Karori Lunatic Asylum

Karori Lunatic Asylum
Ground plan of Karori Lunatic Asylum in 1865 [1]
Geography
Location	Karori, Wellington, New Zealand
Coordinates	41°17′05″S174°44′31″E / 41.2847°S 174.742°E / -41.2847; 174.742
Organisation
Care system	Public
Funding	Wellington Province
Type	Specialist
Services
Speciality	Psychiatric
History
Opened	1854
Closed	1873 [2]
Links
Lists	Hospitals in New Zealand

Karori Lunatic Asylum operated in the Wellington Province of New Zealand between 1854 and 1873. The asylum cared for patients with mental disorders and cognitive impairments. It was New Zealand's first asylum that was independent of a prison. At that time, Karori was a rural village isolated by a poor road; it is now the westernmost suburb of Wellington.

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 care for them and they were not believed to be a danger to the public. They would remain until they were certified as recovered and were discharged, or they died. Staff in asylums were laypeople who were expected to treat the patients humanely and keep them active.

Karori asylum appeared to be an effective service for its patients until the mid-1860s. After that, the number of patients grew more rapidly than the resources to house and care for them. This led to overcrowding and understaffing, particularly on the women's side of the asylum. Supervision lacked rigour, and independent oversight was patchy, due to the turnover of inspectors. In 1872, a provincial inquiry found a history of patients being ill-treated by two staff leaders. The leaders were dismissed. Their replacements returned to the expected treatment of patients.

In 1871, the parliamentary committee on lunatic asylums singled out Karori for urgent improvement. The provincial council responded by building Mount View Lunatic Asylum closer to Wellington city. Karori Lunatic Asylum closed in 1873 after its patients and staff 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 male keeper (or master). ^[3] The asylum was a former private house on a 5-acre (2.0 ha) section. Wellington city was 4 miles (6.4 km) 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 prisons since 1844, but Karori was the colony's first independent lunatic asylum. ^[6] The most common causes of lunacy were hereditary or head injuries, usually sustained through violence or while intoxicated with alcohol. ^[7] The legal framework was created by the Lunatics Ordinance 1846. Two medical practitioners could certify an individual as a lunatic and later certify the lunatic had recovered. A lunatic could be admitted to an asylum if they were not believed to be a danger to the public. They would remain until they recovered and were discharged, they were collected by friends or family who agreed to care for them, ^[8] or they died.

Staff in asylums were not medically trained. ^[6] They were expected to follow the principles of moral management and non-restraint. ^[9] Moral management created a calm, orderly and healthy environment so patients could live comfortably and, in some cases, recover. Patients were kept active with a routine of physical work or exercise, recreations and religious services. ^[6] Non-restraint confined a violent or destructive patient to a padded cell instead of physically restraining them. ^[9]

From 1857, Karori asylum had a visiting medical officer who cared for the physical health of patients and wrote status reports. ^[10] The following year, William and Elizabeth Sutherland were appointed as the keeper and matron. ^[11] They continued until 1872, ^[12] the year before the asylum closed.

In 1861, doctor Alexander Johnston was succeeded as medical officer by doctor Charles France. Their status reports of 1861 and 1862 with later recollections by Johnston detailed day-to-day life at the asylum. It was divided by gender. The keeper and a male attendant (or assistant) cared for four men, while the matron cared for six women. ^[13] The male patients tended a kitchen garden of 0.5-acre (0.20 ha), ^[14] and they prepared firewood. The female patients did needlework and cleaned clothes. ^[13] Patients were usually allowed out around the section, ^[14] which had another 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) garden with flowers and shrubs. ^[15] There were no other recreations, ^[14] and there was no access to religious services. ^[13] Patients could be physically restrained in a straitjacket, ^[14] and they could be punished by being confined. ^[13] France visited the asylum at least twice a week, ^[13] and he continued as the medical officer until the asylum closed in 1873. ^[16]

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." ^[17] By the end of 1864, the number of patients had grown to 12. ^[18]

Rapid growth and decision to replace (1865 –May 1872)

