Tasmanian Heritage – Page 2 – Willow Court Tasmania

No more tours until the site is restored.

June 7, 2014 No Comments

I have had a lot of people wanting to tour Willow Court contact me through this website so I want to let people know what Brett Noble is suggesting, please see his email message below. Brett has a big job on his hands and has taken his responsibility as the Workplace Health and Safety officer of the site and the Senior Project Manager very seriously. He does give us an indication that the site will be open in the near future to all. We look forward to that. Meanwhile the audio tour section of the oval wards has had a new lease of life and the contents are now stored within the website for more reliability along with some photos of the last tour. Find the audio HERE. A quick walk around the oval wards and a listen to the tour will give a good insight into one person’s experience of working at Willow Court in the 1980’s.

I think it is best to hold off on any further tours until the work is finished. There is just too much running around and uncertainty about tasks that may be undertaken on any given day, so my intention is to keep the site clear. It won’t be long before the site is open.

Thanks

Brett

Brett Noble

Senior Project Manager (Willow Court Project)

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Donation of artefacts

June 6, 2014 No Comments

Donation of artefacts to the new restored Willow Court has started and these are the latest items received. Purchased at tender for the mighty sum of two dollars, this china once occupied the Matron’s accommodation in the Nurses Quarters which is now in private ownership.

Part of the process is getting an understanding of the history or story the articles can tell, how did it get to where it is today, what movement took place for it to arrive where it is. Each piece has a wonderful and sometimes colourful story to tell. Some artefacts are stored by the Derwent Valley Council while other artefacts remain in the hands of private collectors. Lots of artefacts that are still in the buildings have been logged and recorded under a recent funding grant. People can donate or loan artefacts to the museum.

Receiving goods from members of the public can be arranged by contacting members of the Friends of Willow Court or the Senior Project Officer, Mr Brett Noble. All have the forms that need to be filled out to gather this important information. Items can be donated without this information if people prefer.

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Progress report from the Derwent Valley Gazette.

May 24, 2014 No Comments

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Call for volunteers to help bring site to life.

May 23, 2014 No Comments

Source: Derwent Valley Gazette.

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Restoration behind

May 15, 2014 No Comments

Today, Senior Proj willow court 202 ect Manager of the Willow Court Precinct restoration, Mr Brett Noble confirmed that the project is running two months behind. A look around the site today revealed a lot of work, from guttering, painting , landscaping and soon to be connected electric power. The centre area of the Barracks will soon have lawn seed laid which will frame the oldest asylum in the southern hemisphere. Painters were working on Bronte house today and the finish for the Barracks still needs to be applied. New pathways were undergoing final works around Bronte, which look great. Many items throughout the site have been methodically cataloged and bear the tags. The toilet block at the back of Bronte will be demolished in the coming week and the original veranda will be restored.

Have a look at the new photos of the site

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Ree Pettifer

May 13, 2014 No Comments

CLICK HERE to find the latest upload. The Ree Pettifer report is now on our articles page. Although some sections are missing this is still an enlightening outsiders review and is a great read of conditions, staffing arrangements and facilities at Willow Court Centre.

“It would be easy to lay the blame on the nursing staff for the living conditions and standards of care of residents at Willow Court Centre. To do so however would be to over simplify the forces at play in the working life of the nursing staff at Willow Court.”

“The most disconcerting and most strongly held of all opinions was that of covert and overt victimisation of those who dare to question or speak out. Sudden changes to night shift, to an area of high dependency, a pass opposite to one’s spouse or unfavourable staff appraisals were frequently nominated as acts of covert victimisation.

Abusive telephone calls, threats of violence against staff and their families were also frequently reported and can be personally verified by the writer”.

“In one house toothbrushes were stored communally in jugs of water with the bristles submerged and the names on toothbrushes were illegible. In one house six toothbrushes stored in a communal container had obviously never been used and had accumulated dust overtime”.

Ree Pettifer September 1989

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Public Lecture Series

April 29, 2014 No Comments

Public Lecture information sheet

Invitation to a talk by Margaret Reynolds “The Royal Derwent Hospital at New Norfolk”

Many Tasmanians have links to this hospital but few want to talk about their experience of the
state’s only mental institution. Some people worked there and some had family in treatment
briefly or for many years. A large number of children with disabilities grew up there and some
recall abusive treatment.

Time: Thursday, 1 May 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Venue: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, Ground floor, 91 Murray St (LINC Tasmania)

Jointly Sponsored by the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office and the
Professional Historians Association (Tasmania)

RSVPs are essential
Please contact:
Caroline Evans
carolineevans@iinet.net.au

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Appendix released in full.

April 1, 2014 No Comments

All three parts are now online from this first book for the first time in history. This is the account of Patient “A”, Patient “B” and Witness “9”. (Yellow Cover)

Patient “A”: “When about 12 months old, being ill, she was taken to the Norfolk District Hospital where severe gastro~enteritis was diagnosed. At 2 years of age she started having “funny little turns” which commenced a period of visitations to the Royal Hobart Hospital. When about seven she attended Tallre School but her hyperactivity was disruptive and the school authorities suggested, for the parents consideration, admission to Royal Derwent.”

