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Psychiatric Institutions of the Past
Image: Straightjacket (pre-1940)
Source: Museum Victoria
Large asylums were established for the collective institutionalisation of the mentally ill in Europe in the 1700s. This included the notorious Bedlam in London, where conditions and treatment of patients were considered severe and brutal.
Psychiatric institutions were first established in Australia in the mid 1800s. Many patients were institutionalised for life. They experienced a variety of illnesses including post-natal depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, bipolar disorder and dementia.
The 'asylums' were under-resourced, and conditions were crammed and spartan.
With the advent of psychotropic drug treatment and welfare cost-cutting, most large 'asylums' were closed down in the 1980s.
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 11 - 20) 50 items
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Cap - Mob, White Linen, circa 1900
White linen mob-cap (house-maid's cap) worn by a staff member at a mental health hospital in Victoria, Australia, circa 1900.
Images: 1 -
Microscope with Box - Watson Routine, circa 1910
Watson Routine Microscope and custom storage box circa 1910. Mechanical stage and monocular. Used by Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) Limited, Parkville, Victoria.
From: London, United Kingdom Images: 1 -
Leitz Illuminator - Microscope, pre 1914
E Leitz illuminator for use with microscope. Light is passed through a globular glass flask filled with a coloured solution. This process removes heat from the light beam, and alters th ...
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1 -
Filter Candle - Sintered Glass Pyrex, circa 1950
Sintered glass filter candle - ultrafine porosity. Capable of filtering bacteria from fluids. Coarser grades are available - fine and ultrafine sintered glass could also be coated with ...
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1 -
Filter Candle - Doultan, Porcelain, circa 1900
Porcelain filter candle, c1900, invented by Pasteur's colleague Chamberland. Used for filtering bacteria from fluids. Superseded by membrane filtration. Photos available showing use in ...
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1 -
Filter Candle - Doultan, Porcelain, circa 1900
Porcelain filter candle in metal frame, invented by Pasteur's colleague Chamberland. Used for filtering bacteria from fluids. Superseded by membrane filtration. Used by Commonwealth Ser ...
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1 -
Microscope Slides - Blood Smears, circa 1920
Microscope slides within storage box containing blood smears, owned by LA Maclean. c1920. Used by Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) Limited, Parkville, Victoria.
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1 -
Vaccine Bottle - Venereal Disease, 1920s
Bottle of Bacillus Bulgaricus used as a vaccine to venereal disease, 1920s. Manufactured by Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) Ltd, Parkville, Victoria.
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1 -
Leitz Arc Lamp - Microscope, 1912
Leitz arc lamp for microscope: for use when special coloured filtration was necessary or for photomicography when ordinary illuminators were too weak or unsuitable. Ran off a 6 Volt bat ...
Images: 1 -
Set of Apothecaries Measures - Glass, circa 1900
Glass beakers used to measure apothecary chemicals at CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories), Parkville, circa 1900. Four were handblown at CSL and the other four were manufactured by CC ...
From: Parkville, Australia Images: 1
