Hospitals/heathcote.html
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Heathcote
Wikipedia:
Point Heathcote was the site of the Point Heathcote Mental Reception Home, later known as Heathcote Hospital, for the treatment of patients with mental illness. The buildings were designed under the supervision of William Hardwick, who at the time was Principal Architect of the Public Works Department in Western Australia. The need for a new facility arose due to over-crowding conditions at Claremont Mental Hospital. Following a report on the inadequacies of facilities at Claremont in 1924, a 9.3-hectare (23-acre) site was purchased from the Catholic Church at Point Heathcote.
The Point Heathcote Mental Reception Home was constructed as a 'home for the reception of recoverable patients, and not for senile, epileptic, or mentally deficient patients'. It provided accommodation for 38 male and 38 female patients, in two separate wards with a central administration block connected to the wards by covered walkways. A two-storey accommodation building, housing 36 nurses, was also constructed on the western portion of the site. In 1928 a 22.9-metre (75 ft) Water Tower/Clock Tower was designed by the then Principal Architect, John Tait. Point Heathcote Mental Reception Home was completed by early 1929 at a final cost of 55,675 pounds. The Lieutenant Governor, Sir Robert McMillan, officially opened the centre on 22 February 1929.
In 1940 a new treatment block, "Swan House" was constructed on the site, accommodating a further 26 patients. It was designed by the Government Architect, Albert Ernest (Paddy) Clare and constructed at a cost of 15,000 pounds.
By 1994 the function as a hospital had ceased, and various ideas were put forward for the site. In 2000 the hospital and grounds were designated a heritage precinct. The land, together with the heritage buildings, is also protected by the heritage agreement, which is registered as a memorial on the land title.
References, Links, Notes
Crook, Julia A. 2023, An Historical Glimpse at Nursing at Heathcote Psychiatric Hospital in Western Australia 1929-1994, Drakencrook.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 9 November, 2023 and hosted at freotopia.org/hospitals/heathcote.html (it was last updated on 9 November, 2023). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.