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Abstract

Objective:

To provide a brief biography of Western Australian colonial lunacy superintendent Dr Henry Calvert Barnett.

Method:

A range of primary sources were consulted.

Results:

Barnett was a complex man: a caring and forward-thinking practitioner who had a colourful and turbulent private life.

Conclusions:

Barnett’s contribution to mental health service development in Western Australia was genuine and worthwhile, and should be recognised.

Keywords

Barnett Henry Calvert Fremantle Lunatic Asylum Western Australia history

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References

Ellis

Eloquent testimony: the story of the mental health services in Western Australia, 1830–1975. Crawley: UWA Press, 1984, pp. 26–41.

Kimberly

History of West Australia: a narrative of her past together with biographies of her leading men. Melbourne: W F Niven & Co., 1897, pp. 88–90.

Court for divorce and matrimonial causes. Western Australian Times, 11 September 1877, p. 2.

Medical Trials. Br Med J 1867; 2/361: 509.

Death of Dr Barnett. West Australian, 4 November 1897, p. 6.

Barnett

Rules for the guidance of attendants, Fremantle Lunatic Asylum, 1872. Lunatics (folios 12-106). AU WA S2941- cons36, item 721. State Records Office of Western Australia (hereafter SROWA).

Barnett

Suggestions respecting sanitary improvement in Western Australia. Perth: Government Printer, 1876.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian historical population statistics 2006, 3105.0.65.001, Table 48: Life expectancy at birth (years) by sex, state and territory.

Fremantle Lunatic Asylum. Admissions register 8 December 1857 – 15 January 1896 – male, series 4507, cons 1120, item 01, SROWA.

10.

Western Australia. Blue books (1880–1891), section viii.

11.

Claremont Hospital for the Insane, admissions register 1909–1914, AN200, item 3104/2, SROWA, restricted.

12.

Report of the Commission appointed to enquire into departmental administration. Western Australian Times, 6 August 1878, p. 2.

13.

Western Australia. Report of a Commission appointed by His Excellency the Governor to inquire into the treatment of Aboriginal native prisoners of the Crown in this colony: and also into certain other matters relative to Aboriginal natives. Perth: Government Printer, 1884, p. 15.

14.

Barnett to Weld (Governor), 4 May 1872, Lunatics (folios 12-106). AU WA S2941- cons36, item 721, SROWA.

15.

Barnett to Barlee (Colonial Secretary). Lunatics (folios 12-106). AU WA S2941- cons36, item 721, SROWA.

16.

Fremantle Police Court. Western Australian Times, 8 January 1877, p. 3. A later account in 1926 has Barnett being pushed in a wheelchair in pursuit of King, but this information does not appear in the original trial.

17.

Western Australia in days lang syne – memory echoes – remarkable divorcees. Daily News, 21 April 1926, p. 4.

18.

Law Intelligence. The Inquirer and Commercial News, 12 September 1877, p. 3.

19.

Supreme Court. Fremantle Herald, 8 September 1877, p. 3.

20.

Fremantle topics. Victorian Express, 13 August 1879, p. 3.

21.

Marriage at Northampton. Victorian Express, 1 December 1880, p. 3.

22.

Supreme Court – Civil Sittings. West Australian, 21 November 1885, p. 2.

23.

Western Australia. Report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly appointed to consider and report as to what is necessary to place the Asylum for the Insane on a satisfactory basis as to accommodation and maintenance. Perth: Government Printer, 1891, p. 10.

24.

Editorial. West Australian, 22 January 1897, p. 4.

25.

City of Fremantle. Dr Barnett’s Residence, Heritage Place No 06320, Heritage Council of WA.

26.

Notes and Comments. WA Record, 6 November 1897, p. 9.