Latest News – Page 30 – Willow Court Tasmania

Tasmanian Parliament Questions asked

December 1, 2014 No Comments

A few days ago Kim Booth raised some concerns with the sale of the Royal Derwent Hospital in the Tasmanian Parliament and has asked some very serious questions about people who were involved. It has long been understood that the sale price realised was a fraction of the valuation but after the Attorney Generals report things settled down for some time. “Conclusion of collusion or corruption” questions and statements and demands for answers may see an inquiry opened into the sale and documents revealed that back these claims. We will keep an eye on this story.

Hansard Wednesday 26th November 2014

Mr BOOTH – I want to quickly raise another matter which is to do with the Royal Derwent Hospital sale, or Willow Court, as it is known. Members will recall in about 1998-99 the site was tendered out and at that time had a valuation of something like $34 million. I have seen a large amount of documentation regarding what can only be described as a tragic loss of what was possibly the most expansive and intact piece of Australia’s early colonial history. An ugly and sad history it was, but notwithstanding a very important and valuable piece of public property. The site has been stripped, buildings burnt down and other infrastructure sold off for a peppercorn sum to private individuals who have walked away with $23 million-odd, I am advised, for an investment of virtually zero. The question that must be asked or answered is: how could this possibly have happened? It is my understanding, and I have seen documentation, that two people who were intimately involved with the valuation and disposal of the Royal Derwent Hospital site, working for the government at the time and involved in the valuation of the site and recommendation to sell and who to sell to and witnesses to the minister’s signature on sale, ended up as shareholders of the company that ended up the beneficial owners of the site or part of the site. documents reveal that one of them resided at the same address as (name removed ED.), the proponent and ultimate beneficiary of this sale of the assets to the tune of $12 million that apparently was (name removed ED) taking. (Name removed) apparently took $5 million for Derwent Valley Investments, which was the council private business taking $7 million. This was a site that was valued at $45.58 million, later devalued to $23 million, I understand, on the recommendation of one of the individuals who ended up on the company that owned it after they left the Crown’s employ. The entire site was conservatively valued at $23 million and at a later point in time was sold for only $350 000 net after a $200 000 grant provided by the government. It was financed without security I understand, with a loan to (name removed ED) unsecured to a consortium made up of the above, which was not registered until four days after the loan, and I understand there was no security when that money was advanced. The whole thing has a very serious stench about it, particularly when you look at the state of that complex. Some of the buildings are in an appalling state of repair. Some have been damaged and stripped and I understand the assets contained within the property were sold for something like $1.7 million, which were the chattels containing some very historic and valuable pieces of architecture and furniture, for a property that was valued at $23 million but sold for $350 000. Ultimately the history of that needs to be detailed more fully to the House so members can understand whether there needs to be a parliamentary inquiry into this matter and whether the matter I have raised leads to the conclusion of collusion or corruption. There is certainly a very big question mark over the whole nature of the way that site was disposed of. Who were the ultimate beneficiaries and what has happened to the site now?

2012 7.30 Report ABC Click Here

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Christmas appeal

December 1, 2014 No Comments

This article in “The Examiner” news paper is appealing for donations of gifts for Patients at the Lachlan Park Mental Diseases Hospital so they can receive some of the basics at Christmas time. Calling for gifts from a sympathetic Tasmanian public was the order of the day when this article was written on the 13th November 1950 and sat well with in a Charity Model of Care which was predominant around the world at this time. This show how far we have/or haven’t come in the last 64 years as we now sit in a rights movement for people living with mental health issues or with an intellectual disability as set out by all the signatories of the World Health Organisation, part of the United Nations, which Australia is a signatory. The right to have a life that is free for someone else s benevolent actions based on sympathy is inscribed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. While there is a difference today as there was 64 years ago this article is part of the rich history that is important to record and needs to be read in the context of the ideology of the time and the good will of the Tasmanian’s who were moved and personally effected by the States Institution designed for the care and health provision of those people with disabilities and or mental health issues. Want to read more about the rights movement, social movement, medical model and the social movement? This simply website can explain the difference is a clear one page document. RIGHT CLICK HERE and open in a new window. It could be said that Willow Court/Royal Derwent Hospital closed down because there was a different approach from an emerging Social Model as opposed to the then current Medical discourse.

