willow court tasmania advocacy group – Page 4

Back brace RDH

November 22, 2013 No Comments

This back brace was from Ward 3 of Royal Derwent Hospital. The brace is formed from material covered metal in the centre two supports. Most of the specialist equipment was made on site by the hospital’s own trades people. This could make a display at the restored Barracks Museum.

A Museum isn’t a new idea, it was suggested back in 1963 by Dr Cunningham-Dax M.B., B.S. (Lond.). B.Sc. (Lond.) D.P.M., (R.C.P. & S) In a report presented to the Tasmanian Parliament in January 1963, when he warned that, in front of “the old barrack square” was to be used as a State Museum, that every effort should be made to collect the remaining relics now.

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Educational Audio Tour

November 12, 2013 2 Comments

Last week a student group from Fahan School visited Willow Court and used the podcasts on our website to inform themselves about the people history of Willow Court. The curriculum area “Introduction to Psychology and Sociology” was prepared and arranged by Fahan Teacher, Liana Hayes who was very resourceful and used the available open area of Willow Court and guidance from Haydn Pearce with his knowledge and passion for Colonial History.

While the Heritage Precinct undergoes restoration this tour was the third group in a couple of weeks to visit the site. Liana wrote: The podcasts worked really well on the iPads and the girls gained a lot of valuable information from them. This is a great way to learn about Willow Court’s people history, from an ex-employee and disability expert here in Tasmania. So successful was this audio tour Liana stated they would be: most definitely continuing this excursion to ‘Willow Court’ next year.

See the pictures and news release here or click on the picture below. NEWS RELEASE

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Lachlan Park Hospital short film of Ward 10

November 6, 2013 3 Comments

httpvh://youtu.be/N7yrOFiU2Fw

This short film shows Ward 10 with its high, double fences and outer perimeter security system. There is a clear shot of the Ha Ha wall and dry moat which has since been filled in with waste. This footage, it is believed, was taken after an escape and shows the repaired fence and welded window frame. This is a silent piece of footage and the exact age is unclear. Anyone who could assist in determining the age please contact me on Facebook or via the comment section here.

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A personal story

November 2, 2013 1 Comment

My name is ********* and I worked at Royal Derwent from 1967 to 1978 and enjoyed my time in that position. It was sad at times but very rewarding as well. I know it makes us sad to think of the cruelty and sadness that took place in these dwellings. But as a mum of a 21 years old son who has Down syndrome I can understand the heartache of the parents that had to leave their loved ones in the hospital because they could not cope or did not know how to deal with their child’s disability.

Today we are so lucky, when my son was born I said to the Doctor what I am going to do and GOD bless his heart he said ********* take him home and love him. That is what we did and boy have we been rewarded, what a wonderful young man he has become. The love this man has brought to our home and the many values that we have learnt through him has been amazing. Wow we’ve been blessed.

But that did not happen for these mums and dads they were told to go home and leave them, told that their baby would never have any kind of life and they would never amount to anything. How very wrong the medical staff were. With lots of love and patience these beautiful people can make a difference. We look at these derelict and rundown buildings and hear the terrible stories about the history of this hospital but we never hear about the positive things about it. We hear about the cruelty and yes in the early years there was a lot of negative behaviour.

My mum worked there for 33 years and at first she said it was tragic, they had just started to trial the drug Largactil (an anti-psychotic drug) because a lot of the clients were very violent and many staff got hurt, beds was straw on the floor these people did not have a good life but things did improve in lots of ways.

There were some cruel staff but in my time there were a great many good compassionate staff (men and women) that cared about the welfare of these vulnerable people.

There were always three hot meals a day, regular showers and baths always a bed to sleep in. There were also different forms of entertainment, they had their own picture theatre where they watched movies and put on plays to entertain each other. There were socials, annual balls, Christmas parties where they would enjoy getting dressed up, a swimming pool and lots of recreational things to do and shopping trips for clients who were able. A lot of capable clients went out on day trips and they had their own church to go to Sunday services. The clients had their own friendship groups and they always knew they had a home. What I am saying is there were lots of things going on that was not quite right but there were a lot of very good things as well.

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Facebook group hits over 300 members

November 2, 2013 No Comments

The Willow Court Advocacy Group’s Facebook group has now climbed to over 300 members and the Facebook page has over 100 members. This is a great support for Willow Court and the sensitive restoration of the social and physical history. Help us grow even more by using the “invite by emailing” and asking your friends to support this cause. Together we can make Willow Court a Site of Conscience.

Join Willow Court Facebook Group

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Restoration report, Willow Court.

October 19, 2013 No Comments

The lush green grass and weeds that were in the forecourt of the Barracks building have already been treated with a poison in readiness for the landscaping to start. These areas will consist of new raised green lawn and white pebble pathways. With the contrasting sandstone of the barracks in the back ground, this promises to be quite a sight. It is also a popular method of highlighting the structures above ground which works on a number of heritage sites around Australia. The existing road and brick paved surfaces that are in front of the barracks will form part of the substructure of the new surfaces while the existing drainage already in operation will manage future drainage needs. This is a cost effective solution that will make the limited dollars stretch further.

