Z Ward of Glenside Hospital
Z Ward at Glenside Hospital Today
If we are honest to ourselves, many of us would acknowledge that we have a prurient interest in prisons, psychiatric hospitals and other places where people are confined against their will.
In South Australian history, there would be few places more unpleasant than behind the forbidding walls of Z Ward at Glenside Hospital or the Old Adelaide Gaol.
During construction Z Ward was described by the Architect-in-Chief's Office as being constructed for criminal and refractory (meaning obstinate, disobedient or stubbornly resisting) patients. However in reality it housed a broader group.
With the assistance of the Glenside Historical Society I can now reveal the story of State Heritage Listed Z Ward's past.
Glenside Hospital
Adelaide Gaol
It was not long after European settlement that the need for a mental hospital (then known as a lunatic asylum) became apparent. In the absence of a purpose built facility, people suffering mental illness were originally sent to gaol.
Adelaide's First Lunatic Asylum Was Located Near Here
Clearly this was not a long term solution, and a small building near the corner of Greenhill Rd (then Asylum Rd) and Conyngham St was rented and used as an asylum between 1846 and 1852.
Former Glenside Hospital, Now SA Film Corp
Between 1852 and 1870 the Adelaide Lunatic Asylum was located in a building on North Terrace near the south-eastern side of the current Botanic Gardens, until the Parkside Lunatic Asylum (later the Parkside Mental Hospital and now Glenside Hospital) was built in 1870. It was intended to house 700 patients and staff.
Glenside Hospital grew steadily in size over the years, and a convention was followed in locating buildings: those closest to Fullarton Rd (such as Cleland House) were reception centres used to accommodate new patients.
Cleland House Receiving House
Thus the
nurse's home (later called Eastwood Lodge) was located near the Fullarton Rd entrance.
As one progressed further from Fullarton Rd, the patient's need for incarceration was higher.
The majority of the patients were housed in the large main building, later called the Administration Block and now the Adelaide studios of the SA Film Corporation. It's likely that some of these patients were held because they were destitute, and without visible means of support.
Finally at the rear of the grounds lay Z Ward - home to the criminally insane, and also used to house prisoners from Adelaide Gaol who were at risk from others.
Z Ward gates
The Z Ward was originally named L ward and opened in 1885. The change in name from L to Z became necessary because of the likelihood of misinterpretation with the advent of the telephone ("Hell Ward").
It had two floors with service and recreation areas and several rooms for the supervising attendants. The intent was to provide accommodation for violent and other difficult patients who could not be managed in the general hospital areas.
Z ward could accommodate up to 40 patients mainly in single cells with minimal and secured furniture. Windows were barred and the entrance had double barred doors.
Z Ward Exterior
Z Ward in 1963
From the outside Z Ward presents as a grand and imposing building. The high brick walls adorned by contrasting bricks, and the large iron gates add a forbidding aspect to the building which is not relieved on entry.
Z Ward Entrance Today
Signs on the walls caution against entry.
This warning must not be taken lightly, and local youths have occasionally committed this folly. It is far easier to get inside Z Ward than it is to get out (as a smart person might expect).
Inside Z Ward is a Ha Ha Wall
Part of Z Ward's security is a
Ha Ha wall. Immediately inside the 3m high walls is a large 3m deep ditch around the entire circumference. This ditch makes it impossible to scale the wall without ropes or some other aid.
Nowadays Z Ward has many plants growing randomly in the grounds, but these were not present when the ward was in use.
Staff & Patient Enter Airing Court (November 13 1963)
The Day Room in Z Ward was where prisoners and patients socialised. It opened out on to an Airing Court with shelter and seating.
Z Ward Interior
Z Ward Staff (circa 1940)
Entering Z Ward was a cumbersome but secure process. After passing through the main gates and doors, a new arrival would be held in a small lobby while the main door and grille was secured. The Charge Nurse would then retreat to their office off the lobby, and lock themselves in their room.
Entrance to Z Ward Lobby (May 15 1973)
Finally a staff member would open the interior grille to allow the new patient to enter, and once again lock the lobby gate.
South Ground Floor Wing of Z Ward
Inside the ward, the high ceilings are curved galvanised iron with a layer of concrete above for the upstairs floor. The floors were made of large slate tiles, although sometime in the 70's (after the ward closed) some of the slate was lifted and then stolen after being left unsecured. The un-tiled area was later covered with concrete.
