The Hospitals for the Insane
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Clarke, Postcolonialism, Mental Illness and Prisons
The Tyran n y of the Lea ther Bo ok: Post colonialism, M ental Illness a nd Prisons in Australia Joan E Clarke, PhD Introduction: Shaping Relationships by Space and Symbol This essay explores how colonial legacies continue to affect people with severe mental illness in Australia, sometimes positively but mostly adversely. The exploration begins over two centuries ago when colonial white settlers brought with them an intention to own land. Along with this intention they brought their knowledge of how to manage large spaces by the use of European mapping, naming of places, British law, architecture and institutions. This paper follows the trail of how settlers shaped Australian landscapes with their laws that in turn helped to determine a hierarchy of colonial social relationships. Sherene Razack in her work on space, race and the law, argues that land, when it is set aside for specific purposes by statutes or government acts, is a statement about race and culture. Law plays a direct role in producing space by stipulating land use and purpose.1 For people with a mental illness in Australia an abiding fact is governments’ regulation of their personhood stretching back to colonial times. Laws were statements about their sanity. Asylums were statements about their place. In the State of Victoria, for example, before Federation in 1901, until now, there have been over 60 Lunacy Acts, Lunacy Statutes, Mental Hygiene Acts, and Mental Health Acts beginning with the Colony of New South Wales Lunacy Act of 1928. A new Victorian Mental Health Act will come into existence in 2013. -
Australian Medical Journal
AUSTRALIAN MEDICAIL JOURNAL. 975 USTRALIAN RADIUM. 7 representing the Australian specimen, and as 19 is to 27 when the interceptor was a mild leaden MAN LA \V'1: I? NCR. ALR.C. l'., Ëdiu. one, both experiments at a distance of 14 inches from the electroscope. Hon. Dermatologist, St. V incent's Hospital.) It will be a great help to Australian medical men About two months ago Mr. Jones, managing di- if a local supply of therapeutical radium is obtain- rector of the Radium Hill Co., South Australia, able, and as there is now such a great demand sent a ten milligram specimen of radium bromide to abroad for radium. on account of its being used in me, asking me to examine same therapeutically. In the treatment of inoperable malignant growths and order to compare the result of the therapeutical likewise being applied after operations for cancer, action of this specimen with the therapeutical ac- tion of a :to milligram specimen of pure radium 'bromide (imported), I took for one experiment a case of generalised psoriasis, the patient having numerous small spots and patches of psoriasis, more or less bilaterial and symmetrical, situated on the sides of the body and on the arms and legs. I had the specimen of Australian radium applied to four or five spots upon the left arm, giving 15 minutes exposures, and imported specimen applied to simi- lar spots upon the right arm. The time of exposure and preparation of the specimens were exactly simi- lar. In the same way, spots were treated upon the left side and left leg with the Australian specimen, several exposures of thirty. -
In 1934, Two Severely Mentally Retarded Children Were Brought By
In 1934, two severely mentally retarded children were brought by their mother to see Dr Asbjørn Følling, a Norwegian physician, having consulted numerous doctors to no avail. She had noticed that both children had a strange bodily odour.[1] Dr Følling eventually proved that these children, along with eight other severely mentally retarded children excreted phenylpyruvic acid in their urine leading to the description of oligophrenia phenylpyrouvica, later termed phenylketonuria.[2] Figure 1:The two mentally retarded sibling whom their mother brought to see Dr Følling[2] Figure 2:The publication from 1934 describing the discovery of phenylketonuria [2]and the scientist behind the discovery, Dr Følling[1] Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder, characterised by an inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH).[3] PAH is the hepatic enzyme necessary for the metabolism of phenylalanine (Phe) to the amino acid tyrosine using tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) as a cofactor. The deficiency of PAH leads to the accumulation of Phe and its metabolites giving rise to the ‘mousy’ odour of the body and urine.[4] The pathophysiological mechanisms by which PKU causes neurological dysfunction are multiple and not well understood. It has been postulated that Phe may inhibit cortical neuronal growth and induce neuronal death and downregulate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is critical for neuronal development and protection. [5] Hyperphenylalaninaemia also inhibits the hydroxylases of tyrosine and tryptophan leading to a deficiency in cathecholamines and serotonin.[6] If left untreated, is associated with microcephaly, epilepsy, severe mental retardation and, in some cases, progressive supranuclear motor disturbances. -
Kew Historical Society Significance Assessment | Collection Report
Artwork: Kew Railway Station (1887-1958) by local artist Joy Stewart. A template for one of a series of tapestry panels depicting the history of Kew. Wool colour codes at left. Photo: Kew Historical Society Kew Historical Society Significance Assessment | Collection Report | August 2018 © History@Work 2018 Project Team Emma Russell, Principal Historian Alannah Croom, Historian Schedule Project Kew Historical Society Collection - Significance Assessment Status & Date Final Report, August 2018 Prepared for Robert Baker – Archivist Judith Scurfield - Curator Contents Executive Summary p.2 Executive Summary Purpose of Significance Assessments Methodology History of Kew p.5 History of the collection Focus and scope Investigation Contents of the collection Role in the community Comparative analysis Application of Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes p.27 Assessment Application of Significance 2.0 criteria Statement of Significance p.33 Recommendations p.35 References p.36 Contact Emma Russell A - 13 Urquhart Street, Northcote, VIC 3070 E - [email protected] W - historyatwork.com.au M - 0414 530 880 1 Executive Summary The Kew Historical Society (KHS) received a Community Heritage Grant from the National Library of Australia in 2017 for a significance assessment. The Grant was for three components of the overall collection: the costumes and textiles, the maps, and the pictures. However we also considered the collection as a whole as it provides the context and the companions for these three components. The Society’s Mission and Aims refer consistently to ‘Kew and its environs’ – this shapes the collection policy and all related documents and is an important driver in acquisition and deacquisition decisions. -
