[1] In 1897 the State Government of Western Australia purchased a 400-hectare (1,000-acre) property from William Paterson for the sum of £7,000, equivalent to A$1.2 million in 2022.

Fremantle Lunatic Asylum by this time had become over-crowded and it was decided to move some psychiatric patients to Whitby Falls.

Whitby's agricultural program was used as occupational therapy and rehabilitation for patients placed there but it also became a profitable operation that included poultry, dairy, vegetable, orchard, piggery and beef production.

[4] Designed by the Public Works Department as one structure, it had two wards ("Jacaranda" and "Kookaburra") with associated facilities, two day and occupational therapy rooms, a kitchen and dining area, laundry and storerooms, and quarters for nurses and other staff.

In general, the report found that the place "did not meet modern mental health treatment standards and the residents were isolated from the community and could not mix with other people".