In March 1941, the Australian Army accepted an offer from the New South Wales Government, where the Kenmore Asylum would be the site for a military hospital.

[1][2][3] The property was sold to Australia China International Pty Ltd in March 2015 and it is planned to restore the once derelict building as Kenmore Gardens with likely uses to include retirement living, government services, or educational facilities.

Frederick Norton Manning, who was recently appointed as the colony's Inspector-General of the Insane purchased the estate, making it his first major achievement in his new role.

Members of the Public Works Committee agreed that the Rossiville Estate was a more suitable site for a new hospital, providing that a sewerage scheme could not be obtained without polluting the Goulburn water supply.

[10][11] Despite several wards being opened for operation, the asylum was anticipated for completion by June 1897 to provide services for the southern regions of New South Wales.

A new contract was also made, and it composed of a nurses' and attendants' home, which stand on either side of the administrative block and thus would complete the front elevation of the asylum.

The remainder of the work primarily consisted of the construction of additional wards which stretched outwards towards a nearby river, forming a "V-shape" from the central quadrangle.

In 1917, a patient named James Claxton hung himself from a tree, despite being noted as a quiet sociable, well behaved person who never indicated any desire to commit suicide.

[25] The Kenmore Psychiatric Hospital site is of State significance: as the first purpose-built, whole complex for mental health care in rural NSW; as the largest example of the work of W.L.

Vernon (the first Government Architect); and for having been used and maintained by the one agency for the original purpose continuously (except for the brief Defence period during WWII).

[5] The Kenmore Psychiatric Hospital complex is a representation, in physical form, of the changing ideas and policies concerning the treatment of the mentally ill and disabled people, in the State, spanning one hundred years.

These links were particularly strong in the early 20th century, when Kenmore was a focal point for regional sporting and cultural activities.

[5] The institution of Kenmore has played a pivotal role in the evolution and development of treatment for the mentally ill and disabled in the State of NSW.

[5] The cemetery complex, and its landscape, is a significant element of the life / death cycle of the Kenmore Psychiatric Hospital.

A large psychiatric institution, such as Kenmore, although not unique, demonstrates a way of life and a treatment ethic now no longer practised.

The layout and design of the core buildings clearly evidence the institutional beliefs and treatments of psychiatric patients in the late 19th century.

[5][26] Kenmore Asylum was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 1 April 2005 having satisfied the following criteria.

The institution of Kenmore has played a pivotal role in the evolution and development of treatment for the mentally ill and disabled in the State of NSW.

[5][26] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The riverside setting on land which slopes gently towards the depression of the river provides Kenmore with an exceptional aspect that is viewed from the major transport (road and rail) to the east.

These links were particularly strong in the early 20th century, when Kenmore was a focal point for regional sporting and cultural activities.

[5][26] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

A large psychiatric institution, such as Kenmore, although not unique, demonstrates a way of life and a treatment ethic now no longer practised.

The layout and design of the core buildings clearly evidence the institutional beliefs and treatments of psychiatric patients in the late 19th century.