An individual could be certified as a lunatic by medical practitioners. A lunatic could be admitted to an asylum if they did not have family or friends to take care of them and they were not believed to be a danger to the public. There they would remain until they were certified as recovered and discharged, or they died. Asylum staff were laypeople who were supposed to treat the patients humanely.
Karori Lunatic Asylum appears to have been a satisfactory environment for its patients until the mid-1860s. After that, the number of patients grew quicker than the asylum's resources to house and care for them. This led to overcrowding and inhumane treatment of patients by the two leaders of the staff. In 1872, a provincial inquiry found patients had been treated with unnecessary force by the leaders, and they were dismissed. Their replacements returned to humane treatment of patients for the asylum's final year.
In 1871, the parliamentary committee on lunatic asylums singled out Karori for urgent improvement. The provincial council responded by building Mount View Lunatic Asylum in Wellington city centre. Karori Lunatic Asylum closed in 1873 after its patients and leaders moved to Mount View.
History
Opening and gradual growth (1854–1864)
Karori Lunatic Asylum opened in January 1854 with one male patient cared for by a keeper (or master).[3] It was a former private house on a 5-acre (2.0ha) section. Wellington city was 4 miles (6.4km) away on a poor road.[4] The section, with a corner on the main Karori Road and Donald Street, is now occupied by Karori Normal School.[5]
There had been asylums at Wellington and Auckland prison since 1844, but Karori was the colony of New Zealand's first independent lunatic asylum.[6] The Lunatics Ordinance 1846 created the legal framework around lunatics and asylums. Two medical practitioners could certify an individual as a lunatic and certify a lunatic had recovered. A lunatic could be admitted to an asylum if they did not have family or friends to take care of them and they were not believed to be a danger to the public.[7] There they would remain until they were certified as recovered and discharged, or they died.
Asylum staff were expected to follow the principles of moral management and non-restraint.[5] Moral management involved creating a calm, orderly and healthy environment with work and leisure activities, so patients could live comfortably and, in some cases, recover.[6] Non-restraint involved confining a patient to a padded cell when necessary instead of physically restraining them.[5]
From 1857, Karori Lunatic Asylum had a visiting medical officer who cared for the physical health of patients and reported on conditions at the asylum.[8] The following year, William and Elizabeth Sutherland were appointed as the keeper and matron.[9] They remained until 1872,[10] the year before the asylum closed.
In 1861, doctor Alexander Johnston was succeeded as medical officer by doctor Charles France. Their reports of 1861 and 1862 with later recollections by Johnston gave details of day-to-day life at the asylum. It was divided by gender with the keeper and a male attendant (or assistant) caring for four men, while the matron cared for six women. The male patients tended a 0.5-acre (0.20ha)kitchen garden and prepared firewood, while the female patients did needlework and cleaned clothes. The patients were usually allowed to roam around the section, which had a garden with flowers and shrubs. There were no other recreations and no access to religious services. Patients could be physically restrained in a straitjacket and punished by being confined.[11][12][13] In 1861, Johnston wrote that no patient had attempted to abscond in the previous two years.[11] France visited the asylum at least twice a week until it closed in 1873.[12]
According to Williams (1987), a history of psychiatric hospitals in the Wellington Region, the 1861 and 1862 reports "... suggested that the asylum was running an effective service for the mentally ill."[14] By the end of 1864, the number of patients had grown to 12.
Rapid growth and decision to replace (1865–1871)
Between 1865 and 1871, the number of patients at Karori Lunatic Asylum grew rapidly,[4] outstripping growth in the asylum's patient accommodation and staff.
