Z Ward
Z Ward
5
About
Neither prison nor hospital, the “criminal ward” of the former Glenside Mental Hospital occupies a unique place in South Australia's history. From the rare 'Ha Ha Wall' encircling the building to its striking 1880s polychromatic brickwork, explore the breathtaking architecture and sobering history of this important site.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingWhat is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
1,662 within 5 kms
Attractions
391 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
5.0
6 reviews
Excellent
5
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Paula A
23 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
Z ward and the history of the asylum is fascinating and his is a beautiful old building to explore. Anyone with an interest in history should visit.
Written 3 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review and attending one of our tours, we hope to see you in the future for another tour of Z Ward.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 13 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sue
7 contributions
Nov 2019
Day Time Tour - Informative yet casual tour. Tour guide was relaxed speaker and had many stories to tell and willing answered questions. There was plenty of opportunity to explore on ones own and to take photos.
Written 25 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed your tour and the stories of Z Ward.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 13 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Eric H
Adelaide, Australia99 contributions
Feb 2019 • Friends
Wow.....never thought that I would ever see inside an old mental institution for the criminally insane. However, thanks to the National Trust of South Australia this pretty spooky facility is now accessible to the public. To view the conditions that these miserable souls had to tolerate is mind blowing, especially when you see the metal fence around the fire place to prevent inmates from throwing themselves on the fire!
The Trust operates evening ghost tours here which will be my next visit for sure.
The Trust operates evening ghost tours here which will be my next visit for sure.
Written 3 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review!
We are so happy that you enjoyed the tour and that we can offer this to the public. We hope to see you again for another tour.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 13 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
GoPlaces768953
Blackwood, Australia33 contributions
Jan 2019 • Family
Really enjoyed this tour. It was really extremely well done with no theatricals but had us terrified all the same while wondering though a building with a violent past. Loved the lock out in the cells. Great history and stories in a stunning old building.
Written 6 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review!
We are glad that you enjoyed your tour and hope to have you back again.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 13 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
giddyin0z
Adelaide, Australia151 contributions
Dec 2018 • Friends
If you want to learn about an unusual piece of Adelaide history, why not visit the Z-Ward in Glenside? This historic building, designed in the 1880s by the eminent colonial architect E. J. Woods, used to be an asylum for the criminally insane up to the 1970s. The National Trust conducts guided 90 min. history tours on some days, where you learn about the architecture, history and use of the building (check their website for dates and to book). There are also ghost tours being run by a private company on some nights.
Written 16 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for your review!
We are glad that you enjoyed your tour and the history of the building.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 13 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
D6387PPkarens
Brooklyn Park, Australia25 contributions
Sept 2018 • Couples
Excellent guide takes you through the history of the building with much still in the original state. Options are Day Tour and a Ghost Tour.
Taking the option of a Day Tour to walk through this part of Adelaide’s history
Taking the option of a Day Tour to walk through this part of Adelaide’s history
Written 5 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for your review!
We hope to see you again for another tour of Z Ward.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 13 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
When is z ward open? It is only on weekends?
Written 9 January 2019
National Trust of South Australia
Adelaide, Australia
Good Morning, Z Ward: Behind the Walls tour only runs twice a month. However, we can accommodate private group tours.
Please contact us to make a private group booking, if required.
Thank you.
National Trust of South Australia
Written 14 September 2023
Showing results 1-1 of 1
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing