Story: Mental health services

Mount View Asylum, 1872

Zoom in to read details of this plan of the ground floor of Wellington's Mount View Asylum. The 'E' shape layout of male and female wings, corridors of single rooms and a central services block was typical of early New Zealand asylums. Mount View opened in 1873 on the site above the Basin Reserve now occupied by Government House. It replaced the original Karori Asylum, and by 1905 held 250 patients – its maximum capacity. These patients were progressively transferred to Porirua and other larger and newer asylums, and Mount View closed in 1910.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Reference: Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives, H-8, 1877, p. 28

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How to cite this page:

Warwick Brunton, 'Mental health services - Lunatic asylums, 1840s to 1900s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/29398/mount-view-asylum-1872 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Warwick Brunton, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 5 May 2022