By 1867, the official visitors to the asylum were the local member of parliament John Johnston and Jonas Woodward.[21] In May, they reported the asylum was not satisfactory. It had reached its capacity of 19 patients and was understaffed. They noted dilapidated buildings, and disagreed on whether the asylum was well managed. The provincial council responded by allocating funds for improvements.[18] The Lunatics Act 1868 formalised regular independent inspections of lunatic asylums.[6][22] However, Johnston and Woodward did not continue inspections under the new act.[23] It was June 1870 before they were replaced by inspector Thomas Adolphus Bowden,[24] who resigned a year later.[23]
In the late 1860s, a second male attendant and a cook were appointed, but the matron remained the sole carer for female patients. In 1868, a newspaper reported the number of female patients had grown to 12, double the number in 1862, and "... the matron's very irksome duties would be lessened by the help of a female assistant."[25]
In January 1871, Bowden reported on Karori asylum to the parliamentary committee on lunatic asylums. The asylum had 20 patients: 10 male and 10 female. Four fifths of the patients were believed to be incurable including all the women.[16] Bowden noted that a female attendant could not be appointed until a bedroom could be found for her; the male attendants were sleeping on the kitchen floor. He went on to recommend that the asylum should be replaced.[4]
Later that year, the committee's chairman, doctor Andrew Buchanan, inspected Karori asylum. He wrote that the patients were well fed and appeared to be treated humanely. However, the asylum was overcrowded, the female patients never went outdoors for exercise, there was no bathroom and, apart from the medical officer, there had been next to no visitors. Buchanan also recommended replacing Karori with a larger asylum that had better facilities, more staff and was closer to Wellington city, so it would be easier to inspect.[9] The provincial council agreed and started work on Mount View Lunatic Asylum, which was off Adelaide Road overlooking the city and harbour.[26]
In October 1871, a female attendant arrived at Karori asylum. Mary McDonald joined from an asylum in Tasmania where she had gained two and a half years experience in a similar role.[27]
Karori Lunatic Asylum inquiry (January–May 1872)
Attendant McDonald soon became concerned about ill-treatment of female patients by the matron. She raised her concerns first with medical officer France then the provincial council, which ordered an inquiry in April 1872. McDonald alleged verbal and physical abuse, daily use of a restraining chair for one patient and confinement in the cells for weeks at a time for three others.[27] Two former members of the asylum's staff suggested ill-treatment had been going on since 1866–67.[28][23] The inquiry heard largely contradictory testimony from the Sutherlands, France, former official visitor Woodward and former inspector Bowden.[27][29][23] Over the four days of hearings, incidents of patients absconding from the asylum were regularly mentioned. The inquiry concluded that "... patients have been treated with unnecessary violence ...".[30]
In May,[10] the Sutherlands were dismissed as master and matron. A criminal trial in June convicted them of ill-treating patients: two counts for Elizabeth Sutherland and one for William. They were fined.[31] Although the inquiry expressed surprise that France had not noticed the ill-treatment,[30] he continued as medical officer.[21]
Return to humane principles and closure (June 1872–May 1873)
The new keeper and matron, Henry Seager and his wife, returned Karori asylum to the humane principles. Henry had worked at Sunnyside Lunatic Asylum in Christchurch, which was led by his brother Edward who was regarded as a progressive and effective keeper.[32][33]
In May 1873, Karori closed after 27 patients moved to Mount View Lunatic Asylum. The Seagers and medical officer France continued their roles at the new asylum.[34]
According to Williams (1987), moral management of patients with mental disorders and cognitive impairments had not been successful at Karori. It continued "Henry Seager was limited by the old premises, the isolation and lack of resources and also the increasing number of chronic and incurable people entering the asylum."[35]
Notes
↑ In 1856, a wing had been added to the asylum.[15]
↑ In 1863, another wing had been added to the asylum.[17]
↑ In 1867, tenders were invited for adding further buildings and fences to the asylum.
↑ By 1871, the four cells, in a block by the asylum building, were being used as wards.[4]
"Public Buildings". Provincial Council. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian. 31 December 1856. p.2. Retrieved 1 February 2025– via Papers Past.
Johnston, Alexander (9 May 1862) [23 October 1861]. "Reports Relating to the Lunatic Asylum at Karori". Council Papers. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. p.2. Retrieved 28 January 2025– via Papers Past.
France, Charles (9 May 1862). "Report on Lunatic Asylum, Karori". Council Papers. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. p.2. Retrieved 27 January 2025– via Papers Past.
"New Wing at Karori Lunatic Asylum". New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian. 21 February 1863. p.2. Retrieved 1 February 2025– via Papers Past.
Knowles, John. "Plan of Karori Lunatic Asylum" (10 April 1865). Department of Internal Affairs, Head Office 1840–1982, Series: 8333, ID: R24195397. Wellington: Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Department of Internal Affairs. 1984.
"Karori Lunatic Asylum". Local and General News. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 14 May 1867. p.3. Retrieved 28 January 2025– via Papers Past.
Bowden, T. A. (17 January 1871). Reports of Lunatic Asylums in New Zealand (Report). Wellington: General Assembly. pp.4–6. Retrieved 24 August 2025– via Papers Past.
Major, Margaret (2015). "Rebecca Parnell". The Stockade. No.47. Karori Historical Society. pp.10–19. Retrieved 16 August 2025– via Wellington City Council Archives Online. The life story of Rebecca Parnell (1832–1903), who, in 1857, was the first female patient admitted to Karori Lunatic Asylum. Born in England, Parnell developed mania, which was occasionally violent, after family difficulties and the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake. She was abused in care and died in Porirua Lunatic Asylum, which replaced Mount View.
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