Domestic space and disability in nineteenth-century Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

The spatial and the historical dimensions of disability have both been poorly documented and analysed. The spatial social sciences-geography, urban planning and architecture- have either largely ignored or trivialized the issue of disability. The discipline of History has also paid scant attention to the question of disability. This paper contributes to the historical-geographical understanding of disability in Australia by exploring the spatial context of physical impairment in nineteenth-century Melbourne. The paper seeks (i) to locate disabled people in nineteenth-century Melbourne by showing where and how they lived; and (ii) to illustrate the socio-spatial relations that shaped their li..