Z Ward

Z Ward - A former Adelaide lunatic asylum for the “criminally insane”, including those deemed a danger to themselves and/or others. Some inmates from Adelaide Gaol who could not be “controlled” at the prison were transferred here. The rather elaborate brick building was constructed from 1885 and went into operation in 1888. It had space for 40-45 patients/inmates, housed in high-ceilinged, well-ventilated single cells with sparse and secured furnishings. There was also a Dining & Day Room for them too, though. Originally the institution had been called “L Ward”, but after telephones were installed in 1900 it became clear that the name was often misheard as “hell ward”, so they changed it to “Z Ward”. It was decommissioned at the end of 1973, with the last ten patients transferred elsewhere. After that the building stood largely disused except for its use as storage space for the government’s mining department. From 2014 onwards, the local community campaigned for the dilapidated site to be integrated into the National Trust of South Australia. In 2023 the handover to the Trust was finally sealed and the site became open to the general public – albeit only on guided tours. The main type of tours conducted here, however, are of the “Ghost Hunts” sort and other such paranormal stuff that on this website is excluded from the concept of dark tourism and not covered. Yet in addition to those after dark “ghost” tours there are also occasional “history tours” without superstitious core elements. It was one of those “normal” tours that I had wanted to go on when I began planning my trip to Australia in 2024, but when I contacted the site about this, the only date they could offer was sometime after the days my schedule had for Adelaide in early August.