Kingseat Hospital (New Zealand) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kingseat Hospital |
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| Spookers | |
The site of the former Kingseat Hospital in 2008, nine years after closure.
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| Geography | |
| Location | Karaka, Auckland Region, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 37°07′48″S 174°47′53″E / 37.130°S 174.798°E |
| Organisation | |
| Hospital type | Psychiatric |
| History | |
| Founded | February 1932 |
| Closed | July 1999 |
Kingseat Hospital was a hospital for mental health located in Karaka, New Zealand. This area is south of Auckland. It is known as one of New Zealand's most haunted places, with many stories of ghosts reported over the years.
Since 2005, the site has been home to Spookers. Spookers is a popular haunted attraction scream park. It is considered a top haunted attraction in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Building Kingseat Hospital
The hospital was built in Karaka starting in 1929. The first workers were twenty patients from another mental institution. They arrived with basic tools like wheelbarrows and shovels to begin construction.
The hospital was named after a similar hospital in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This happened after Dr. Gray, who was in charge of mental health at the time, visited Scotland. He thought it would be good to have a "sister" hospital in New Zealand with the same name.
The hospital grounds had beautiful flower gardens, shrubs, and trees. Some plants came from the Ellerslie Racecourse. Others were Norfolk Island pines grown from seeds from Sir George Grey's garden.
How the Hospital Operated
Kingseat Hospital opened in 1932. In 1939, a two-story home for nurses was built. The government provided the steel for this building.
The hospital grew a lot in the 1930s and 1940s. By 1947, it had over eight hundred patients. In the 1950s, Dr. Henry Bennett was a senior medical officer there.
In 1964, nurses started wearing name tags on their uniforms. In 1968, some nurses went on strike. This meant that unemployed people and volunteers helped with daily tasks at the hospital.
A special therapeutic pool was opened in 1973. A main swimming pool was added four years later in 1977. The hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1982.
In 1996, South Auckland Health sold Kingseat Hospital. This was because the government decided to change how mental health care was provided. They wanted to focus more on helping people in their communities. This led to the hospital closing in July 1999. The last patients moved to a mental health unit in Ōtara.
After the Hospital Closed
After Kingseat Hospital closed in 1999, people thought about using the land for different things. One idea was to build a new prison there.
In 2011, there were plans to expand the Kingseat area for the equine (horse) industry. This involved changing much of the land for building homes. However, some buildings and plants on the old hospital site were protected. They were considered important because of their history and culture.
In 2013, a property developer planned to turn the hospital site into a countryside living area. This would include four hundred and fifty homes. This plan caused some debate. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust wanted to protect the old buildings and plants. But some residents felt the hospital reminded them of a sad past. They thought it should not be highlighted as a historical site.
That same year, a group called Haunted Auckland investigated the site for paranormal activity. They made ten more visits over the next two years. Parts of the local TV show Shortland Street were filmed at Kingseat Hospital in 2014. A music video for the band I Am Giant was also filmed there. Since 2013, the hospital grounds have also been used for a paintball arena.
Spookers
Spookers is known as New Zealand's largest haunted horror entertainment business. It opened in 2005 in the former nurse hostel building at the old hospital site. Many of the special effects at Spookers were created with help from Wētā Workshop. Spookers holds annual O'Scares Awards at the old Kingseat Hospital.
In 2010, New Zealand filmmaker Dale Stewart filmed his horror movie Compound at the property. Spookers allowed him to use the site. Spookers was also a finalist for the Tourism Industry Awards that year. They won an award for helping the community by raising money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. In late 2011, Spookers opened a new attraction called the Amazing Maze n' Maize.
On April 15, 2012, Spookers held an obstacle race called "Run for your Freak'n Life." It was a "Fun Run" to celebrate being open for 6 years, 6 months, and 6 days. Later that year, a billboard for Spookers caused a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. Someone complained that the ad might scare children. Spookers said it was their first advertising complaint in seven years.
In October 2012, Spookers started offering a bus service for visitors. This helped people get to the park, especially for Halloween. In 2013, Spookers was named one of "10 Awesome Auckland Attractions." In April 2014, the Haunted Auckland team asked former workers to share their experiences. In May 2014, Spookers planned to open a new location in Queensland, Australia.
A documentary about the attraction, also called Spookers, was made in 2017. It was directed by Florian Habicht. In Australia, the documentary was shown on TV channels SBS Viceland and SBS on Demand.
In 2018, Spookers was put up for sale. In 2019, it was announced that Spookers would host a Halloween event called "Seven Deadly Sins."
Dutch Elm Disease Outbreak
In July 2013, a large outbreak of Dutch elm disease happened at the site. About two hundred trees at the former hospital were affected.
