George Leondieu, dangerous and delusional

George was sent to J Ward in the 1950’s for allegedly killing a man who made homosexual advances to him.

If you look at George’s photo in the Cell Block, you will notice that he is missing an eye. A guide can tell why.

Whilst in J Ward, George was truly a very dangerous man as he was both delusional and had deep seated paranoia. This led him to believe that everyone in J Ward was out to get him and this included the nurses and patients.

George spent a lot of time isolated from other patients as he was very dangerous. However, in George’s defence, it was true that other patients would make homosexual advances to him just to upset him further.

See the interview with George at the end of the tour to understand the difficulties the nurses faced in dealing with him. If George was still alive today, he would be in Thomas Embling Hospital in Melbourne.

By volunteer guide Geoff White. To hear more stories about J Ward, book your visit.