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Tunnel investigation podcast

November 26, 2014 No Comments

Part of the restoration and conservation work at Willow Court is understanding the history from documentation and by the archaeology of the site. This week Associate Professor Heather Burke has visited the site to assess it’s potential as a significant convict and early Australian historic site. She was not disappointed. Along with her Assistant both Heather and Chantelle descended into the tunnel today and have described their adventure for us in the audio interview above. Click Picture above to go to podcast.

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More than tunnel investigation

November 25, 2014 No Comments

At an afternoon tea, hosted by Cr. Julie Triffitt and Mayor Martyn Evans the representatives of the Friends of Willow Court were able to discuss the Willow Court tunnel drain with Assoc Prof Heather Burke from the Flinders University (Dept Archaeology). She was invited to New Norfolk by Eric Hutchinson and networked up with the Derwent Valley Council. Since then there has been an arrangement that students from Flinders Uni will be studying the tunnel from Willow Court to the Derwent River, but today it was announced that there is at least ten years of archaeological work within Willow Court site and beyond.

Assoc Prof Heather Burke will be descending into the tunnel tomorrow and will have the geophysics results by next week for the tunnel drain. There will be a weeks work gathering preliminary data next year followed by the remaining year of analysis. Any dig will start 2016.

I will have an opportunity to catch up with Heather tomorrow and she has kindly offered to be interviewed after her tunnel drain experience.

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Friends of Willow Court Training Day at Port Arthur today.

November 24, 2014 No Comments

Today a number of volunteers from the Friends of Willow Court had a training day at Port Arthur. We looked at the booking systems that the site uses to handle the 250,000 visitors per year, website integration, staff training in tour guiding and retaining staff in regional Tasmania. There was much discussed and then we were offered to tag along with some of the Port Arthur tour guides through the thematic introduction tour and a tour of the isle of the dead. We were invited back to continue the ongoing co-relationship between Willow Court and Port Arthur. The Friends of Willow Court would like to thank the Port Arthur staff for their generous support and thank Graham McLean for offering his 12 seater bus for free (except fuel). No volunteer was paid for being at the training day. This is an ongoing part of the preparation that is going on in the background preparing for the opening of Tasmania’s newest tourist attraction.

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Willow Court Apology One Step Closer. Media release

November 20, 2014 No Comments

Willow Court Apology One Step Closer according to Tasmanian Greens Spokes person for Health and Human Services who release this media statement in late October, at the same time John Wilson from Magra wrote to the Derwent Valley Gazette with a different view point. While Cassy is asking for an apology for the previous policies of governments, John takes on a personal note as a long serving staff member of Willow Court RDH.

28th October 2014 5:26 pm

Time for Parliament to Apologise to Former Willow Court Royal Derwent Patients

The Tasmanian Greens today tabled a Notice of Motion that will allow Parliament to take a first formal step towards apologising to Tasmanians who suffered as a result of policies of governments past in the notorious Willow Court at New Norfolk, Greens’ Health and Human Services spokesperson, Cassy O’Connor MP, said today. “It is now almost 14 years since Willow Court and the Royal Derwent hospital were closed, marking the beginning of a more compassionate, rights-based approach to supporting Tasmanians living with a disability or suffering mental ill health,” Ms O’Connor said.

“We now have a rights-based Disability Services Act 2011 in place and the profoundly transformative National Disability Insurance Scheme, as well as a more inclusive, compassionate response to mental ill health in our community.” “We have come a long way as a community, it’s now time to provide a measure of closure to Tasmanians who were effectively incarcerated in the New Norfolk institution, as well as to their families who faced a terrible choice and the staff who must also live with the memories of working in that sad place.” “As a state, we need to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and government policies that isolated people living with disability and psychiatric or psychological illness in an institution such as Willow Court Royal Derwent.”

“The pain suffered in those times still endures. There have been repeated calls for a formal apology as a means of acknowledging the wrongs of the past and committing to ensuring such institutionalised suffering never happens again.” “It is the role of Parliament to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and to seek to put them right.”

