One of the more plaintive entries in the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum Admission Book reads:
“I can’t remember anything about my early history – I was put in Diamantina Orphanage when an infant. I was there 11 years. Then was employed by Thomas Allen, Greenmount, 4 years. Then put in Toowoomba Hospital 3 years. Last 2 years looking for work about Toowoomba. No money, no property.”
This is 20-year-old Hamlet Harrison, admitted to Dunwich for being “subject to fits.” In other words, he had epilepsy, so severe that he could not perform the farm work he had trained for.
Dunwich Benevolent Asylum, SLQ.
His admission record says that he was born at sea, off the English Coast. That might have been a family legend, or a hazy recollection of the happy moment that led to Hamlet’s birth, because he wasn’t present when the family arrived via the “Great Queensland” in 1873. His father, also Hamlet, (35) was there, with his 29-year-old wife Harriet, and the three children – Ann (5), Levi (2) and Elizabeth (1). Hamlet Elijah Harrison was born in Brisbane on June 8, 1875.
On 27 December 1876, the children were admitted to the Diamantina Orphanage for the bluntly-put reason – “Father dead, Mother intemperate.” It appears that their father passed away on 22 December 1876.
The Harrison siblings remained in the Orphanage until 1879, when events separated them. Annie, who was by then 11, went into service. Elizabeth (7) and Levi (9) were discharged to their mother in December 1879, and Hamlet (4) was boarded out to Mrs Jurgens at Woolloongabba for 3 years.
The Diamantina Hospital, which was a repurposed and divided iteration of the Diamantina Orphanage.
Elizabeth was readmitted to the Orphanage in October 1881, shortly after Levi was sentenced to the Reformatory School for theft. Hamlet returned from the Jurgens family, and was hired out to service for the first time in 1883. His health caused his return, and he remained intermittently at Diamantina until 1891. The children’s mother Harriet died in October 1886 from dysentery, ending hopes of any family reunion.
As his Dunwich admission record suggests, Hamlet tried farm work on the Darling Downs before his epilepsy caused him to be hospitalised for two years. He was judged to be a suitable case for the Benevolent Asylum – his health problems were ongoing, and he could not support himself. He had Annie Long, his married sister at South Brisbane, as his only family contact.
At Dunwich, Hamlet was under treatment for his epilepsy, but still had seizures at “uncertain intervals.” The medical officer, Dr Patrick Smith, spoke of him as “a continual source of anxiety,” because his seizures could lead to falls and serious injury.
Buildings at Dunwich.
Sadly, this did occur. On May 4, 1895, Hamlet begged to go fishing with fellow inmate John Thompson and a 5-year-old boy named Dick Martin. Thompson didn’t think it was safe, but gave in at Hamlet’s urging. The boat was small, the sea was rough, and evening came in quickly. While John Thompson was struggling to find an island to land on, he heard a splash. Hamlet had fallen overboard, apparently while in a seizure, and drowned. His body was never recovered. He was not yet 21 years old.
An inquest held at Dunwich on 14 May, when searches for Hamlet had proved fruitless, heard the evidence of John Thompson and Dr Smith. The little boy, Dick Martin, was not able to be sworn.
The coroner recommended that the two small dinghies and crafts at the Asylum be placed out of the reach of inmates. Dr Smith was to make notes on patients who should not leave the mainland or be placed in boats.
- State Archives of Queensland Item 2732967 – particulars of inquest – Hamlet Harrison.
- State Archives of Queensland ID DR 29897 Register of Admissions – Diamantina Orphanage.
- State Archives of Queensland ID DR 288794 – Admission Register – Males – Dunwich 1894-1900.
- State Archives of Queensland Assisted Immigration 1848-1912 – H.
- Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriage.
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