Aussie ‘lunatic asylum’ with dark history set to undergo dramatic transformation into a tourist hotspot

New plans have been unveiled to transform an island home to a shelter with a dark history of abuse into a tourist attraction.

Peat Island in the Hawkesbury River on the NSW Central Coast was acquired by the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC) in November 2022.

DLALC chairman Barry ‘BJ’ Duncan said the island, also known by its indigenous name Kooroowall-Undi, will be revived after being abandoned when Peat Island Hospital closed in 2010.

“Kooroowall-Undi has languished for too long, and we have many opportunities that we will discuss with our members on an economically productive and culturally appropriate future for the island,” Mr Duncan told the NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

“Our plans will of course focus on Aboriginal employment, business development and economic growth.”

Mr Duncan said the redevelopment will also pay tribute to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled people who have suffered abuse, neglect and exploitation during more than a century of the shelter’s operation.

“The history of Peat Island over the past century is not just about grief, but also about resilience. We want to do justice to the strength of the former residents and staff of the former facility,” he says.

Plans are still in the early stages after clearing work began on the island and a Bunya Pine was also planted to recognize the indigenous connection to the area.

The DLALC fought for eight years to gain ownership of Peat Island, which was officially awarded in October 2022 after ten months of negotiations.

Buildings on the island include a hospital and a patient ward, which have fallen into disrepair over time.

The dilapidated structures, built in the first decade of the 20th century, stand next to a large water tower that held water pumped from the mainland.

Overgrown grass now covers much of the uninhabited island, and rabbits have taken over much of it again, just as they did before the original settlement.

The island was converted into a facility for people with physical and mental disabilities in 1911 and was administered by the NSW state government until 2010.

The facility was a grim place for hundreds of young men and boys before it began admitting female patients in 1978.

Investigations revealed that several patients were tortured and physically and sexually abused, while several deaths at the facility remained unexplained.

About 300 patients who died while living at the facility are buried in unmarked graves in the nearby Brooklyn Cemetery.

The island was converted into a facility for people with physical and mental disabilities in 1911 and was run by the NSW state government until 2010 (photo an abandoned building on Peat Island)

The first major incident occurred in 1924 when an inmate named William Pfingst admitted to killing another inmate, Harold Besley.

Besley was beaten with a stick before Pfingst tied him up with a bag over his head before Besley was dropped into the water where he later drowned.

Boys and teenagers were also among the victims at the facility.

Among them was eight-year-old boy Robert Bruce Walker, who was found floating on the Hawkesbury River in 1940.

An 11-year-old boy, Robert Blackwood, was found in an iron box on May 11, 1950, after being strangled. He had spent only five months in the institution.

In another incident, a 17-year-old male teenager had ten fingernails removed before it was reported several weeks later in January 1981.

The facility was later converted into a residential care center for people with intellectual disabilities and patients reportedly received better care and support.

Several patients were tortured and physically and sexually abused, while several deaths at the facility (pictured) remain unexplained

The latest redevelopment plan comes after the state government launched a planning proposal to rezone Peat Island in September 2021 before it was demolished just months later (pictured an abandoned swimming pool on Peat Island)

The latest redevelopment plan comes after the state government launched a planning proposal to rezone Peat Island in September 2021.

The proposal, which was submitted to Central Coast Council, explored the potential to build open spaces, community facilities and new homes.

The proposal was scrapped in May 2022 after extensive feedback from locals and a public exhibition that lasted three months.