Last Wednesday I attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Friends of Willow Court (FoWC) held at the Derwent Valley Community House. The meeting went normally with elections of the Committee and reports given by office bearers. The Chairwoman read her report, please see below:
Friends of Willow Court
Chairpersons Report
AGM
7 October 2015
It is with pleasure that I present this, the third report for the Friends of Willow Court special committee of the Derwent Valley Council. This past year started with much enthusiasm for the Friends of Willow Court, with the imminent completion of the Barracks & Bronte restoration, and the proposed open weekend to showcase the restoration to the community. Advice from the Conservation Committee was that the opening would consist of static displays of information, and as a result the FoWC committee started to collate information on WC for display. The potential date for the opening in December came and went, and disappointingly the Friends of Willow Court understand there is now no plan for an opening at this stage.
In anticipation of having the site open in the first half of this year, the committee continued to focus on developing an understanding of how to provide professional, respectful and informative tours and experiences based on thematic interpretation. The committee liaised with staff at Port Arthur and the Cascade Women’s Prison, and visited both sites to meet with staff who provided a wealth of information on how to develop thematic tours. The connection with both sites was invaluable, and provides an opportunity for sharing of resources when tours of Willow Court operate.
Other activities undertaken by the committee over the last 12 months include the following:
• Hosting a BBQ for Associate Professor Heather Burke and her ten archaeology students, who were all impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of the FoWC, and the various historical records on Willow Court collected by members of the committee
• Lodgement of a submission to the Legislative Council Built Heritage Inquiry committee
• Escorting the Built Heritage committee on a site tour of Willow Court
• Participation in the National Trust Heritage Festival in May with a display to depict Willow Court’s links to Australia’s world conflicts, and a play set in the grounds of Frascati House. The highlight of this event was the attendance by the Governor of Tasmania at the opening night, to launch the event.
• Responding to a request from the Derwent Valley Tidy Towns committee to help with removal of graffiti from the Willow Court perimeter wall. The outcome of this request is that both committees will work with the Centre for Heritage in Oatlands on restoration of the wall over the coming months, and the committee has suggested New Norfolk high school students also participate in the project.
• Participating in two strategic planning sessions facilitated by FoWC member Bec Tudor. The outcome of these sessions is a work in progress that will be completed over the coming months.
• Successful applications for DVC Community Grants
• Successful applications for DVC the Capital Works budget
During the year the committee has made requests of Council to visit Willow Court to view the restoration, but these requests have been denied due to Willow Court being a construction site. However, limited access was permitted to escort the Built Heritage committee on a familiarisation tour of the site, and for two limited tours by one committee member for people with a potential interest in projects at Willow Court. We are also aware that various site visits have been undertaken by Councillors, and state and Federal Ministers and MP’s.
It is very disappointing for this committee that has volunteered for years to provide input into projects such as the Malcolm McDonald report, host events, conduct working bees and tours of Willow Court, to be denied access for a site visit to see the restoration. We do hope however this situation can be rectified by the council in the very near future.
In March the committee was advised that it was the intention of the council to seek international expressions of interest in Willow Court, a process that could take up to twelve months, and that we could lodge a submission for a 12 month calendar of events. What was not communicated to us at that time was that apparently all Friends of Willow Court access to Willow Court will only be through submitting a proposal. Again this is a very disappointing situation, which leaves the committee feeling disenfranchised and disillusioned.
While it is understood that it will take some time for new councillors to develop an understanding of the heritage value of Willow Court and the significant role this committee and others have played in the preservation and reuse of the site, to hear a councillor at a council meeting when voting on the proposal to move the Community House into Bronte state about Willow Court that ‘there is nothing to see there’ and ‘No-one wants it,’ leaves us and other stakeholders further disheartened. In fact the comment of one prominent Tasmanian historian with a significant interest in Willow Court was ‘I am broken hearted over what is happening at Willow Court’. A sentiment that is echoed amongst Friends of Willow Court members.
To those long term committee members who are stepping down this year for various reasons, I would like to thank you for your vision for Willow Court, your dedication and determination to give your time and skills to the work of Friends of Willow Court for the benefit of preserving this important historic site that has been so neglected and vandalised, your efforts are much appreciated.
In closing I would like to take this opportunity to thank all committee members for their enthusiasm, contribution, hard work and good company over the past year. Thank you also to Councilor Pearce for supporting the committee and providing a conduit for communication with the council, and to the DVC for the opportunity to apply for Community Grants to support our projects. While we are a small committee we can again be proud of what we have achieved for Willow Court.
Thank you
Anne Salt
Chairperson
2014/15
The guest speaker was the Mayor, Martyn Evan who stated the he liked to attend all the AGM’s for all DVC Committee’s. He gave an update of the progress of the conservation work, partnerships with Flinders University and explained where the “Expression of Interest” process was up to for the lease/sale of Willow Court Heritage Precinct. He was also generous in staying on to answer questions from members of the Friends of Willow Court Committee and members of the public who had an interest is seeing the site open and respectfully portrayed.
Some of those questions were:
Is there a time for an opening or handing over of the keys to the DVC? Answer “as soon as humanly possible” he also explained that there would not be an “opening” as the Council didn’t want to have an opening, only to close the site the next day. The concept would be more an events venue. He wished to stay away from the idea of an opening, as this would draw criticism when it closed the next day.
One question was raised about the relationship between the Friends of Willow Court Special Committee and the DVC and why the DVC own Committee was not informed of decisions relating to Willow Court and that the Committee was required to submit plan to access the site that same an other businesses wanting to have access to the site. It was commented about this situation that the Committee was set up by the DVC for the purposes of supporting the DVC however this had been frustrated by the many negative attitudes and private agendas that Councillors had and “Special relationships some members of the DVC had with “interested parties.
The Mayor was challenged because of his personal support of the site becoming a paranormal hot spot by personally declaring the site the “second most haunted site in Tasmania”, this was done without any supporting evidence.
There was also a question about a sympathetic guide that would be used for the Lease or Sale Expressions of Interest process. We were told that there currently isn’t a guide.
Some committee members chose not to stand this year and have sited their frustration at not being able to progress any plans at the site and disheartened because the of the restricted access for the Council’s very own Committee.
There was also a commitment from the Mayor to hear the DVC’s own Committee at a future workshop.
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