Background
The Gresswell Road Transitional Community Residential Units which are mentioned here, were rehabilitation houses. These were integrated dwellings close to the Gresswell Hospital facilities, designed to provide a foundation and catalyst for people to transition from institutionalised living, back into the community. In the 1980s, some government facilities and also non-government programs were available.
People from Gresswell Hospital who had been treated for alcohol or other drug related problems had mental health challenges and needed assistance to transition from their regimented organised hospital routines and to have housing and social support on their release. The community services staff in the residential houses facilitated this function.
Such accommodation in Gresswell Road Macleod was gradually closed by the end of the 1990s, and Out-Patient Units were intended to fill the gap, providing prevention and intervention services.
The Hospital grounds here were released for housing development in the 2000s and the Gresswell Nature Reserve conserved forest and bushy areas.
Gresswell Road now
Mont Park and Plenty Hospitals had their own similar Transitional Community Residential Living housing programs near their hospital facilities.
Entrance to Gresswell link on Gresswell Road
The Walking Map of the area south and east of Gresswell Road Gresswell Hill and Macleod Hospitals Heritage Walk – Walking Maps shows where the Hospital wards were located with respect to Gresswell Road.
Reminiscence by local resident Lina Corelli:
As part of my training, I attended the Transitional Community Residential Units on Gresswell Rd in 1989 while completing my Community Services Certificate in Disabilities and Youth Work. As part of an elective, I was required to complete placement hours. At that time, the units were designed to support the final stages of rehabilitation for people recovering from drug and alcohol dependence. They served as a stepping-stone or bridge between structured treatment and more independent living in the community.
One experience that stood out to me was travelling north along Gresswell Road and noticing three to five small houses on the left. They were not well maintained, and the gardens were overgrown. I met with the person in charge, who gave me a tour of one of the houses. Seeing the space helped me understand its purpose. These homes were not meant to be permanent or polished; they were designed to support individuals as they transitioned from intensive care back into everyday life.
This visit changed how I viewed rehabilitation. I realised that recovery does not end with treatment — it continues through gradual reintegration into the community. The houses on Gresswell Road represented an important step in that process and helped me see Mont Park as a place of transition, not just history.
Fast‑forward to 2001, when my husband and I bought land on Gresswell Rd and built our family home. We have lived here ever since—almost directly across from the very units I visited all those years ago. It’s interesting how life can circle back in unexpected ways.
Submitted by Lina Corelli
Photos and additional information provided by Kathy Andrewartha