Patient “B” is a seven year old male patient. ” we saw the children in M Ward and they were unkempt, dirty, and smelly and there was a general stench about the ward. We actually stepped over a child on the floor whom we knew. The child had been at the Quindalup Training Centre some six weeks before. The child had lost weight and its hair was so dirty it was matted. Another child was sitting on the floor with blood oozing out of its mouth. There were no toys around for the children to play with. When the Sister asked where the toys were she was told they were locked away because the children would break them… ”

Witness “9”: Child Care Worker. Allegations of assault upon infant patients by Staff of ‘M’ Ward. “I have heard about the Royal Derwent before I did go up there and I wanted to see It for myself. I wanted to, you know, just work there to, well, and partly to see children that I had worked with when they were very young, and I was curious to how they would be a few years after”

Board of Inquiry Report parts 1, 2 and 3

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Deinstitutionalisation by State. Paper for Minister for Health Ray Groom 1988

March 22, 2014 No Comments

State by State briefing of de-institutionalisation. 1988 full paper

AN OVERVIEW OF THE DEINSTITUTIONALISATION OF SERVICES TO THE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED IN AUSTRALIA

New South Wales
In 1983 the New South Wales Department of Health began to implement the “Richmond Programme” to deinstitutionalise services to people with intellectual disabilities and the psychiatrically ill. By March 1988 over 390 intellectually disabled people had been moved out of institutions into community group homes and plans were being implemented for many more. At the same time a network of community-based services had been established included diagnostic and professional support teams, day activity centres and respite care services. There had been some industrial difficulty with this programme and some public resistance, most of which related to the deinstitutionalisation of people with psychiatric disabilities. The new Liberal Government in New South Wales has placed a freeze on the Richmond Programme and promised that the hospitals which had been threatened with closure will not be closed.

Western Australia

Western Australia’s one traditional institution for people who are intellectually disabled was “Swanborne Hospital”. This was run down and closed in the period 1979-1984 when the 350 residents were moved into hostels and group homes. During the 1960s a group of hostels had been built in an area known as “Pyrton”. This is now regarded as being too much like an institution and programmes have been developed for the residents to be moved into group homes and other non-institutional services.

RIGHT CLICK MOUSE ON PICTURE AND OPEN IN NEW TAB TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Swanbourne Hospital Revival ABC (Claremont Hospital) Museum being created.

Queensland

The Queensland Government has a firm commitment to deinstitutionalisation and to the development of its “Alternative Living services” within its Intellectual Handicap Services Branch (which was recently transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Community Welfare). There are two major State institutions in Queensland. Challinor Centre at Ipswich now has a population of 280 and it is planned that this will be reduced to 180 by 1990. The Basil Stafford Institution in Wacol has reduced its population to 157.

The predominant strategy has been to move residents into Government managed group homes. However, a number of non-government agencies have received 90% deficit funding of operating costs to provide group home services.

Challinor Centre at Ipswich

South Australia

South Australia has three institutions for people with intellectual disabilities – Strathmont (News report 2011) is a State institution with approximately 530 beds. It has a policy of admitting only one person for every three discharged. Minda is a non-government institution with a population just under 500 beds. Plans for its down-sizing are in hand. Ru Rua Nursing Home is a State-owned and managed nursing home for 91 severely multiply disabled younger people. A joint Commonwealth/State programme has been commenced and is placing all residents in four-bed group homes. This institution will be closed in the near future.

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory does not have any institutions for people with intellectual disability. Several “cottages” with up to six beds have been established for people with severe or multiple disabilities.

Victoria

The Victorian Government commissioned a “Ten Year Plan for the Redevelopment of Intellectual Disability Services”. The interim report has proposed that community support services should be developed which will enable the closure of all institutions. Wide-ranging public consultations have taken place over this report and a final set of recommendations to Government is expected to be ready by May 1988. In recent years the 200 bed St. Nicholas Hospital has been closed and all community residential units have been established and a number of community based demonstration projects have been commenced. Funding to community based support teams for people with intellectual disabilities has been increased. The number of beds in institutions is reducing.

On of St Nicholas Hospital’s more famous past resident is Anne McDonald, you can read her full story by right clicking HERE and opening in a new tab

By Biatch at en.wikipedia (Own work Transferred from en.wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Whats new?

March 20, 2014 No Comments

Glad you asked. We have started to scan the Board of Inquiry Report into the Royal Derwent Hospital and Millbrook Rise and load it onto our new tab. So far we have “witness 9’s” account of a staff smacking a child. Each witness was cross-examined in this formal hearing as were those accused of mistreatment and those that had seniority within the management structure. Some cases were dismissed and some were found to be correct accounts of what had occurred. The document draws heavily from the xerox transcript of evidence given by each participant. The Board had the power to summons witnesses to give evidence and it was clear that this was used to get reluctant witnesses to be interviewed and cross-examined. While there are many mixed views of the Hospital and it’s care provision throughout it’s life there were many inquiries both formal and in-formal held during the life of the institution.

Changes to our name has brought us into a new faze, Willow Court History Group instead of Willow Court Advocacy Group means that the evolution continues as we grow and expand. Now with over 530 members on the Willow Court Facebook page and group means we can watch and participate in the restoration and gathering of historical documents, films, photos and interviews. Telling the rich social history of the human struggle from both Staff and Residents alike. C lick the picture (right) to go to the Report Tab

We have change the header on all the webpages to the original letter head used on official documentation from Willow Court Centre. This has already brought back memories for some staff that are members of the group. We have also changed the introduction page and will slowly change all documentation to reflect our new name and ideals.