Hi Kym and Carmel,
Goodness knows if this will get to you, but I would love to connect. (And also to connect with anyone else who happens to read this!) My grandmother Ida May Short died at Willowburn in 1966. (I'm not sure when she arrived as she may have been in Goodna initially, but she was definitely there at the same time as Mavis and maybe as Frederick). I recently located her grave in the Toowoomba Drayton cemetery and am planning to visit it later this month. Sadly, she was separated from my mother, probably at birth, and they never met. Visiting her grave seems like the least I can do to honor her memory. I'm in the US but have an Australia trip planned and will tack on a side trip to Toowoomba.
Kym - you mention that you have your mum's medical records. Do you have any advice for me? I was told that they would not be disclosed for privacy reasons unless I lodged a "right to information" application citing a medical reason for needing to know (and family history was specifically mentioned as not a sufficient reason). I could go in to Baillie Henderson while I am there if you think an in-person enquiry would help. And Carmel, it sounds like you too have been in contact with Baillie Henderson staff. Any advice is welcome! It would be nice to at least know when she was admitted, where she was and to get any pictures or personal material in the file. Not sure I really need or want medical details.
By the way, if either of you would like me to take photos while I am there and send them to you, I would be happy to do so. Let me know if I can do that or anything else for you.
My best to you both,
Helen
PS. Carmel, I was struck by your comment that your husband's mum was a resident from age 18 until her death. When did she have her baby? Did she have a baby and then she was committed? I'm curious because my grandmother's insanity file starts in 1923 when she was 17 and I've been told that usually means that's when the person was institutionalized. But my mother was born in 1935!! I noticed in Helen Vellacott's "Memories of Willowburn" article on the site that a patient "Katie" became pregnant while at Willowburn. I wonder if something similar happened with my grandmother? I like to imagine that she had some mad romance or encounter like the one with the plumber that Helen Vellacott describes. At least that would have livened up her life a bit, and but for whatever happened I would not be here. It's probably not that happy a story, but I like to think that it's possible :-).