“In 1997, the Parliament formally apologised to the Stolen Generations for their loss of identity, of family and belonging at the hands of the State.” “In the last term of government, we collectively and solemnly apologised to the Victims of Past Forced Adoptions for the emotional anguish caused by the State and charitable or religious institutions who took babies from their mothers on the basis of the morality of the day.” “In this term, Parliament should apologise on behalf of the people of Tasmania to those Tasmanians and their families who were told the best and only option for their disabled or mentally unwell loved ones was institutionalisation at the notorious Willow Court and Royal Derwent hospital.”

“We will have the debate on the Greens’ Motion and hopefully move on together, in the spirit of tripartisanship to formally acknowledge the pain caused by past practices and apologise to those Tasmanians who suffered at Willow Court Royal Derwent,” Ms O’Connor said.

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Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority take on Willow Court.

November 19, 2014 No Comments

Mayor Martyn Evans reported on Willow Court’s progress to the Southern Tasmanian Council Authority in the June 2014 report, which is available on the Council website, (link below) It would appear that the Mayor will be working on policy issues relating to Willow Court with the CEO of the STCA and that the CEO will be the secondary spokesperson in relation to the ongoing progress of Willow Court. It is heartening to see that the STCA Board will actively support to redevelop and restore the remaining Willow Court site. It is unclear how that help will materialize with the information available, but we can only hope it will help in obtaining funds for future works.

Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority

Quarterly Report to Members

June 2014

Portfolio Positions item 11, Item 10.4 in full on DVC website

Portfolio position: Willow Court

Background:

Willow Court was established in New Norfolk in the early 1830’s. It is a historic precinct that offers the rare opportunity to embrace Tasmania’s convict history whilst also providing a fantastic community asset.

The Derwent Valley Council bought the entire site from the State Government when it was decommissioned as a psychiatric facility. Since that time some of the newer buildings have been sold and are currently under private development. But as an extremely old and historic site it is the Council’s view that it is important that some of the site, particularly the old Royal Derwent Reserve Buildings, remain in public hands.

There has been significant work undertaken on the site in the past few years. With tourism through attractions, festivals and events playing a bigger role in the State’s economy the redeveloped historic Willow Court site provides the opportunity to harness these sectors to deliver economic and cultural benefits.

The site is starting to return to its former glory, but a significant funding injection is still required to finish the project. Recently a number of Mayor’s and the STCA CEO visited the Willow Court site and saw first hand the ongoing development works taking place on the site.

Since 2012 the Willow Court Conservation Special Committee has undertaken works totaling over $2 million. The Committee now has fundraising goals, as well as plans to lobby government for further support to undertake the work on restoration of the heritage precinct. Funding in the order of $8 million is required to complete the site’s restoration.

Position and Actions:

The STCA supports the ongoing maintenance and development of the Willow Court site
The Board undertakes to actively support the project to redevelop and restore the remainder of the historic Willow Court site
Appoints Mayor Evans to work with the CEO on policy issues relating to Willow Court and to act as the secondary spokesperson on the issue
Appoints the Lord Mayor to act as the STCA spokesperson on Willow Court

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1827 Rare coin

November 13, 2014 3 Comments

This coin has recently come into my possession and although it is an old coin, it has a unique story behind it that is more intriguing than the coin itself. It was believed that the entire mintage in 1827 was sent out to Australia from Britain, in particular to Tasmania.

Now the story becomes stranger here as there are differing accounts of its history from this point, the first was that the ship sank off the coast of Tasmania and the mintage was affected by salt and most coins were lost to corrosion.

The second was that the sea spray affected the coins which were stored on the decks of the boat.

Either way, I like this coin because this was the year that Willow Court’s construction started. It replaced a wooden structure that housed invalid convicts that was reported to be in bad condition in the early 1820’s, and it is what we are preserving today. It is so nice to have something that was about when Willow Court started its long history.

It is likely that a few of these pennies rattled around in the pockets of the staff and residents of Willow Court. It is nice to know the providence of a historical item and I look forward to hearing the stories that Willow Court has for us when it opens.

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Up goes the fence at Willow Court

November 3, 2014 No Comments

The wooden structure on the right of this picture is part of the new fence that will separate the neighbours on the west side of the barracks. There is some iron sections that will also go into the finished product and the old temporary fence will be removed once this is in place. Click the picture to go to the restoration page to see more pictures.

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