Appendix: Indications of Insanity Noted by Family and Friends of Inmate Prior to Committal
Appendix: Indications of Insanity Noted by Family and Friends of Inmate Prior to Committal Changed speech Peculiar and eccentric Religious delusions Answers in whispers Strange conduct, morose Boastful Strange in his head Foul language Suicidal Rambling in statements, incoherent Suspicious Singing Unable to give account of self Speaking quickly Unfounded fears Talkative, raving Vacant manner Talks nonsense Very queer Will not speak unless pressed Want of harmony Wild expressions of face Changed mental state Changed behaviour Anxious and depressed Dejected Abandonment or neglect of children/ Delusional family and/or household duties Depressed Aimless and despondent Depressed in spirits Cannot be trusted Excited Childishness Failing mentally Claims ill treatment Fits of temper Craving for drink Foolish Crying Forgetful, absent minded, bad memory Dancing Great state of tension Destructive Hallucinations of sight and hearing Dirty in habits Inside is dead to all feeling* Does not behave like a sensible per- Irrational son Listless Eating like an animal Low spirited Erratic conduct, strange, irregular Melancholic manner Mind unhinged Exalted opinions of self Miserable Fumbling 154 Indications of Insanity 155 Goes naked, indecent manner Singing hymns Has become negligent of self Tears hair Holding hands in front of face Tendency to continual sleeping Lustful/raving about sexual functions Uncontrollable Masturbation Unexplained laughter No appetite Unnatural Noisy Violent and dangerous with threats Not working to others Refusing food Wandering Restless in manner Wears a man’s hat (a woman) Self-abuse Wrings hands Note: *This statement was made by the patient. Some of these are direct quotations but behaviours may apply more widely; much of this language used was used by lay observers or ‘translated’ by doctors. -
Towards an Understanding of Occupational Therapy Professional Practice Knowledge in Mental Health Services
Towards an understanding of occupational therapy professional practice knowledge in mental health services Lynne Maree Adamson B AppSci (OccTher), MAppSci (OT), Grad Cert (Univ Teach & Learn) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Sydney, NSW, Australia August 2011 Statement of authorship I, Lynne Maree Adamson, hereby declare that the work contained within this document is my own and no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement. This work has not been submitted to any other university or institution as a part or a whole requirement for any higher degree. Lynne Maree Adamson 29 August 2011 i Acknowledgements Many people provided inspiration and support to me in this journey across several years. I thank Colleen Mullavey O’Byrne for supervising and guiding me through the process. As colleague and friend, I am grateful for her wisdom and gentle encouragement. Special thanks are due to Joy Higgs who introduced me to new ways of thinking and inspired me with her experience and her view to far horizons. I appreciate the dynamic learning opportunities created through Joy’s leadership and the scholarly companionship of her colleagues and research students. To my family and special friends, I owe deepest gratitude for support and tolerating absence from my usual roles in life. Most of all, I thank Evelyne who inspired, challenged and supported me. My work colleagues deserve thanks for their understanding and willingness to share the high and low moments of postgraduate study. In my writing, I was assisted by Natasha Parkin who searched meticulously for missing details and helped me organise my words. -
THE HOSPITALS for Rl1he. INSANE
1880-81. VICTORIA. R E .. P 0 RT OF THE INSPECTOR 0}' LUNATIC ASYLUMS ON THE HOSPITALS FOR rl1HE. INSANE FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31sT· DECEMBER 18 8 0. l'RI•:SENTim TO DOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT PURSUANT TO ACT 31 VICT. No, 809, SEC1'ION 56. li1] autbotit!!: HOBT, S, DRAIN, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, MELBOURNE. Nu. a. ;' APPUOXIM.A.TE COST OF REPORT. £ s. <1. }lrcparn.tion-N(Jt given. llriutillf! (850 COI}iCS) 41 .o 0 " DEPARTMENT OF HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE, Melbourne, 28th March 1881. 237. SIR, In accordance with the provisions of the 56th section of the Lunacy Statute, No. 309, I have the honor to transmit for your information the accompanying Report on the state and condition of the Lunatic Asylums, Licensed House, and Lunacy· Wards in the Colony of Victoria for the year ended on the 31st December 1880. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, E. PALEY, Inspector of Limatic Asylums. The Honorable the Chief Secretary. REPORT. THE first of the following tables gives the number and distribution of the insane in Victoria on the JISt December. On the 1st January I 88o there were 2,768 patients in the public asylums, and 234 on leave ; at the end· of the year there were 2,803 under care in the asylums and 245 on leave, an increase of 46 altogether-35 in the asylums, and I I on leave. At the Cremorne licensed house there were 22 on the books in January, and only 14 in December; and there has only been an increase of I in the lunacy wards during the same period. -