The interior looks stark and grim with natural light coming from large windows at either end.
Z Ward Cell
The cells were small with a single window containing a strong cast iron frame. Ventilation was supplied via a vertical duct arrangement seen in the corner of the cell. Floorboards were of hardwood, possibly jarrah.
The doors were very thick, very solid, and had two holes. One at eye level, and one near the ground. At one time it would have been necessary to hold a candle to one, while looking through the other.
Later Addition of Men's Toilets
Toilets were later installed at one end of the wing, otherwise prisoners used a rubberised bowl in their cells.
Likewise washing facilities would have initially have been simple - manually washing with a container of cold water.
Sewerage was connected after complaints about human waste making its way to the parklands.
Life and Death in Z Ward
Dining Area in Corridor (1963)
Life in Z Ward must have been quite regimented, in a similar manner to a prison. Surprisingly I found nothing in my research describing discipline and punishment of patients, although this must surely have occurred.
Meals were eaten in the ward corridor, although at another time an external dining room was used, with an additional gate being added to the exterior wall leading to the dining room.
Patient Working in Clay Room
At times recreational facilities were in use to help pass the time. Unused cells could be used for this purpose.
Patients & Staff Play Cards (1963)
Playing Billiards in Downstairs Corridor (1963)
Most of the inmates would have spent their days in the Day Room, where there is a large grate locked to the fireplace to prevent mishaps.
Safety Grate in Day Room
Trailing Finger Marks
While outside for exercise, some inmates would walk around the building trailing their hand along the walls. Over the years this caused indentations, and it is possible to feel and see the shape of their fingers where the wall was eroded.
The layout upstairs was quite similar to the ground floor, although the cell windows had small openable apertures and fly screens.
Upstairs Ward with Cloting Outside Occupied Cells
The Criminally Insane Had Separate Locked Sleeping Quarters
Patients were required to strip before going to bed, leaving their clothing in the corridor.
Z Ward would have contained a mix of inmates - some confined there for their own personal safety, rather than being incarcerated in gaol.
A typical case was that of Thomas Hand, 29 years of age who was admitted to Parkside in 1885 from Adelaide Gaol to serve a six month sentence. His crime was malicious damage and he was not considered dangerous. Hand was transferred from Adelaide Gaol because he thought he had a pea travelling through his body.
Some of those who entered Z Ward would have been detained
at the governor's pleasure, effectively for life.
There seems little doubt that upon their death some of the bodies would have been used for anatomical experiments. This would have been particularly prevalent if there were no relatives to claim the body.
In a shocking
newspaper report from 1903 it was stated in court:
Dr Cleland, Colonial Surgeon and Resident Medical Officer of the Parkside Lunatic Asylum, said that the body of the Chinaman Chun Ah Kiom, who died in the Hospital. was taken to the morgue at the asylum.
He sent a notice to the City Coroner through the police, and as the deceased had no friends, it was his intention to send the body to the School of Anatomy. He. sent a notice to that effect to the Inspector of Anatomy.
Dr. Smith telephoned the witness the day after the death and asked if witness would allow him to dissect the body. Witness said certainly, and Dr. Smith came and proceeded to remove the flesh from the skeleton. When he had finished he left the skeleton and the flesh on the table.
This would not have been an isolated occurrence.
The Future of Z Ward
Promises for Z Ward's Future
After its closure in 1973 there is strong evidence that Z Ward was planned to be used as a museum to house artifacts collected by the Glenside Historical Society. The newspaper report above refers to the proposal, and informal commitments were made by people then in government.
However after some years the prevailing mood changed. The Society was evicted from a building it used as a museum, and told to return all artifacts for disposal, as they were government property.
Virtually the entire museum collection was then destroyed.
Salt Damp in a Cell
Since its closure Z Ward has only been used for storing drill core samples for the Department of Mines. Some years ago the samples were removed, and they are now stored next door.
More recently there has been talk that Z Ward may be used as an education centre for the arts.
Salt and Water Damage in Day Room
Given past government treatment of asylum seekers, it is almost surprising that the facility was not used to house them while they awaited approval of applications.
Damaged Chimney
Decaying Stonework
In the intervening years little has been done to maintain the premises. There is salt damp in a number of areas, water ingress to the Day Room, and many windows broken by vandals. Despite that, the building overall seems quite sound.
However given the current government's poor heritage preservation record Z Ward may not survive its next 100 years.
Z Ward in the Twilight
