08. Gladesville Hospital

An old brick building with a small strip of lawn

Style

Various

Year

1837

About Gladesville Hospital

Previously known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, this is the oldest purpose-built asylum in Australia.

The first building was erected in 1837, and the complex continued to grow until the 1970s when there was a steep decline in the number of patients.

It officially closed in 1997 when inpatients were moved to Macquarie Hospital at North Ryde.

Buildings were designed by many noted Government architects including Mortimer Lewis, Edmund Blacket, James Barnet and Walter Liberty Vernon.

The landscaped grounds are surrounded by extensive stone walls, most constructed by Irish stonemasons from Hunters Hill. Today, the 25-hectare site is owned by the NSW Department of Health and most buildings are occupied by health service agencies and other services.

A former gate house on Victoria Road houses the museum of the Society for Preservation of the Artefacts of Surgery & Medicine.

The gate house adjacent to the Police Station in Punt Road was built in 1874.

The Gladesville Mental Hospital site is of considerable historical importance and tours are organised by the Friends of Gladesville Hospital.

Location

Victoria Road, Gladesville 2111  View Map

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