Sunnyside’s enlightened first superintendent

Press, 3 September 1982, Page 14

Sunnyside’s enlightened first superintendent

By

MARGARET CULLEN

Canterbury Museum

Changing social attitudes and an increase in medical knowledge in the last few years have done much to dispel the social stigma so long associated with mental illness. But this type of illness is not exclusive to our twentieth-century lifestyle. When Canterbury was first settled in the 1850 s. the Provincial Government was faced with the problem of how to deal with lunatics, as they were referred to then, very early on.

Official attitudes were surprisingly enlightened. At first, lunatics were confined in the Lyttelton Jail together with common criminals and debtors. This was not designed as a punitive measure. It was simply a question of expediency — there was nowhere else for them to go. Needless to say, the arrangement was not very satisfactory for either prisoners or lunatics. In December, 1858, Reston, the jailer, wrote to the Provincial Secretarv:

“I beg to bring to your attention that the task of looking after the lunatics confined in the Lyttelton Jail, in addition to their other duties, is becoming so oppressive to the jailer and his assistant as to make it legitimately a case for more help. There are, at present, eight lunatics confined in the jail exclusive of 21 prisoners, several of whom are in a state of lunacy." Things had not improved much by 1862, when Edward William Seager, the jailer, wrote to the visiting surgeon, William Donald: “The Government is now at some considerable and unavoidable expense and the establishement at some great inconvenience, arising from there being so many imbecile lunatics. who constantly require (in most instance daily) a thorough change of bedding . . . The prisoners generally object to the washing of the very dirty bedding.” . Seager recommended the purchase of a washing machine which would enable the jailer “to have all the washing performed by' jail labour, at very slight cost.”

The Government soon realised that a more permanent solution would have to be found and Sunnyside Asylum was opened in 1863. In

accordance with the conditions of the “Lunatic Asylums and Gravel Pit Ordinance,” passed in 1860, the asylum was situated in 50 acres of freehold land in a dry, airy and cheerful position three kilometres from Christchurch with good water and facilities for drainage. Seager, formerly sergeant of police and the jailer at Lyttelton, and who had always been most sympathetic to the lunatics there, was appointed superintendent. In December, 1863, 17 patients were transferred from Lyttelton to Sunnyside and during the next six months. 29 more were admitted. By the end of June, 1867, there were 75 patients under care. Seager noted: "A fruitful source of the increase in numbers is attributable to the vice of drinking and also to the exposure and privation which has been undergone by many, especially diggers from Hokitika and other parts of the West Coast goldfields." The regular reports made by Seager to the Provincial Government give a very comprehensive picture of life at the asylum. Patients usually rose between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and all, except the very dirty cases, were washed and dressed by 8 o'clock when breakfast was served. At 9 a.m. the bell rang for work. Seager placed great emphasis on the need for proper and useful employment of the insane for therapeutic reasons and a great variety of occupations was provided. These included gardening, working in the fields, carpentry, whitewashing and repairing harness and boots, assisting in the kitchen and, for the female patients, washing and repairing clothes. In fact, all the household work was .done by the ablebodied patients. Work and recreation made up a large part of th’e treatment. Mechanical restraints were not favoured except in extreme cases: For those patients who tended towards violent be-

haviour, a brief seclusion in a padded room was considered sufficient. Dinner was served at 12.30 p.m.. and the bell rang again for work at 1.30 p.m. The women would then take a .walk or, if the weather was fine, take their needlework and sit under the trees with an attendant. Tea was at 5.30 p.m. in the evening, the convalescent men would play cricket or billiards and the women croquet or read. Nd work was done on Sundays. A religious service was held, usually attended by about 60 patients. The choir, made up of attendants and patients, numbered 15. All kinds of amusements were devised by Seager for the entertainment of the patients. Weekly dance sessions were held on Wednesday evenings to which members of the public would come. Seager described these as most beneficial: “The institution is geatly indebted to the ladies of Christchurch who have presented the female inmates with ball dresses and other suitable gifts and donations for these occasions." During the summer months, there were frequent day excursions to Sumner or Lyttelton. Newspapers, books, bagatelle boards, draughts and other indoor games were provided as well as musical instruments, including a piano and a harmonium. A "dissolving view apparatus” was purchased together with a good selection of slides. Seager noted: “Such amusements are a principal means of keeping the insane from a dangerous and disordered train of ■'thought and tending in many instances to a speedy recovery." From time to time, various musical and dramatic people who were in Christchurch made special visits to the asylum to entertain the patients. The causes of insanity as determined by the medical knowledge available at the time included the following: epilepsy, sunstroke, injuries to the head, religious mania, intemperance, solitude, and

domestic trouble. Criminal lunatics and habitual drunkards made up a large proportion of the patients. Referring to the latter in his report of 1871, Seager recommended that, after they had sobered up, a month's prison discipline with hard labour in jail might have a more beneficial effect. Mental illness, then as now, had no respect for class or station. The occupations of patients ranged from artists to bullock drivers, shepherds to solicitors. Miners and labourers accounted for the largest group of male patients. The majority of female patients were domestic servants or housewives. Men far outnumbered women. From May. 1870. to September, 1871, there were 73 males compared with 21 females. An increase in lunacy in the late 1860 s was partly attributed to the discovery of gold. A Government report • on the causes of insanity in 1871 claimed that numbers of . cases arose from exposure in the bush, the privations of • travelling in a hitherto unexplored country and the most common cause — drunkenness. Many of the patients were destitute when they came to Sunnyside so. in most cases, the Government had to meet . the full cost of maintenance. , - In 1874, out of a total expenditure of L 3953. only E 949 •’ was repaid by private patients. The staff consisted of the keeper and matron, one clerk, six male attendants, three female attendants and a cook. Seager considered the careful selection of staff to ' be of the utmost importance: * “On the character and con-duct-of these persons must depend the comfort, tranquillity and prospects of recovery of the insane. They should be possessed -of a thorough command of temper, a fair share of education and some little talent, not only in assisting in but in devising amusements of those under their charge.” Seager remained at Sunnyside until 1887, retiring from there after 24 years service. There is no doubt that his compassionate and enlightened views did much to ease the plight of those afflicted with mental illness in Canterbury during these years.