The hospital, and its gutted wing (right).
Written by Dr Alison Watts, Adjunct Lecturer at Southern Cross University.
See Alison’s full bio here
Sources:
The Lion of Beechworth: An Account of the History of the Mayday Hills Hospital Beechworth 1867–1995
‘FIRE AT MENTAL HOSPITAL’, Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Vic. : 1855; 1857 – 1890; 1892 – 1955), 18 August 1951 p. 1.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article268509535
‘IN THE FIRES WAKE AT BEECHWORTH’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957) 18 August 1951, p. 48. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page1747992
Explore the Beechworth Cemetery Virtual Tour
Explore the Mayday Hills (formerly the Beechworth Asylum) Virtual Tour
