This is all that remains at La Rundel a former mental asylum in Bundoora. It has now mostly been converted to apartment with some of the original buildings used for offices. It is now surrounded with a high fence due to the large number of trespassers this property attracts. Considered to be a highly active location, there are stories of negative energies, rogue footsteps and even the sound of a music box playing in the dead of night (which some say is actually the clock tower from La Trobe University nearby). The asylum was built in 1938 to replace the outdated Kew hospital. Construction was delayed to World War 2 and wasn’t officially open until 1953 when it admitted 387 patients in which 1/4 were women. 2 years later an additional 8 wards were added allowing an extra 360 to be admitted and 270 of these were women. Are we noticing a trend here? By the 1970s it had a number of wards dealing with a number of illness including acute psychiatric, chronic schizophrenics, chronic psychotics and geriatric patients. A clinical lab was added in the late 1990s which was a strong move away from psychiatric care instead towards community based care. The asylum was in the late 1990’s where the remaining patients were transferred to the Austin hospital.
Side note: it is illegal to enter this building as it is currently owned by developers. It is also condemned and deemed unsafe. Please do not trespass.
