Imprisoned in state care? Life inside Kew Cottages 1925-2008

Established in 1887, Kew Cottages was Australia's oldest and largest specialised institution for people with intellectual disability. Kew Cottages was originally designed as a place of benevolent care and education for children. However its secluded location, adjacent to a 'Lunatic Asylum,' and its use of physical security measures resulted in its reputation as a place of incarceration. This viewpoint emerged through oral history testimony collected as part of the Kew Cottages History Project during 2005-08. Oral histories, which were recorded from people closely associated with Kew Cottages, reveal that despite the introduction of reforms in the mid-twentieth century to accord residents greater freedoms, poor living conditions, strict regimentation, violence, and abuse, all contributed to a prison-like environment within the institution.