Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

99(under 18 years of age), and 32% were performed without theconsent of the person concerned ... 259Whilst the full force of the eugenics debate had subsided decades earlierinstitutional practices born of the eugenic debate continued until relatively recenttimes.3.1.6 Home for IncurablesFollowing concerns expressed in 1878 by Mrs Julia Farr, wife of theheadmaster of St Peter’s College, about the fate of people with incurable diseasesconfined to the Adelaide Hospital and the Destitute Asylum, and withphilanthropic and medical support, the Home for Incurables was established on23 September 1878. It was located on nine acres of land at Fullarton. Firstadmissions were received on 17 October 1879, and by 1881 there were44 inmates and nine staff. 260Over the years, there were further acquisitions of land as well as a steadystream of development of new wards reflecting a growing intake of people withincurable conditions, as well as a diversification of services. By 1929,accommodation numbers had reached 145 patients. The late 1950s to late 1970sreflected a time of considerable development with four additionalaccommodation blocks established. By 1977, with the completion of the newnine-storey Western block, or what remains today as the Highgate building,accommodation capability totalled 826 beds. The year 1978 marked theinstitution’s centenary with a total of 624 patients, and a total of 1,011 nursingand domiciliary staff. The late 1970s signified the high watermark inaccommodation numbers at the Home for Incurables reflecting the priority at thattime of institutional accommodation for people with disability, includingintellectual disability. 261259 Committee on Rights of Persons with Handicaps. "The Law and Persons with Handicaps –Vol. 2 Intellectual Handicaps." In The Law and Persons with Handicaps, edited byCommittee on Rights of Persons with Handicaps. (Adelaide: Government of South Australia,1981), 123. Bracketed words those of author.260 Disability, Information and Resource Centre. History of Disability in South Australia:Home for Incurables. Disability, Information and Resource Centre, 2007 [cited February 132009]. Available from,http://history.dircsa.org.au/1800-1899/home-for-incurables/ sec.2, par.1.261 Information detailed on display wall of café in Highgate building, Disability SA, 103Fisher St, Highgate, South Australia.