Snapshots from Mayday Hills: A multidisciplinary study of Beechworth’s psychiatric hospital, 1900–1995

This work is a study of an asylum which was a significant institution in Beechworth, a small town in rural Victoria, Australia. The purpose of the research presented in this thesis is threefold: (1) to explore and record the experiences of staff and others associated with the former Beechworth asylum (later, Mayday Hills psychiatric hospital), (2) to consider findings in the light of relevant theories, and (3) to present findings in diverse forms that are accessible to participants and others with connections to or interest in Mayday Hills. The timing of this study is important. In Beechworth, the asylum buildings remain, as do people once associated with it, but, like the buildings themselves, these people are ageing, and time is running out if we are to capture their memories of the place.
There is an impressive body of literature about asylums/psychiatric hospitals in urban Australia, but there have been fewer studies of asylums in rural areas. The Australian studies and similar work overseas have been written primarily from a historical viewpoint and lack a broader focus. My work contributes to filling this research gap. The professional works I present can be thought of as a series of snapshots, covering aspects of the asylum’s operation from 1900 through to its closure in 1995.
My research is informed by the paradigm of constructivism, and I use crystallization as a method with oral history interviews and document analysis for data collection. In several of my professional works I demonstrate how genealogical techniques such as nominal record linkage analysis can be applied to investigate questions of sociological importance. In doing so, I extend the use of these techniques from the realms of professional genealogists and family historians and show that they have wider application and significance. This is an original contribution of my work.
Three theoretical concepts inform my work in this study: the therapeutic landscapes framework proposed by Gesler (1992), stigma (Goffman, 1963/1974) and community, particularly the tripartite model proposed by Wild (1981). Use of the therapeutic landscape analytical tool reveals the extent to which Beechworth could be considered therapeutic. I explore the impact of courtesy stigma on patients’ families and in doing so, I extend reasons previously identified by Barnwell (2019a, b) about how courtesy stigma may lead to family secrets. In another finding with theoretical significance, I apply courtesy stigma to Wild’s model of community to examine the relationship between asylum staff and the wider community in towns where asylums were located, developing the concept of embedded communities to describe the relationship between them.
Through the work presented herein, I show that the use of skills derived from different disciplines within a unifying methodological and theoretical framework can extend knowledge and understanding. This is an important contribution of my work. In my professional works I present study findings in diverse ways to make them accessible, intellectually and physically, to many people, and these modes of presentation comprise another significant feature of the study.