Described as Ararat’s premier tourist attraction; J-Ward asylum housed the who’s who of Victoria’s criminally insane for over 100 years until its closure in 1991.
Our volunteer tour guide was Nola, a former psychiatric nurse. She took us to every part of the complex and was talking non-stop, so there was plenty of information to take in. The asylum started out as Ararat Gaol and there were three executions within its walls which are commemorated by small plaques at the burial site. Nola told the stories of notorious inmates such as Garry Webb who became violent at the most trivial of provocations and killed himself by eating razor blades. Bill Wallace who was admitted in 1926 age 43 and who died there age 107. The inmate who believed he was a member of the British royal family.
There’s plenty of memorabilia such as an autopsy table, a collection of restraints, a re-creation of an electric shock therapy room and carvings made by inmates on the walls.
I thought the tour was an hour but it lasted nearly 2 hours and Jonathan thought they weren’t letting me out. It’s not surprising that you can also go on ghost tours of the asylum and join paranormal investigators on an overnight visit. Interestingly, that night on TV, the ‘Haunting Australia’ team were investigating nearby Aradale Asylum which claims to be the most haunted building in Australia.