Between 1865 and 1871, the number of patients at Karori Lunatic Asylum grew more rapidly. ^[4] The rate at which incurable patients arrived was higher than the rate at which patients left due to recovery, collection or death. ^[19] The patients were overwhelmingly from Europe, particularly the British Isles. ^[20] Only two Māori people are known to have been admitted, both in 1866. ^{[21] [22]}

Karori Lunatic Asylum growth 1862–1871 ^[a]

Month	Patients	Staff	Wards	Cells
May 1862	10: 6 female, 4 male	3: 2 male, 1 female	8 [13] [b]
January 1865	12 [18]
April 1865			10	4 [1] [c]
April –May 1867	19: 12 female, 7 male [25]	3: 2 male (including cook), 1 female [26]
July 1870	21: 13 female, 8 male	4: 3 male (including cook), 1 female [27]
January 1871	20: 10 male, 10 female		17 [18] [d] [e]
Late 1871	23: 12 male, 11 female	5: 3 male, 1 female, 1 cook	13	4 [11] [f]

By 1867, the official visitors to the asylum were the local member of parliament John Johnston and Jonas Woodward. ^[29] In May, they reported the asylum was not satisfactory. It had reached its capacity of 19 patients and was understaffed. The visitors noted dilapidated buildings, and disagreed on whether the asylum was well managed. The provincial council responded by allocating funds for improvements. ^[25]

The Lunatics Act 1868 formalised regular independent inspections of asylums. ^{[6] [30]} However, inspections of Karori asylum became patchy because Johnston and Woodward stopped visiting, ^[31] and they were not replaced until 1872. ^[29] It was June 1870 before Thomas Adolphus Bowden was appointed to the new position of inspector. ^[32] He resigned a year later. ^[31]

Between 1862 and 1870, the numbers of female and male patients both doubled to 13 and eight respectively. In the same period, the number of male staff members (including the keeper) grew from two to three, but matron Elizabeth Sutherland remained the sole carer for the female patients. ^{[13] [27]} In 1868, a newspaper report said "... the matron's very irksome duties would be much lessened by the help of a female assistant." ^[33]

In January 1871, Bowden wrote a detailed status report on Karori asylum. It had 20 patients: 10 male and 10 female. Four fifths of the patients were believed to be incurable, including all the women. ^[18] Bowden noted that a female attendant could not be appointed until a bedroom was freed up for her. He went on to recommend that the asylum should be replaced. ^[4]

Later that year, the parliamentary committee on lunatic asylums produced an improvement plan, which singled out Karori for urgent attention. ^[14] The committee's chairman, doctor Andrew Buchanan, made an inspection. He wrote that the patients were well fed, and their treatment appeared to be humane. 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. ^[11] The provincial council agreed and started to build Mount View Lunatic Asylum in the suburb of Newtown on a site overlooking the city and harbour. ^[34]

In September 1871, a female attendant finally joined Karori asylum. Mary McDonald arrived from an asylum in Tasmania with over two years experience in a similar role. ^[28] However, McDonald soon became concerned about ill-treatment of female patients by the matron. She raised her concerns with France then the provincial council, which ordered an inquiry.

Inquiry into ill-treatment (April –May 1872)

Public hearings for the inquiry were held in late April. McDonald alleged the matron had subjected a few of the female patients to sustained verbal and physical abuse with unjustified physical restraint and confinement. ^[28] A male attendant gave some support to McDonald's allegations, adding that he had seen male patients struck and had done so himself. Matron Elizabeth Sutherland admitted occasionally striking patients, with her hand or a length of supplejack, when she felt they had misbehaved or not followed her orders. However, two alleged victims of ill-treatment by the matron, the remaining members of staff and the medical officer did not raise any concerns about the Sutherlands. ^[35] Newspaper coverage brought forth more witnesses, ^[36] so the hearings were extended.

