Willow Court History Group – Page 33

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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Complete book: Part B2 NEW Release

May 11, 2014 No Comments

Complete book: Part B2 (terracotta cover) NEW Release (May 11th 2014) CLICK HERE

•• I wish to make it clear from the beginning that so many of the staff of the Royal Derwent Hospital have been kind. understanding, helpful and dedicated, and for the duties and general work they perform, they are deserving of tremendous credit.

Regretful is the fact that by activities and behaviours, misunderstandings, failure to correctly assess a patient’s limitations and such like. always appears to lead to undeserved and unwarranted adverse publicity which pervades the whole of the Royal Derwent Hospital .•• ”

Pages 189-332

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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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Landscaping looking good.

April 28, 2014 2 Comments

Willow Court Barracks looking fine with landscaping.

Major works continue at the Willow Court site and the landscaping is starting to frame the historic buildings while structural work continues with some minor challenges in Bronte bringing works to a stop for a short time. An opening date still hasn’t been announced as yet from the Derwent Valley Council, nor have they shared any thoughts on any opening celebrations that they have arranged.

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Willow Court is heard in Canberra

April 23, 2014 No Comments

“Further south, the township of New Norfolk in the Derwent Valley is a service town for the agricultural and remaining forestry activity in the surrounding area. New Norfolk has a deep soul, and many locals still have close and personal connections to the historically significant Willow Court, which was for many years Tasmania’s institutional psychiatric asylum. The buildings, which pre-date Port Arthur, are some of the oldest in the nation. It is a national disgrace that such significant architectural and social history is being neglected.” Eric Hutchinson. first speech as the Member for Lyons. 3 December 2013.

It would be hoped that there will be funding for the social restoration as described by Eric, as well as the physical restoration and this will be inclusive of the past patients/residents, families and advocates. Click image of Parliament house to read and listen to the full maiden speech.

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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.

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Teachers ruffle APIU feathers

February 9, 2012 No Comments

Below is a conversation about a meeting Janet and I (Mark Krause) had with the Willow Court and Barracks Working Group and members of the DVC. We expressed that the only information that was available to our students was through the Paranormal website. Students were starting to being hijacked by paranormal interests instead of being able to gain the real information about the previous staff, residents and the training and education opportunities that exist on the site.

We encouraged the DVC to take the leadership and own the sites social history as well as the physical structure by creating their own website that contains facts not myths. The Barracks working group at the time was made up of a number of people, some named below, who have only one interest in the site. This interest had become clear over the history of the committee and that is they personally wish to run paranormal tours through this valued historic site.

We clearly didn’t have an issue with pursuing a paranormal hobby or business however we disagreed about using previous residents\patients and staff for that form of entertainment.

History has clearly discriminated against this group of people, housed away from their families and their communities and isolated within old buildings with a history of poor quality block services in a medical facility that to this day hasn’t cured anyone of their intellectual disability.

A colorful past history including extremes of ongoing abuse is well recorded. The other side of the extreme was the extra that staff went to, to be the best they could under difficult circumstances. For most people the reality was in between these two extremes.

We still struggle with portraying people who still don’t have a voice as objects of entertainment for a few people with an interest in paranormal activities.

Clearly our presences at this meeting posed a real risk to the future potential of their business concerns.

Royal Derwent.com, APIU and anyone interested in Paranormal at Willow Court will be under the spotlight!

January 27th, 2012 |

Author: Nick Jarvis

Royal Derwent.com, APIU and anyone interested in Paranormal at Willow Court will be under the spotlight at the next meeting.

I received this in my inbox this morning from the secretary of the Willow Court & Barracks Working Group WC&BWG.

“All councillors are invited to attend the WC&BWG meeting on 9 February at 7pm. Attending the meeting will be two teachers in Disability at Polytechnic who will talk about their interest in Willow Courtand the importance of it to Disability students, their concerns with the information on the WC paranormal website on Disability students”

I have a lot of thoughts about this which I won’t get into cause I will be here all day. I just hope that they have done their research about who we are, how we operate in regard to Willow Court in general and the paranormal.

Posted in Uncategorized

9 Responses to “Royal Derwent.com, APIU and anyone interested in Paranormal at Willow Court will be under the spotlight!”

Max:

January 27, 2012 at 4:28 PM

So… what are they trying to accomplish, this sounds like a witch hunt, and like the “witch hunts” of long ago, there is no reason for it, in reality its just people enforcing there point of view. Gr.
Nick Jarvis:

January 27, 2012 at 4:36 PM

I think so mate, spot on.
Tony:

January 27, 2012 at 5:29 PM

Nick, Can you point me to any of the information on this site to which they may be referring? I’d like to have a look at what they think you’re saying, and possibly help prepare some answers for you to throw back art them. The problem with many people who come gunning for a ghost tour operator is that almost all of them fail to take into account that we have done a hell of a lot of historic research and cross-checking before we even dare open our mouths to a single punter. I’ve had to deal with this kind of thing in the past. You can never be too prepared, and being properly prepared usually lays these arguments to rest.

Cheers, Tony Kempton Historic, and Ghost Tours
Nick Jarvis:

January 27, 2012 at 5:46 PM

Thanks Tony
mathew tennant:

January 28, 2012 at 12:20 AM

Teachers in disability hay what would they know about rdh/wc did they ever work there no i dont think so they need to get a life and worry about there two bit course they so called teach. In my opinion any one that did a tafe course and came to work with me didnt know what they were doing. Go hassle someone else like the vandals and arsonists that are ruining the place
Nick Jarvis:

January 28, 2012 at 10:11 PM

LOL go Mate!!! You wanna come along to the meeting?
Lesley:

February 2, 2012 at 10:47 AM

Best of luck with the meeting. I do hope they are all open minded and realise that paranormal investigation is not only very popular with people all over the world as a recreational past time it is also a very important field of study for many.

Unfortunately though I have to agree with Max. Sounds like someone has a bee in their bonnet.

I think what Towns and Councils need to realise is working with a reputable paranormal group or ghost tour operators for the purpose of accessing buildings not only educates people as to the history of these places, such as Willow Court, but can also generate a lot of income for the local Council and businesses within that community. I would love to be able to visit Willow Court one day. (Lesley NSW)
Darlene:

February 20, 2012 at 10:19 PM

I honestly dont understand what they are on about?? disability students??? So the council will have to undertake a study for sure/ employ someone to research it / pay someone to write the report and print it… and then waste another few council meetings on it??? .. how much will that cost and what slant are they getting at? pretty please explain?
Nick Jarvis:

February 21, 2012 at 8:48 AM