BALLARAT BENEVOLENT ASYLUM in Ascot Street is now known as the Queen Elizabeth Centre. Records are available and enquiries should be made to Ballarat Health Services. Originating in 1857 the forerunner of the Ballarat Benevolent Home was a charitable association to help the sick and needy. Completed in 1859 the first building provided accommodation for 80 inmates. Also accepted were orphaned children until 1868 when an institution was built especially for them. Ballarat historian Nathan Spielvogel tells us that many hundreds of babies were born there to girls 'who had loved not too wisely' and that they were tended by a kind hearted matron.
Ballarat Benevolent Asylum Registers of Inmates
1860-1915 (missing 1912-13)
Registers of Inmates - Lying-In Wards 1892- 1922 (missing 1917-1920)
Registers of Inmates Insane Hospital 1910-1928
Registers of Inmates Maternity Wards 1922-1925
Registers of Inmates Old Age Pensioners 1911-1921
Various assorted miscellaneous registers and register summaries
The transcription of the inmate registers is an ongoing project by Brett Weinberg, volunteer Historical Records Archivist at Ballarat Health Services. Page hosted by the Ballarat Historical Society.
Institutions Without Walls
Written by Doreen Bauer Director of the Queen Elizabeth Geriatric Centre this book provides a fascinating insight into the early running of the asylum, supplied by Brett Weinberg.
Gallery
All images kindly supplied by Brett Weinberg.
