Idiot was a term used in the twentieth century to describe people who had intellectual disabilities. The Minister for Public Health in Western Australia defined five classes of 'defectives' in 1929. The first class was idiots, who were 'persons so deeply affected in mind as to be permanently unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers' (Hansard, 17 September 1929, p.742).
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Bill - Mental Deficiency. Second Reading [Hansard p739-747]', in Hansard Archive 1870 to 1995, Parliament of Western Australia, 17 September 1929, https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard1870to1995.nsf/83cc4ce93b5d4e0b48257b33001cfef6/341F55B19BB020C248257A5300146E79/$File/19290917_Assembly.pdf. p.742..
Prepared by: Debra Rosser
Created: 25 April 2013, Last modified: 2 March 2015
Last updated: 17 October 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/wa/biogs/WE01031b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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