NRS-2171 | Observation Ward - Admission registers [Darlinghurst Gaol]

The Observation Ward was used for the detention of prisoners suspected of suffering from mental illness.For each prisoner, the following details are given: date of last previous admission (if any), number on register, number for the year, date of admission, name, sex, social condition, number of children, occupation, nativity, residence, religion, from which court sent, form of mental disorder, supposed cause of insanity, insane relations, duration of existing attack, date of discharge, time in ward, remarks. Considerable details are supplied if prisoner's behaviour is particularly eccentric. The greater part of 3/14092 contains entries for the Observation Ward at the State Penitentiary, Long Bay (NRS 2475), following the closure of the Darlinghurst Ward in 1914. (5/1744-45, 3/14092 part). 3 vols. Note: This description is extracted from Concise Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales, 3rd Edition 2000.