Willow Court development application, WC News letter and FoWC meeting

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The latest news letter from the Conservation Committee is here Newsletter from the Willow Court Conservation Committee

The development application has also been put into the Derwent Valley Council and can be viewed up until October 21st. Invitation are invited for public comment. New Norfolk news

A meeting with the Friends of Willow Court Special Committee will be held tonight at 7pm in the Community house. Mayor Martyn Evans will be attending.

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Hobart ferry and water taxi services from Hobart to New Norfolk planned

New and exciting ways to get from Hobart to New Norfolk are being planned by hobart water taxiRod Howard from Hobart Ferry and water Taxi Services. Rod presented a marketing plan for the years 2013-14 to the Derwent Valley Council for the October meeting.

See full plan HERE

With the heritage trail walks, antique shops and Willow Court about to come online as a tourist venture the future is looking bright for New Norfolk. Lets hope that it gets a good hearing.

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ABC News Report

Volunteers restoring historic garden

A group of Tasmanians is starting to transform the grounds of one of the state’s most historic houses, at Willow Court in New Norfolk. Click below to watch News report

frascati house abc

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“Walking Through Time” walking trail at New Norfolk

Tomorrow the Derwent Valley Council will open the “Walking Through Time” walking trail at Tynwald Park New Norfolk at 2 pm.

“Follow the “Walking Through Time trail to discover the fascinating history of New Norfolk” with interpretation panels located around New Norfolk. Be guided as you walk around this historic town by downloadable podcasts.

Willow Court Heritage Precinct is included and has it’s own interpretation panel describing the building and staff history and the different names that this institution had over it’s 173 years life span.

No social history is included from the patients and we would have liked to see more information about the rights movement of people living with a disability as this is the place this movement started. Willow Court Conservation Committee had input before the final product was sent to the printers. Each of the panels are linked with a downloadable podcast, the Willow Court and Frascati podcasts are below.

The first Podcast, Allan Pearson is a great example of how staff and the board chairman actively supported the rights of the previous residents and the working and living conditions, while the second podcast, June Purkiss gives us a wonderful trip to that earlier era when Willow Court was known as Lachlan Park Hospital. The Third story is about growing up at Willow Court as the Doctor’s children and the community that existed at this site. The final podcast is Margaret Reynolds who was the first Teacher at Willow Court at the first school. While the tour takes people all over New Norfolk I have only included the podcasts that directly relate to Willow Court.

The full walking tour can be found HERE

map walk tour NN

June Purkiss discusses nursing at Willow Court. © Copyright Derwent Valley Council 2013

Margaret Reynolds discusses teaching at Willow Court and the eventual closure of the facility © Copyright Derwent Valley Council 2013

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/75968469″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

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David Llewellyn is getting the word out

David Llewellyn is getting the word out into the broader Tasmanian community about the restoration efforts with Leon Compton on ABC local radio last Thursday 12.09.13. Although nothing was revealed as ”new” news, David again referred to the site as a site of conscience. This is the second time that this has happened and a reassuring statement that the Chairperson of the Willow Court Conservation Committee has a good understanding about the people (social) history of Australia’s oldest asylum.

Part of getting more funding for Willow Court relies on a successful conservation plan and some physical evidence to show that current funds are being spent wisely. One of the ways to get that message out about Willow Court and how the restoration process is going is to hit the media. The interview was edited as a lot of political and forestry talk happened as David is preparing to campaign to re-entry the political lime light again in March 2014 at the Tasmanian State elections.
Click here to listen to the edited audio interview

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Willow Court tour of closed Barracks section

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Brett Noble, the Conservation Committee’s Senior Project Manager, today showed me through the previously closed and sealed sections of the north and west wings of the Barracks. I was able to willow court with brett noble 002gleam a little of the breadth and depth of restoring the Barracks today while looking through these sections, while in good condition each of these rooms and wings need extensive works. Suring up floors and replacing some boards through to whole floor replacement in some areas will be needed. The electrical system will need to be completely replaced, some switching equipment has asbestos still contained as part if it’s construction while most of the barracks has external exposed electrical cabling which will either be redirected through the roof space or under the floor.

willow court with brett noble 020Brett was able to show me some significant areas and interesting spaces that will enrich any tourist activities once explained and interpreted sensitively. The writing of numbers in a section was something I have past many times but failed to see. Brett has had someone investigate this number writing to see if there is any patterning. While this sort of thing is not common for all people who have had some mental health issues during their life, it and other types of patterning can be found in many institutions around the world.

The rooms retained some of their original features and this was exciting, the fireplaces and doors and locks are maintained well. The windows are different in these wings as opposed to the south wing, possibly delineating between worker space and patient space.

