Person
Manning, Frederick Norton (Norton) (1839 - 1903)
- Born
- 25 February 1839
Rotherthorpe, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom - Died
- 18 June 1903
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Medical practitioner
Summary
Norton Manning was the leading, and revolutionary, figure in the treatment of mental health in New South Wales for over 30 years. Appointed Medical Superintendent of the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (later the Hospital for the Insane, Gladesville) in 1868, he ultimately became the inaugural Inspector General for the Insane for New South Wales in 1879, a position he held until his death. Among his many other appointments were as Medical and Immigration Officer for Port Jackson and President of the Board of Health. His advice was sought by the New South Wales and other colonial governments, especially with regard to the inspection and establishment of mental hospitals. The Lunacy Act (1878) was drafted with considerable input from Manning. He actively sought to raise the status of nurses: he was the first President of the Australasian Trained Nurses Association. Manning was a Trustee of the Royal Prince Alfred Fund, started to raise funds for the establishment of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. For the University of Sydney, he was Examiner in Medicine for 40 years and the University's first Lecturer in Psychological Medicine. A Member of the Royal Society of New South Wales for 27 years, he served as Vice-President 1882 - 1883.
Details
Chronology
- 1860
- Education - Licentiate, Society of Apothecaries, United Kingdom
- 1860
- Education - Member, Royal College of Surgeons, London
- 1862
- Education - MD, St Andrew's University, Scotland
- 1868
- Career position - Medical Superintendent, Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (later the Hospital for the Insane, Gladesville)
- 1873 - 1903
- Career position - Examiner in Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1876 - 1879
- Career position - Inspector of the Insane for New South Wales
- 1876 - 1903
- Career position - Member, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1879 - 1897
- Career position - Inaugural Inspector General for the Insane, New South Wales
- 1882 - ?
- Career position - Medical and Immigration Officer, Port Jackson
- 1882 - 1883
- Career position - Vice President, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1882 - 1889
- Career position - Member, Board of Health, New South Wales
- 1883 - 1886
- Career position - Chairman, Medical Section, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1884
- Career event - Served on inquiry into Hospital for the Insane, New Norfolk, Tasmania
- 1886 - 1888
- Career position - Lecturer in Psychological Medicine, University of Sydney
- 1889 - 1892
- Career position - President, Board of Health, New South Wales
- 1894
- Career event - Served on inquiry into Bay View Lunatic Asylum
- 1898
- Career event - Retired from practice
- 1899 - 1902
- Career position - President, Australasian Trained Nurses Association
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- McDonald, D. I., 'Frederick Norton Manning (1839 - 1903), medical practitioner' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 5: 1851 - 1890 K-Q (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1974), pp. 204-5, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/manning-frederic-norton-4147. Details
Journal Articles
- Edwards, G. A., 'Causation of insanity in nineteenth century Australia', Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 16 (1) (1982), 53-62, https://doi.org/10.3109/00048678209159470. Details
- Manning, F.N., 'The causation and prevention of insanity.', Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 14 (1880), 340-55. Details
- McDonald, D. I., 'Frederick Norton Manning (1839 - 1903)', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 58 (3) (1972), 190-201. Details
Theses
- White, Richard Trathen, 'A history of general hospital psychiatry in New South Wales', PhD thesis, University of Sydney, 2022, 314, [60] pp. https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/29590/DiISSERTATION%20%20Final%205pm%2014%20September_R.pdf?sequence=4. Details
See also
- The University of Sydney School of Medicine online museum, Dramatis personae - Examiners: the Examiners other than those who were Fellows of Senate, Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2024. https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine/museum/mwmuseum/index.php/Dramatis_Personae_-_Examiners. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 13 May 2025