I could feel a chill run down my spine as I walked through the corridors of J-Ward, a former gaol (jail), later transformed to J- Ward lunatic asylum for the criminally insane.
Nestled in the small town of Ararat in Victoria Australia, J-Ward closed in 1991, and many former employees and past patients still live nearby.
Our guide was John, a man who had grown up in Ararat and who has heard the stories first-hand.
As we walked, he pointed out details, paraphernalia, and unmarked graves, while he told stories that left me both mesmerised and horrified.
It is these stories that make the tour so fascinating.
A brief history of J-Ward
It opened in 1859 as a goldfield prison. However, when the gold ran out, the miners moved on.
Then, the Lunacy Department of the nearby Aradale Asylum acquired the building. It became the hospital’s ward (J-ward) for the worst and most dangerous men in the state of Victoria.
J-Ward inmates were:
- Convicted murderers
- Accused of murder
- Too violent to be in a normal prison
- Sentenced in Victoria and became insane while in prison
J-Ward newer wing
We started in the newer wing, and as desolate and lonely as it appeared, it was only going to get worse as our tour progressed.
First, we entered a typical patient room in the newer wing. The carpeted room held a bed, blanket, pillow, and a chamber pot.
The downside to the nurses, they often needed to take caution when entering in the morning for fear of a “flying chamber pot.”
In contrast, a special mattress and pillow sat on the floor of the uncarpeted room of patients on suicide watch.
All patients who died in this asylum were autopsied on-premises.
J-Ward’s original cell block
Next, we entered the original cell block, converted from the old prison.
The original cell block contains similar cells on two levels.
Gallows hauntingly hang at the top of the stairs, although they were used only when it was a prison, not when it was a hospital for the criminally insane.
It was at this point that I began to wonder if I should have waited until evening and taken the ghost tour.
As our tour continued, he showed us a straight jacket and restraints. Patients were often kept in these for extended periods of time. Therefore, hands were restrained at their sides rather than crossing the body.
There was also a demonstration of electroshock therapy in one of the cells. However, rumours tell us that this treatment took place out in the centre of the ward, where the others could see.
The oldest areas
And if the above wasn’t bad enough, he took us into the original kitchen and then showed us the patient bathtub.
J-Ward courtyard
There were two parts to the courtyard, which people from outside could see, and where the patients had access. Needless to say, one was nicer than the other.
This first building was the single man’s quarters. This is where the guards and nurses lived. Married staff lived in the next building to the right.
On the opposite side of the courtyard was the governor’s house. Neither he nor his family ever needed to enter a courtyard.
Although there was a large main gate, visitors entered through a smaller door and into a lovely courtyard. Visitors never saw what life was really like in the back rooms.
Four watchtowers cornered the courtyard. From here, the guards could look down onto the patient exercise yard. Not that the tower in the photo is rebuilt to original specs.
Patients had no privacy. Even the toilets in the exercise yard were open so patients could always be watched.
Daytime visits to the J-Ward lunatic asylum
- J-Ward is easy to find at the end of Girdlestone Street in Ararat, Victoria, Australia
- Daily tours are at 10, 11, 1, and 2 pm with additional tours at noon and 3 pm on Sundays and public holidays.
- Over 10,000 people visit each year, that’s more than the population of Ararat.
- Read more about it on their official website.
- While in Ararat you might also want to visit Aradale (the asylum) and the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre.
Is it a haunted insane asylum?
It didn’t take much to convince me that this lunatic hospital must be haunted. How can it not be?
If you’re brave enough, you can take an evening ghost tour.
Whether it’s the stories of notorious prisoners, insane asylum patients, horrific lunatic asylum treatments, or the supernatural events that occurred here, your guide will have you suspiciously looking over your shoulder.
The minimum age to join the J-Ward 2-hour ghost tour is 12. Check for discounts and reserve your J-Ward Asylum Ghost Tour here
Want more?
