Ageing and alienism : experiences of older people within Otago's asylums, 1863-1898 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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2022
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Massey University
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From the 1850s, the expanding provincial centres of New Zealand were forced to address two overlapping social questions: first, how to support and meet the needs of increasing numbers of older people in the community, and, secondly, how to provide socially coordinated care for individuals with mental ill-health. These dual challenges were even more pressing because the settler communities lacked, at least initially, the budgetary resources and established support networks needed to care for people affected by advanced old age, mental ill-health, or a combination of both. This thesis focussed on personal and social dimensions of ageing and mental ‘ill-health’ in the population of colonial Otago and Southland. The analysis was based on admission documents and case records for 55 older people resident in the Dunedin Lunatic Asylum and Seacliff for the period 1863 to 1898 inclusive. This analysis examined five principal themes: (i) social contexts of older people with mental ill-health both within and outside the asylum system; (ii) the process of committal and pathway to admission; (iii) how characteristics and behaviours of older people within the asylum system were framed within alienist paradigms; (iv) the fate of older people in asylumdom; (iv) the social options and alternatives for care of older people with mental disorders in nineteenth century New Zealand, including international comparisons. In general, the asylum records from nineteenth century Otago indicated prolonged periods of admission for older patients with little evidence of ‘recovery’ and discharge. This challenged the earlier assumptions that episodes of asylum care might be limited and followed by a return to relatively independent life. Colonial perspectives on care for older people related to the prevailing attitudes and priorities of the wider community, but also reflected the financial or personal capacity of individuals or their families to manage the complexities of mental disorders.