Two former staff members alleged that the Sutherlands had been ill-treating patients for some years, and McDonald was not the first to raise concerns. William Dunn, an attendant August 1868 –May 1871, read accounts of violent incidents that he had seen from his diary. ^[31] James Sproul (or Sproule) was the cook March 1866 –December 1867. He raised concerns with medical officer France and official visitor John Johnston. ^{[37] [31]} Sproul was then dismissed for work and personal shortcomings, according to France and keeper William Sutherland. Former official visitor Woodward raised one incident by the keeper, but former inspector Bowden had no concerns. ^[31]

The inquiry report, published on 4 May, concluded "... patients have been treated with unnecessary violence ...". It also criticised France for not noticing the ill-treatment and said he needed to supervise the asylum more rigorously. ^[38] Within a fortnight, long-standing vacancies for an inspector and two official visitors were filled by James FitzGerald, Coutts Crawford and Walter Woods Johnston respectively. ^[39]

The Sutherlands were dismissed. ^[40] They were then charged with ill-treating patients in their care under the Lunatics Act 1868: ^{[41] [42]} two counts for Elizabeth and one for William. The Sutherlands were convicted of all charges, but were fined the minimum amounts because they had already lost their jobs. ^[40]

New leadership and closure (June 1872 –May 1873)

In May 1872, as Karori Lunatic Asylum began its final year of operation, Henry and Charlotte Seager were appointed as the keeper and matron. ^{[12] [43]} Henry had worked at Sunnyside Lunatic Asylum in Christchurch, which was led by his brother Edward who was widely regarded as one of the colony's most progressive and effective keepers. ^{[44] [45]} Henry and Charlotte Seager, with some help from their six children, ^[46] returned to the principle of non-restraint and made the patients more active.

In July, inspector FitzGerald wrote a brief status report. Karori asylum had 25 patients, none of whom were confined or restrained. ^[47] FitzGerald resigned the following month, saying he was too busy to continue in the role. ^[48]

In April 1873, Henry Seager wrote a detailed status report to the superintendent explaining how the patients had been made more active at minimal cost to the province. Male patients landscaped the section and planted trees for the new asylum. Female patients cleaned, mended and made clothing, and did housework led by the Seager's eldest daughter. Recreations included indoor and outdoor games, musical entertainments and visits to Eden Vale nursery and tea garden, ^[49] also on Donald Street. ^[50] Anglican patients attended services at St Mary's Church, ^[51] across Karori Road. ^[52] No details of the staff or patient accomodation resources have been found for this period.

In May 1873, Karori Lunatic Asylum closed after 27 patients moved to Mount View. The Seagers and France continued in their roles at the new asylum. ^[53]

Notes

1. An asylum status report typically contained the number of patients admitted, discharged, deceased and remaining. Further details about patients and resources, staff and accommodation, were sometimes included.
2. In 1856, a wing had been added to the asylum. ^[23]
3. In 1863, another wing had been added to the asylum. ^[24]
4. In 1867, tenders were invited for adding further buildings and fences to the asylum.
5. By 1871, the four cells, in a block by the asylum building, were being used as wards. ^[4]
6. Buchanan's inspection report says "... no female attendant except the matron, ...". The date of the inspection was not stated, but the inspection report mentioned next to no vistors since mid-July, and the newspaper report was published in mid-November. Attendant Mary McDonald arrived at Karori asylum from Tasmania in September. Buchanan may have made his inspection before McDonald was appointed. Or it may have been after the working relationship between McDonald and the matron broke down, so McDonald no longer counted as an attendant. ^[28]

Citations

1. Knowles 1865.
2. Williams 1990.
3. Williams 1987, pp. 5–6.
4. Bowden 1871, p. 4.
5. KHS 2011, pp. 13–14.
6. Brunton 2011.
7. Williams 1987, p. 12.
8. Lunatics Ordinance 1846 .
9. Williams 1987, p. 5.
10. Williams 1987, pp. 8, 12.
11. Buchanan 1871.
12. WI 1872g.
13. France 1862.
14. GA 1871.
15. Johnston 1861.
16. France 1873.
17. Williams 1987, p. 9.
18. Bowden 1871, p. 5.
19. Williams 1987, p. 21.
20. Williams 1990, p. 18.
21. WI 1866a.
22. WI 1866b.
23. NZSaCSG 1856.
24. NZSaCSG 1863.
25. WI 1867a.
26. Williams 1987, pp. 10–11.
27. Bowden 1870, p. 19.
28. WI 1872b.
29. Williams 1987, p. 344.
30. Lunatics Act 1868 .
31. WI 1872e.
32. Williams 1987, p. 11.
33. WI 1868.
34. WI 1872a.
35. WI 1872c.
36. EP 1872.
37. WI 1872d.
38. WI 1872f.
39. Williams 1987, p. 15.
40. WI 1872h.
41. NZM 1872.
42. Lunatics Act 1868 , cl 191.
43. FoBSC 1876.
44. Williams 1987, pp. 15–16, 21.
45. Young 1990. sfn error: no target: CITEREFYoung1990 (help)
46. Williams 1987, p. 16.
47. FitzGerald 1872.
48. Williams 1987, pp. 16–17.
49. Williams 1987, pp. 18–21.
50. KHS 2011, pp. 279–281.
51. KHS 2011, p. 301.
52. KHS 2011, p. 186.
53. Williams 1987, pp. 21, 23.