Don’t miss the 2-hour ghost tour at the nearby Aradale, the main lunatic asylum in the region. (Remember, J-Ward was for the worst of the criminals). Claiming to be one of the best ghost tours in the world, you may be able to get a discount and reserve your spot on an Aradale ghost tour.)
We stopped in Ararat on the return loop from Melbourne along the stunning Great Ocean Road.
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Had you heard of J-Ward before today? Will you visit if you find yourself in Ararat?
Disclaimer: We were provided with a complimentary tour of J-Ward for the purpose of this review. However, the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
Cleo
I visited there when I was 15 and as a person with a mental illness it sent chills down my spine to be there in a place where I would have been seen as insane, I even got to wear the straitjacket and it was an interesting experience, especially the stories of the inmates who had been there!
Dr. Sarah Gallup
Thanks for the info, Rhonda! Your pictures helped me get a better understanding of the jail/asylum. I gave you a shout-out on the J Ward episode of my podcast, Behind the Walls of the World’s Psychiatric Hospitals. Check it out if you’d like to learn more about these types of institutions: https://behindthewallspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2083232
Scott Murphy
This would be a great place to send most of the politicians in Washington DC, especially the democrats.
Robert
This is a great read, fascinating pictures too. I looked at that bathroom and said “oh dear”. Maybe it was cleaner back in the day! 🙂
Thanks for writing this Rhonda!
Carol Henshaw
As a retired psychiatrist I am appalled at some of the comments and the fact that this is a ‘tourist destination’ – these people were seriously ill and treated appallingly. As it was mental illness rather than physical illness (though now we know there is no distinction between them, they are all the result of physical illness) people were treated in an inhumane way. Many of the people who offend while ill and untreated can recover and return to normal life. The stigma surrounding mental illness and the people who treat it is continued by the title of your piece and the way you write about it. When will we ever achieve parity with other illnesses?
Barbara Clayton
I have 2 ancestors who were in Arandale which I discovered during family history research. Neither were mentally ill I question whether it was the treatment and lack of understanding by the husbands. It was a man’s world.
Marie Moody
Oh my if those walls could only talk. The stories they could tell. You have to wonder what goes on in the mind of the criminally insane. Me personally I would love to be a time traveler. What say you my friend? I sometimes go to antique shops and hold an item years old or to touch a items over 100 yrs. old sends chills through me. I’m fascinated with time gone by. Thank you for sharing your story and pictures. Do you believe in another dimension? I’m not sure, but I have thought about it.
Rhonda Albom
I hadn’t really thought about it as another dimension, but rather as haunted all in the current dimension.
Kreete
What an interesting tour! I bet it’s even more so in real life! Thanks for sharing, I will make sure to visit when I am down that way. Lonely Planet is such a great source of information, isn’t it!
Rhonda Albom
You are correct, it is more interesting to be there, I could only touch on the information here. Plus hearing the stories with told with passion is so much better.
Our Seaside Baby
Oh gosh, what an eerie place, those poor people! I think I’d feel like someone was looking over my shoulder the whole time if I visited, eek. Polly
Rhonda Albom
Visiting was fine, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be an inmate.
Tara
That’s kind of spooky, but the buildings are really gorgeous. I’ve never heard of it before, but I’m intrigued now.
Rhonda Albom
It’s a bit off the beaten path, as one would expect for an asylum.
Lexa Cain
So cool! Love the little door in the giant door! And even in modern prisons in the US, the guards have to be alert for flying feces. I guess any weapon will do when you’re desperate.
Rhonda Albom
Yuck, I hadn’t thought about flying feces anywhere other than outside the chimp cage at the zoo.
Michele {Malaysian Meanders}
Great opening sentence. You had me hooked. It’s hard to believe that this place only closed in recent history. It seems so barbaric. If a prisoner was not crazy when he arrived, I think staying here would have turned him into a lunatic indeed
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Michele, it is a very eerie place and I agree. I was quite surprised that somewhere so barbaric was still open in my lifetime, in Australia.
Karla
I still feel eery visiting places like these even its years after the fact. Uhhh, feels like its for a halloween destination.
