To imagine what it might be like in the future for mental health nursing in Australia, one must not forget the past. Delving into the past allows for the building of a trajectory of a plausible evolution, giving insights into the imagined future. This work takes a unique exploration of the future of mental health nursing in the Australian environs. To do this, the author of this work presents an historical account of what it may have been like to be a mental health nurse in Australian in the late 1900s. This account is a philosophical view that does not necessarily aim to resolve an issue, build a theory or seek agreement, but instead is a philosophical work taking shape from the author’s lifeworld.