The Administration Building is currently under contract for sale along with the old school building which serves as part of the Derwent Valley Community House.
According to the real estate agent both the old Admin building and the old school which is part of the Derwent Valley Community House are for sale. There are some good pictures in the ad to give people some idea of the internals of both buildings. Recently a “under contract” sticker appeared over the for sale sign.
In other news the Derwent Valley Council’s car park (located in front of Frascati House) has been under construction with a range of heavy machinery working in the area.
Memorial Garden now with new car park beside.
In the old Carlton House, or C Ward yard, the new productive Agrarian Kitchen gardens are taking shape. This massive undertaking is designed to sit on top of the old surface of the yard and will keep intact the possible underground heritage assets. The Willow Court Car Park is also still under construction.
Form work being put in to support the Derwent Valleys’ new car park
Part of the record management and accountability at the hospital meant that good documentation needed to be kept. “Official Visitors” were able to witness a list of patient treatments and visit the site at any time. They were considered the independent advocate for the hospital patients.
One such Visitor was Vincent W Shoobridge who was appointed in 1925 after the resignation of Philip S. Seagar who had been an Official Visitor from 1891-1925. Official Visitors would witness the log books and sign under the last entry for the month.
The lists identified patients who needed to be restrained, secluded, had received injury, had a seizure or who had died at the hospital during the month of June 1935.
Looking through the female pages of the log book and you can see that there is sometimes a correlation with the use of restraints or seclusion and the death of the patient in the following weeks. This was most likely indicative of the person’s deteriorating mental health at the time.
June 1935 Female Patient log bookJune 1935 Male Patient log book
The log book had a corresponding page for male patients. Each of the medical conditions being treated would also be logged along with new admissions and any discharges for the month. The Visitors would always sign in retrospect and the pages would show a date stamp or written date of the visit. There were 307 Male and 323 Female patients in the hospital in June 1935 and there was also a record of “out-patients” recorded on one page.
We know that Willow Court Barracks was used as the General Hospital in the Derwent Valley until 1848 and after that it was one of Tasmania’s Asylum. So what was the mix of patient like and what would be their cause for admission? Below is a record gathered by Professor of History, Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, which gives us a clear idea of the admission causes for the Patients in 1841-2. During this time the Hospital was known as the Her Majesty’s Lunatic Asylum, New Norfolk.
This was is a snapshot of the work that is being done to understand the Convict’s plight here in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), compared to those that were taken to other places around the world. The records have allowed for a significant study into the death and disease rate of Convicts which included Her Majesty’s Lunatic Asylum, New Norfolk. By 1848 the Hospital was only to admit “Insane Patients” according to an instruction in April by Sir William Thomas Denison KCB, Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land who was Governor between 1847-55 in a bid to reduce the overcrowding issues that had been reported.
To do this during this time, a number of (well) Patients were ordered to leave Her Majesty’s Lunatic Asylum, New Norfolk and go to the Probation Station at Impression Bay, while most reluctantly went, 27 refused to go, further discussions reduced that number to 14 dissenters. The Police Magistrate was called upon to remove the remaining well patients by the end of April 1848. It was reported to the Chief Police Magistrate that “it was not necessary to resort to coercive measures” and this then assisted to resolve the overcrowding issues for some time to come.
Last opportunity to have your say on the sale of Willow Court to a private business.
On February 2018 the Derwent Valley Council opened Expressions of
Interest for future uses for Willow Court, which has resulted in four proposals
being presented: two community and two commercial proposals.
A Development Application (DA) for the adaptive reuse of part of one
Alonnah, which was previously the Women’s high security Ward, as a Rum
Distillery has been lodged with Council. The application states that ‘Alonnah
is proposed to become a rum distillery with the front roadside section of
Alonnah comprising a mini still, tasting and storage, being Stage 1. … The
buildings of Occupation Therapy and Carlton together with the small exercise
yard are included in the property site.’ Minutes
of the Council Meeting on 20 September 2018 (p143) note that the proposal
includes a request to purchase these buildings. Submissions for public comment on
Stage 1 are due by 5pm on 4 May.
The application lists a proposed development:
“Works comprising partial demolition, internal fit-out and external
alterations in association with production (rum distillery) and also
incorporating tasting bar and signage”
Works to the north-east corner of Alonnah, adjacent to the Agrarian
Kitchen, are listed as
Make good building
defects
Remove an existing
window
Form new wall opening
for door entry into tasting room
Form new opening with
window in front wall
Demolish existing
wall, install full height glazing or public viewing of barrels
Fit out (including bar,
rum still, barrel storage, office, toilet)
The application can be viewed on the Council website, or in person at
the Council during working hours.
More information about future stages can be viewed on the Distillery
website, which lists the proposed future stages and show images of future work,
which include significant alterations to this entire building, and to Occupational
Therapy and Carlton (Ward C).
1863 Drawing of the Barracks, Willow Court. (c) Copyright 2015
This map was held at the National Archives in the United Kingdom and was sent to us by one of Associate Professor Burke’s PhD Students who recently spent a couple of days searching for Willow Court documentation. It is a rare image that shows the male and female divisions and where the foundations would be for any future dig site. The original Matron’s Quarters appears to be located near to, or over the currently privately owned Morgue and Antiques store. The foundations to the Gentleman’s cottage (top left) are still visible in the C Ward yard. You can click on the image to make it larger.
Today I attempted to buy two Lachlan Park Fire Helmets at an auction so they could be placed in the Hospital’s Historical Inventory. After discussing the top price that could be paid with the Chair of the Friends of Willow Court I placed a number of bids, only to be outbid. The items dated back to pre 1965 when The Lachlan Park Hospital changed it’s name to the Royal Derwent Hospital and would have been a good inclusion to the historical items that are logged and ready for display. They would have gone nicely with the original fire cart which is in the inventory.
The Collection of historical items was recorded on a number of inventories which are being upgraded by students working with Associate Professor Heather Burke from Flinders University. A lone copy of the 1996 inventory was found and saved to a digital copy a couple of months ago. It will be very interesting to see if all the 1996 items still appear on the latest inventory. It is believed that some of the precious items have disappeared over time. The current Derwent Valley Council appear to have stopped this flow of historic items disappearing, which is good to hear.
Rebecca Tudor from the Friends of Willow Court stated at a recent meeting that she is concerned for the state of the items and how they are stored. She is also hopeful that these items could be cataloged similar to those at her workplace, at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The condition the provenance and other available information about the item should be stored with the item so when it is taken from storage to display, it will carry all the essential information with it. This is a better way to ensure that items on display are time and subject related to the actual display they are going to appear in.
The Helmets sold for $150,00 plus a buyers premium of 15%
