I love everything old, decrepit, falling down, rusty and abandoned, and Larundel Mental Asylum, Bundoora, fits that bill perfectly. It housed around 750 patients at its peak. But unfortunately, Larundel closed down in the 1990s when the push came to de-institutionalize those in mental wards across the country and move them into community care.

Closing the Asylums

Also closed around the same time was Willsmere in Kew, Sunbury Mental Asylum, Janefield, Bundoora, and Aradale at Ararat and Mayday Hills. The fact that all these buildings sat on vast lots of high-value land. The land was subsequently sold to developers by the government for millions of dollars; profit is still something to consider.

Many outbuildings at Larundel have been pulled down, with just a few remaining. What’s left is heavily vandalized. I wish I were more into urban exploring and photography back then. I would have loved to have gotten in before it was trashed. Unfortunately, it has become a haven for vandals and graffiti ‘artists’ since the closure.

A very wet Sunday

I have visited a couple of times and recently made another trip with a group of fellow photographers. We met there one very, very wet Sunday afternoon. We photographed the derelict hallways and rooms for the next couple of hours.

There is a rumour that a 5 yr old girl haunts one floor, back from when it was emergency wartime housing. The rumour goes that you sometimes hear her music box. Like all good rumours, it’s probably an urban legend, but it makes you cautious wandering around.