Rhonda Albom
It would be a pretty creepy Halloween destination.
Megan Jerrard
I don’t know what it is about places like this, but I find that even after decades of having been shut down, there’s usually still a feeling or a chilling atmosphere which will never leave. I guess it’s probably not classified as convict history, though it reminds me a lot of the sites I’ve visited throughout Tasmania which were part of our convict heritage. Really interesting nonetheless.
Leah
Whoa! I’d totally go to this and then have nightmares for a good week. Going to Alcatraz was chilling, but this goes beyond. Thanks for introducing me to J-Ward. I can only imagine what it must have been like to tour this place.
Rhonda Albom
Very true, this is quite a bit eerier than Alcatraz. And different in that the inmates in Alcatraz did something to get there.
Barbara Clayton
My great grandmother was placed there poor woman was lucky to get rescued. She was pregnant had baby taken away and never seen her again. have her report on inquest in later years stated she was not the same after and took to her bed. Very sad she again became pregnant and baby died. Not impressed with great grandfather easy to read what her problem was.
Paula McInerney
I had shivers running down my spine just reading this, and seeing the pictures.
Rhonda Albom
Then I have done a good job writing it up. 🙂
Viajar pela história - Catarina Leonardo
Very interesting place and story. I´ve never been in Australia but i really want too. This is a place i would like to visit. It´s hard to imagine the terrible thing that happened there…
Rhonda Albom
It’s a bit off the beaten path, but perfect if you are driving a Great Ocean Road loop from Melbourne.
shere
I didn’t know about this place and probably I’ll visit it. Even though some of the things shown are a bit creepy!!
Rhonda Albom
When are you headed to Southern Australia? Are you including a stop in New Zealand? Will we finally get to meet?
Travelling Tom
I’d heard of Ararat, I remember the name when I was travelling around Victoria, though I never got there! I had no idea there was a lunatic asylum there at all. Looks like an interesting place to visit, reminds me of Shutter Island a little bit!
Rhonda Albom
We stopped there as part of a loop from the Great Ocean Road up to the Grampians and then back to Melbourne.
William Redinger
Yikes. This reminds me of that Supernatural episode.
Rhonda Albom
It wasn’t supernatural, but equally as off the beaten track.
Ruth Johnston
I remember visiting this place. Vivid chilling memories ! What a topic you selected!
Rhonda Albom
Did you visit with your son? I think it would have had a much different feel if I had been with my children, than just being with hubby.
jill
I’ve never been inside an insane asylum though I’ve been on tours that pass them by – which is very different. I’m not sure how well I would handle it but it sure is interesting!
Rhonda Albom
Agreed. They are quite different on the inside than on the outside.
budget jan
The stories would be intriguing, but I think the place itself would be quite depressing to visit.
Rhonda Albom
There is a lot of depressing history out there.
Jennifer
We visited the asylum in Venice where the doctor did horrible experiments on the patients. It’s said to be haunted now and Venetians won’t even go near the island. This looks much more tame. The two rooms actually look like this place could be converted in to some sort of hotel. Of course, the bathtub you show is more the scenes I would expect from an asylum – spooky, dark and dingy.
Rhonda Albom
I would imagine all of these former asylums around the world are haunted. As for a hotel, it would be creepy, but it might attract adventure seekers.
Lisa
You find some fascinating places to visit. I’ve been to Ararat a number of times and have never heard of this place. What a contrast of areas around the place, some so eerie and others quite pretty. I did love the flooring in the suicide watch room and I simply adore bluestone buildings to look at. Some bits of reminded me a wee bit of Old Melbourne Gaol in the city, where Ned Kelly was hung.
Rhonda Albom
It is quite a contrast to the Grampians, and we do seek out unusual spots. As for the floor, remember, parts of the facility were seen by visitors, other parts were not.
Tracy McConnachie Collins
Eerie and haunting. Not sure if I would visit. Interesting article though.
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Tracy.
