Z Ward

1885  |  Glenside  |  Criminally insane

Built in 1885, the first patients were placed in Z Ward in 1887.
The facility catered for up to 40 patients at a time, many simply left their to see out their natural lives due to no other facilities able to accommodate them.
It is also rumoured that a guard also drew his last breath within the walls due to an inmate delivering a fatal blow to the guard's neck with a shovel.
The ward was closed in 1973, with inmates being relocated to other jails around the state.
Threatened with demolition, a local group interested in the history of the building protested the planned destruction and were able to preserve the complex.
At one stage it was thought that the complex could be turned into a medical museum featuring equipment used in the facilities.
Up until recently the premises were used to store the core samples and files of the Department of Mining.
Z Ward was included in a 2.138ha parcel of land placed for sale by the State Government in June 2014.
The building has been listed on State and National History Trust lists.