We bought our first home unit at Gladesville in 1983 and lived there for a few years, but never visited the site of the former Gladesville “Mental Hospital”, a psychiatric hospital, established in 1838 in Gladesville. Its original name was Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum.
It’s located at Bedlam Point. Those of you who don’t get that connection > look here
It was purpose built to house “lunatics” in 1838, and apparently was a genuine attempt to improve the treatment of the mentally ill, allowing relatives to visit, patients to have access to recreational facilities and worthwhile work in what were once beautiful grounds.
In 1997, all inpatient services were consolidated at the Macquarie (North Ryde) site in Wicks Road.
Beautiful grounds
The pool looks a bit tired, but was probably once pretty advanced for a psych hospital.
Bedlam Point (not joking… it really is called that)
Gorgeous old fig by the water
One of these graves is that of a patient who was a resident there for more than 60 years
Had no idea there was a tunnel under Victoria Road
Imagine being housed in wings like this for perhaps years and years. Imagine the tears shed by inmates and families visiting.
So, this weekend, we... 
[…] gorgeous Sydney spring day for a walk along another part of the Parramatta River… we’ve walked through the grounds of the old Gladesville Hospital before, but not this […]
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