Amelie
I thought that the bed for suicidal watch patients looked kinda comfy, not gonna lie, LOL. Joking aside, this place gives me the creep. :/
Rhonda Albom
It might be comfy, but that’s all they get. No blankets, no pillow, just the mattress that somehow can’t be cut or torn.
Ava @ My Meena Life
That’s so interesting and kind of terrifying to see the conditions inside.
Rhonda Albom
It’s almost mesmerising when you are there.
Laryssa Gobets
Wow what an interesting place. It’s amazing to think of the thing that used to go on there.
Rhonda Albom
Yes, to hear the stories was a bizarre reality.
Lyn aka The Travelling Lindfields
Sadly I don’t think psychiatry has come very far from these terrible days.
Rhonda Albom
Probably not. Although I think there are better drugs now that help a lot of people.
Shobha
I have not heard of JWard before but I’m pretty sure that we would want to visit. My son has a fascination with history and the gorier aspects of it. Thank goodness that mental health care has come along in the world. We went to the Bedlam Exhibit in London (on Bethlehem Royal Hospital which was a lunatic asylum) and it was a real shocker.
Rhonda Albom
We also visited a torture museum in Northern Spain and another one in Moscow. Your son and my daughters would get on well.
Nat Deduck
I never heard of this before, but it looks definitely interesting! Great information! Happy travels!
Rhonda Albom
We hadn’t heard of it before either. Ararat is an interesting town.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Hi Rhonda – what a very difficult place to see – I’m sure I’d take the tour, but would be uncomfortable doing so … I ‘m not sure I could do Holocaust tours, or tours of prisons in Eastern Europe, let alone those happening now in the Middle East. Drugs certainly don’t help … thanks for sharing with us though. Life was very difficult for so many in those days … and unfair, so often … cheers Hilary
Rhonda Albom
This placed closed in the 90’s, less than 30 years ago, so during our lifetime. What really made the tour so interesting is that our guide knows some of the former inmates as well as some of the former guards, so his stories are amazing.
D of Love C and D
Well that certainly is an ‘unusual’ place to visit. I imagine this would have been very interesting to hear all the stories. Some of the photos made it looked really nice, in stark comparison to the open toliets and bathroom! Thanks for sharing.
Rhonda Albom
I think that was the idea. Visitors would arrive and see only the nice areas.
Jeanna
I wonder what determined someone as insane for a transfer? That bathtub reminds me of a scene from The Young Ones. The first four pictures seem pretty nice.
Rhonda Albom
I wondered that myself. I was hoping it was a medical diagnosis.
Barbara Clayton
Often a way to rid yourself of a spouse. Only needed a doctors signature.
Comedy Plus
I’ve dealt with people that belonged in institutions. It’s a horrible way to live ones life. Many currently are off the rails because of drugs. You have to be ever careful around them. I was fortunate to never have had an incident in my 25 years. A huge need for mental health care and mental health facilities in this country.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
Rhonda Albom
It’s a scary world sometimes, and drugs are not helping.
Corinne
What an eerie place. I’ll bet there are ghosts!
Rhonda Albom
I think it is the ghosts that make it so eerie.
Lolo
Creepy! Reminds me of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial prison used by the Stasi in East Berlin I went to a long time ago. Our tour guide had been a former inmate and had even cried during our tour when telling of the torture he endured all because he wanted to go to West Berlin and someone ratted him out. Happy Holidays!
Rhonda Albom
While I have been to Berlin three times, I have not been to that prison. I would imagine listening to first hand accounts of events would make the hair on my arms stand up. What a fascinating, and horrible opportunity.
Amy Franks
i’m fascinated by places like that, they don’t freak me out at all!
Rhonda Albom
It didn’t freak me out, it just felt eerie as we walked through parts.
Nano @ Travel With Nano
What an interesting tour, a bit daunting, but very insightful. It reminded me of a tour of Alcatraz I took when visiting San Francisco.
Rhonda Albom
I have been to Alcatraz, and it was different. It is much larger and more about a prison, than an asylum.