Set in six acres of land on the corner of Hackney and Botanic Roads the asylum was built in 1851 to an English Tudor revival style attributed to colonial architect William Bennet Hayes. The building was of stone with brick trimmings, lattice windows and timber verandahs. In 1937, the Botanic Gardens ceded four acres on its western boundary to the hospital in exchange for the Lunatic Asylum and grounds.

As early as 1866 the Asylum had become overcrowded and considered below standard but it was not until 1902 that the last patient was moved to the Parkside Asylum. It was used as an infectious diseases hospital until the main buildings were demolished in 1938. What remains of the asylum are Yarrabee House, part of the walling and the morgue which is used by the Botanic Gardens as a tool shed.

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