Exercise Yard
My title here is suggestive of a prison. In the middle of this courtyard is indeed a lovely Victorian garden, but there is still a relatively large space that would allow a significant number of people to exercise.
This idea is not so far removed from the historical facts (and Victoria's largest high security juvenile prison is in fact a literal stone's throw away behind razor wire). There is even a photograph on this link that shows "Female inmates in 1928" [Royal Park: from parklands to a home: 1840s-1920s] www.thermh.org.au/about/about-rmh/our-history/history-roy...
Now of course they weren't strictly prisoners, but those destitute and under the care of the state were certainly institutionalised in a way that we no longer find acceptable.
So in a nutshell, the land was purchased in 1858 to form an experimental farm. The farm ultimately came to nothing and in 1875 an Industrial School for Girls was set up. Might I suggest that the term "Industrial" here has much in keeping the with term "Female Factory" in Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) in the first half of the 19th century. These young women were essentially wards of the state.
In 1880 the girls were moved into foster homes and young males were moved into the buildings on the same conditions. This didn't last long. The rest of the story is best summarised from the history supplied by the RMH:
"By 1881, the boys had been removed and the Royal Park Industrial School buildings were left vacant. In July 1882, the site and buildings were given to the Immigrants’ Aid Society by the government for use as a home for houseless and destitute persons. At this time, the Male Division of the Society was relocated from St Kilda Road to Royal Park.
In 1914, the remaining operations, including female and child inmates, were transferred from St Kilda Road to Royal Park.
The change in name of the Society to Victorian Homes for Aged and Infirm, in 1902, was followed by another in 1925, to Victorian Benevolent Home and Hospital for the Aged and Infirm. By this time the majority of inmates no longer represented a range of ages, but were primarily elderly. This constituted the true start of geriatric care for the institution." www.thermh.org.au/about/about-rmh/our-history/history-roy...
So it is not an exaggeration to say that the space in this photograph was indeed at one time an exercise yard.
Exercise Yard
My title here is suggestive of a prison. In the middle of this courtyard is indeed a lovely Victorian garden, but there is still a relatively large space that would allow a significant number of people to exercise.
This idea is not so far removed from the historical facts (and Victoria's largest high security juvenile prison is in fact a literal stone's throw away behind razor wire). There is even a photograph on this link that shows "Female inmates in 1928" [Royal Park: from parklands to a home: 1840s-1920s] www.thermh.org.au/about/about-rmh/our-history/history-roy...
Now of course they weren't strictly prisoners, but those destitute and under the care of the state were certainly institutionalised in a way that we no longer find acceptable.
So in a nutshell, the land was purchased in 1858 to form an experimental farm. The farm ultimately came to nothing and in 1875 an Industrial School for Girls was set up. Might I suggest that the term "Industrial" here has much in keeping the with term "Female Factory" in Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) in the first half of the 19th century. These young women were essentially wards of the state.
In 1880 the girls were moved into foster homes and young males were moved into the buildings on the same conditions. This didn't last long. The rest of the story is best summarised from the history supplied by the RMH:
"By 1881, the boys had been removed and the Royal Park Industrial School buildings were left vacant. In July 1882, the site and buildings were given to the Immigrants’ Aid Society by the government for use as a home for houseless and destitute persons. At this time, the Male Division of the Society was relocated from St Kilda Road to Royal Park.
In 1914, the remaining operations, including female and child inmates, were transferred from St Kilda Road to Royal Park.
The change in name of the Society to Victorian Homes for Aged and Infirm, in 1902, was followed by another in 1925, to Victorian Benevolent Home and Hospital for the Aged and Infirm. By this time the majority of inmates no longer represented a range of ages, but were primarily elderly. This constituted the true start of geriatric care for the institution." www.thermh.org.au/about/about-rmh/our-history/history-roy...
So it is not an exaggeration to say that the space in this photograph was indeed at one time an exercise yard.