Another distinctive feature of Kew Asylum and its sister asylums is the use of a variation on ha-ha walls around the patients' courtyards.
 They consisted of a trench, one side of which was vertical and faced with stone or bricks, the other side sloped and turfed.
From the inside, the walls presented a tall face to patients, deterring them from escaping, while from outside the walls looked low so as not to suggest imprisonment.
 A journalist with The Argus described the walls as an "excellent arrangement, as it enables the patients to see the outside world, and does away with that gaol appearance and feeling inculcated by the walls of the old asylums".
 Many of Kew's ha-ha walls were retained and remain intact, unlike those at Beechworth and Ararat which were partially dismantled or the trenches were filled in.
Another distinctive feature of Kew Asylum and its sister asylums is the use of a variation on ha-ha walls around the patients' courtyards.  They consisted of a trench, one side of which was vertical and faced with stone or bricks, the other side sloped and turfed. From the inside, the walls presented a tall face to patients, deterring them from escaping, while from outside the walls looked low so as not to suggest imprisonment.  A journalist with The Argus described the walls as an "excellent arrangement, as it enables the patients to see the outside world, and does away with that gaol appearance and feeling inculcated by the walls of the old asylums".  Many of Kew's ha-ha walls were retained and remain intact, unlike those at Beechworth and Ararat which were partially dismantled or the trenches were filled in.
Kew Asylum