Sasha Finer: The Lunatic Asylum

Each year Auckland Libraries works with scholars from the Auckland History Initiative (AHI), a research collaboration at the University of Auckland. In this series we present research projects from the 2023 Summer Scholars exploring aspects of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's history. https://ahi.auckland.ac.nz/ Treatment and placement of the mentally ill and deviant quickly became a matter of significant social and cultural concern in colonial-era New Zealand. In this track Sasha Finer examines the process of constructing the Auckland Lunatic Asylum and grounds in the late 19th century. Recorded on 1 March 2023 as part of our Heritage Talks series. Image: Auckland Lunatic Asylum, Point Chevalier, 1870s. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, 918-03