I was able to have a conversation about the Burra Charter (Learn more) and how this would apply to the restoration at Willow Court, Brett was very good at explaining that the Charter is a starting point to creating the discussion for future works and not a prescriptive rule to stand by. This is why the conservation committee have to look at the possible future use of the site because this will influence  what and how much work needs to go into a space and how much change needs to or doesn’t need to happen. This is going to be an important part of the works and without a plan of use, money could be wasted.

Preliminary works have started in the south wing with the investigation stage underway. Brett was able to point out some original features which will be carefully maintained and restored. We also discussed the surfacing of the landscaping and that some of the original road and brick paving in front of the Barracks will remain because it is a suitable sub structure to support the coloured gravel pathways that will lead tourist to the Barracks and will have good drainage abilities already in place.

willow court with brett noble 003One interesting point that was made is the word “Barracks”, while most of us think about a solders garrison, the context that it is used at Willow Court is a range of small rooms with exits into the veranda and open courtyard, so a lot of the doorways that lead from one room to another are later additions.

The current fence that used to be around the old Administration building has now been removed and the admin building actually is looking good, well done Mario. The new placement of the temporary fence is going to be the location for the new solid fence and boundary between the two complexes.

We moved into Bronte Ward to have a walk through and it was wonderful to see all the windows in place and really making a difference to the building. I like the idea of having wheelchair access to all the buildings. This is a very important feature considering the history of the site. I liked the idea of removing the newer toilets at the back of the ward and restoring the veranda along the south and west sides which will now face beautifully into the garden with this beautiful tree as a centre piece. 002

 

Click here to see the Gallery

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Another letter to the Editor

Anne Salt Mercury letterAnother letter has appeared in the Mercury from an ex-staff member and Chairwoman of the Friend’s or Willow Court today. Speaking on her own behalf Anne has brought up some interesting points about the site and it’s history, policy and an apology. She also speaks candidly about the joint Council and APIU film that was created and shares concern about it’s appropriateness in the current light.

 

Willow Court Advocacy Group has also had a stance against the Paranormal film. While many of us are happy that this hobby and past time be pursed, we prefer that it’s not done at the expense of people living with disabilities who called Willow Court\Lachlan Park home.

The suggestion to join the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is still a very good alternative to what’s happening right now. It would recognise the past struggles and assist to lay an ethical framework around the telling of Willow Court’s history. That will inform people today so that the human right will not be forgotten for our future. Well done Anne.

Sites of Conscience Website

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News Release

davidWILLOW COURT BARRACKS PRECINCT RENEWAL WORKS July 2013 Media Release

“Restoration work on Willow Court will be moving to a higher and more exciting level over the next few months ”Chairman of the Derwent Valley Councils Willow Court Conservation Special Committee David Llewellyn said today. “The work on repairing the windows at Bronte has brought the building to life again, but there is much more to do.”

The Committee at its July meeting concluded an “Expressions of interest process” for work on The Barracks, Bronte and landscaping surroundings of the heritage precinct. The successful proponent was Xsquared Architects, incorporating Inspiring Place and the Centre for Heritage at Oatlands. Xsquared was selected after a rigorous assessment from a very competitive field of contenders and will lead a group of experienced specialists in oversighting the next restoration stage of works. “Our focus now is to finalise works approvals with the various regulatory bodies and to invite comments from the New Norfolk community.” David Llewellyn said. “We want public input into the plans and we also want the public and local community to get involved in the current works. David Llewellyn again emphasised that local contractors have already been used on current works and local contractors will be actively pursued for the new works once approvals secured.

Restoration works on The Barracks will start very soon, including repairs to exterior and interior elements of the building, and opening up other rooms.
Willow Court is a nationally recognised heritage precinct, of great importance to the region and nation. The most historic of the many buildings that make up the site is The Barracks, built around 1830. The Barracks was built as Tasmania’s first hospital for invalid convicts but soon was exclusively used as a ‘lunatic asylum’. “The project is an excellent example of collaboration between local, State and Federal governments, and I am keen to build on that collaborative effort in order to see full use of the buildings at Willow Court”, David Llewellyn reiterated.

Media Contact: David Llewellyn 0418122048

 

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Happy Birthday to us

happy-birthdayWe are 1 (one) year old today!

We started on the 25th July 2012 with this website which offered a balanced view of Willow Court, Royal Derwent Hospital and the restoration process. We want to include the people history of the heritage site in a respectful and sensitive manner.

 

We have attracted over 123,000 hits on this website and have two facebook groups with 300 plus members who are interested in Willow Court and it’s people history.

We went live in early August 2012 with a small amount of content and now we have a range of films, audio reports and interviews, a number of people who have contributed photos and lot of articles and links.

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