Dunwich Benevolent Society Memorial Wall Print Page

The memorial wall, made from bricks that were once used in the Dunwich Benevolent Society laundry, commemorates many of the 8426 people who died as asylum inmates. Most of them lie in unmarked graves. Plaques have been erected on the wall. 

The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum was a Benevolent Society for the aged, infirm and destitute operated by the Queensland Government in Australia. Located at Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, from 1864 to 1947 Dunwich became a repository for the male and female pauper population of Queensland including the old and infirm, the sick and disabled and the orphaned. The incredible mix of people meant the facility was overcrowded and difficult to manage. Coupled with poor funding and unqualified staff, asylum conditions were often appalling. During the depression years the asylum was in heavy demand for the unemployed and elderly who could no longer be cared for by their families. In 1947 the institution was officially closed as a result of overcrowding and deteriorating health conditions. Over its eighty years the asylum admitted and readmitted 21,000 people. The institution was then transferred to the old RAAF base at Sandgate, and renamed `Eventide`.

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