A sketch of the Lunatic Asylum, North Terrace done in 1860 by James Shaw.

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. 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.