Milson Island
Milson Island is an island located on the Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is accessible only by boat.
The island was first settled over 100 years ago and has been used as a bacteriological station, quarantine station, a hospital to treat soldiers from World War I with venereal disease, mental hospital, a rehab for alcoholics, a women's jail, and by the 1980s, a sports and recreation centre.
All that is left of the old mental asylum is the nurses' quarters or hospital. When the mental asylum was operating, an alarm system was set up, so that people on the island could keep themselves safe from escapees. The nurses' quarters are now rotted away, but the furnishings from the asylum still remain.
The New South Wales Office of Sport uses the island for camps for schools, sports teams and other groups. Some of the activities available at Milson Island include canoeing, kayaking, fishing, archery, bushwalking, obstacle course and raft building. The accommodation is 3–4 stars with seven lodges and five holiday units. The camp usually suits two small schools or one big school at the same time.
The Sport and Recreation Centre still uses the refurbished sleeping quarters as the dining room and kitchen. The rooms at Milson Island range from school kids' rooms that sleep up to five people to lodges for one to four people.