Brightside Inebriate Asylum history in brief
In April 1910, following an Order-in-Council under the provisions of the Inebriates Act 1904, the Brightside Inebriate Retreat was established to house and treat female inebriates.
It was named ‘Scarboro’, which was soon changed to ‘Brightside’ (exact date unknown). The Act defined an inebriate as a person who habitually used alcoholic liquors or intoxicating or narcotic drugs to excess. Following application to a Judge, the Master in Lunacy or Police Magistrate, an inebriate could be admitted to a retreat.
The following could apply:
- an inebriate, or any person authorised in writing (while the inebriate was sober and fully understanding) to act on their behalf
- husband or wife, parent, brother, sister, son or daughter of full age, or business partner
- member of police force acting on request in writing of a legally qualified medical practitioner or on request in writing of a relative.
Patients could be admitted for a maximum 12-month period.
Brightside was managed by the Salvation Army and accepted both paying patients and Government-subsidised patients, whether compulsory or voluntary. Army Patients were visited twice weekly by local medical practitioners.
In March 1945, Brightside was closed.
Warning about distressing information
This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health and Human Services or another agency.
Disclaimer
Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & .
Source
Government of Victoria 2005, VA 2850 Brightside Inebriate Retreat, Public Record Office
Patient information
PLEASE NOTE: Patients could be admitted to a Receiving House for short-term treatment and care, but were not permitted to remain longer than two months.
Patients still needing treatment after two months could be sent to a Psychiatric Hospital, in the same institution/complex or another. Hence, there could be more than one set of records for any one person. Please check each location for former patient records.
List of records held by the department
For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.
Register of patients (Brightside Inebriate Asylum and Sunbury Mental Hospital) (1910-54)
Volume; Permanent VPRS 7480 / P0001
Content: This collection consists of a Register of Patients at the Brightside Inebriate Institution from 1910 and the Sunbury Inebriate Home, 1952–54.
The function of the record is to document the payment paid by or on behalf of the patient for maintenance in the institution. It also records the length of time the patient was committed. The index by patient name at the front of the volume gives reference to patient admission numbers.
There is a single volume and entries in it are arranged chronologically by date of admission with a sequential number allocated to each entry.
Correspondence files (1912-29)
File; Permanent 7535 / P0001
Content: This collection comprises inward correspondence to the inebriate retreats at Lara, a government institution for males, and Brightside, the female equivalent, run by the Salvation Army.
The collection contains correspondence from hospitals and other licensed homes such as Mount Ida, Glenholme, Merton and Sunnyside.
It includes reports on:
- the condition of patients
- admissions
- case histories
- death
- discharge or removal reports
- complaints
- staffing
- employment applications
- menus
Reviewed 29 August 2016