Musical Spaces in the Asylum in Watt Street, Newcastle, New South Wales.

Abstract

The Asylum in Watt Street, Newcastle, New South Wales, was opened in 1871 for the care of 'idiots and imbeciles', and from 1872 was considered a model of moral therapy. Music was a key aspect of the therapy approach, which took place both inside and outside the asylum buildings. Music has a long history of being used to calm the mind, change mood and even cure ailments, as well as to arouse and engage. In the twenty-first century, there has been an important shift to understanding music as a resource for navigating everyday life, extended by Tia DeNora to a perception of music as asylum through its encompassing and eudaemonic effects. This article examines music-making in the Newcastle asylum, drawing on nineteenth-century texts on asylums, newspaper reporting and inspection reports. It argues that music created inclusive social spaces and shows the opportunities it afforded for positive self-care musical experiences shared by visitors and patients.