References

• "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.
• "Maori Lunatic". Local and General News. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 3 February 1866. p. 5. Retrieved 13 September 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Lunacy". Local and General News. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 22 November 1866. p. 3. Retrieved 13 September 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Karori Lunatic Asylum". Local and General News. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 14 May 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 28 January 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Erecting additional buildings, fence, ... at the Lunatic Asylum, Karori". Tenders. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 26 October 1867. p. 1. Retrieved 2 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• "The Lunatic Asylum". Local and General News. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 16 June 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 2 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• Bowden, Thomas Adolphus (3 August 1870). Reports of Lunatic Asylums in New Zealand (Report). Wellington: General Assembly. Retrieved 30 August 2025– via Papers Past.
• Bowden, Thomas Adolphus (17 January 1871). Reports of Lunatic Asylums in New Zealand (Report). Wellington: General Assembly. pp. 4–6. Retrieved 24 August 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Report of the Joint Committee on Lunatic Asylums". Wellington: General Assembly. 1871. p. 3. Retrieved 10 September 2025– via Papers Past.
• Buchanan (16 November 1871). "The Lunatic Asylum at Karori". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. p. 2. Retrieved 29 January 2025– via Papers Past.
• "New Lunatic Asylum". Local and General News. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 4 January 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 29 January 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Karori Lunatic Asylum Inquiry". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 26 April 1872. p. 3. Retrieved 2 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Karori Lunatic Asylum Inquiry". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 27 April 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 2 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Karori Lunatic Asylum Inquiry". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 29 April 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 2 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Karori Lunatic Asylum Inquiry". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 30 April 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 2 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Lunatic Asylum Inquiry". Provincial Council. The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 4 May 1872. p. 3. Retrieved 27 January 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Karori Asylum Case". The Evening Post. Wellington. 4 May 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 7 September 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Resignation and Appointment". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 10 May 1872. p. 4. Retrieved 20 August 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Late Master and Matron of Karori Lunatic Asylum". New of the Week. New Zealand Mail. Wellington. 25 May 1872. p. 12. Retrieved 5 September 2025– via Papers Past.
• "The Karori Lunatic Asylum Case". The Wellington Independent. Wellington. 12 June 1872. p. 3. Retrieved 7 February 2025– via Papers Past.
• FitzGerald, James (27 July 1872). Reports of Lunatic Asylums in New Zealand (Report). Wellington: General Assembly. p. 6. Retrieved 13 September 2025– via Papers Past.
• France, Charles (17 February 1873). Reports of Lunatic Asylums in New Zealand (Report). Wellington: General Assembly. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 30 August 2025– via Papers Past.
• "Details for Seager, Henry Fowle". Friends of Bolton Street Cemetery. n.d. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
• Williams, Wendy Hunter (1987). Out of Mind Out of Sight: The Story of Porirua Hospital. Porirua Hospital.
• Williams, Wendy Hunter (1990). "Far from the Maddening Crowd: Karori Lunatic Asylum 1854–1873". New Zealand Legacy: Journal of the New Zealand Federation of Historical Societies. 2 (1). New Zealand Federation of Historical Societies: 16–18.
• Young, Sherwood (1990). "Seager, Edward William". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 31 August 2025.
• Karori Historical Society (2011). Burch, Judith; Haynes, Jan (eds.). Karori and Its People. Wellington: Steele Roberts. ISBN   978-1-877577-29-1.
• Brunton, Warwick (5 May 2011). "Mental Health Services - Lunatic Asylums, 1840s to 1900s". Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 August 2025.

Further reading

• 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.