This week is going to be a big week in Bronte Ward as contractors start the arduous task of removing asbestos from the ward. While there was a program to remove asbestos from each of the wards in the 1980’s there are still some remaining areas that this needs attention. Asbestos is still part of the old electrical switch boards and also flange seals in between the huge metal heating ducting in the roof space of the ward.

No tour groups or visitors can enter the site while this work is carried out. It is also hope that the wind will ease next week as the asbestos is removed then taken outside for appropriate disposal in skip bins. These are all sealed packages to reduce the chances of airborne fibres being blown into surrounding properties.

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Pipe works, call to be put below ground level.

October 11, 2013 No Comments

The latest agenda item from the Derwent Valley Council has this welcome addition from Cr. Bester. The large above ground pipe works do not fit into any heritage site. He has called for them to be re-installed under ground, in keeping with the street scape.

9. MOTIONS ON NOTICE

9.1 TAS WATER

Decision

Date: 17/10/13

File: 197

Moved: Cr Bester

That the Council instruct TasWater to remove the large water meters along The Avenue at Willow Court and reinstall them underground in consultation with the Willow Court project officer; and to review its procedures to be followed when working on heritage sites.

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Updated restoration report

September 26, 2013 No Comments

Tonight’s annual general meeting of the Friends of Willow Court Special Committee had special guest, Mr Brett Noble who gave us an update on works at Willow Court. The development application plan will be submitted to Heritage Tasmania and will take at least 42 days before works can begin. The Heritage council were invited to visit the site and have accepted to tour with Mr Brett Noble.

A maintenance/development plan will be submitted to local council for approval and will be open for public consultation for 14 days. Willow Court Advocacy Group have been included in the electronic distribution of that information so stay tuned.

Some new and changed aspects from the last restoration report are; the plant room attached to Bronte Ward was originally thought to be an area which would be left with a Perspex viewing door. Now this will form part of a Care Taker’s Apartment.

Also the Recreation room in Bronte Ward will have the false ceiling removed which will expose the cell/room structures that once served as bed rooms. The carpet tiles will be removed and the old linoleum that is below will be cleaned up and some minor repair completed. This floor is in good condition.

The veranda will replace the toilets that were a later edition to the rear of Bronte. It was initially thought that this veranda would be open, but now it will be closed and the floor will be evened out with timber for easy level access for all visitors.

The Barracks will have all the doors and windows that face the courtyard fully restored and will be operational. The wooden rails will be painted. The roof will be painted with a modern product which is based on an old tar surface. It is believed that this roofing surface will give the building 10-20 years extra life. There is an issue with the galvanised iron and aluminium rivets reacting and causing a detrition and rust. It may be a future option when Willow Court is up and running that the roof can be replaced when the funding is available.

Frascati House will have some structural work to support the fireplace which has some large cracks.

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No voice for previous patients from Mayor Martyn Evans

September 21, 2013 2 Comments

A conversation yesterday morning with a member of our team confirmed that the Derwent Valley Council, Mayor Martyn Evans will not be representing the ex-patients like Chas Canden when meeting with Premier Lara Giddings on October 2nd. In this divisive community move the Mayor will only be representing the ex-staff who had a choice about whether they worked in WC, but ignoring the rights of families and individuals who had no choice about their involvement with WC.

It is extremely disappointing that the Derwent Valley Council’s representative will ignore the rights of people who live or have lived in the Derwent Valley who have a disability. The Mayor’s ignorance on the issues around Willow Court has astonished many ex-staff members who advocated for the rights of the previous residents when they worked at the site.

It is acknowledged that the majority of staff operated to the highest ethical standards at all times and that an apology is not a slight on them. Some former patients who were not treated as well as they should have been, against the standards of the day, deserve some representation from their elected representative but it seems that this will not happen.

On another positive note Eric Hutchinson, Lyons newly elected Federal Government representative is meeting with Members of the Willow Court Tasmania Sites Of Conscience Advocacy Group.

This article has been censored from “Our New Norfolk” Facebook Group. Disappointed! Let the people decide for themselves.

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Mayor to meet with Lara Giddings over “Apology”

September 18, 2013 No Comments

The Mayor of the Derwent Valley Council will meet with the Premier of Tasmania on October 2nd to further discuss the proposed apology to the previous Residents of Willow Court according to the September agenda of the Derwent Valley Council.

The Mayor, Martyn Evans is also a supporter of the insensitive Paranormal documentary about Willow Court which contains images of previous residents (without their permission) and is still on the agenda of the Council to deal with at it’s next meeting. This long waiting agenda item has had some issues according to Film Maker Aiden Sullivan “we have hit a few more legal speed humps in our efforts to release our documentary of willow court”.

Some Parents and ex-patients have also expressed concern about any release of a documentary containing and linking the suffering of people with mental health issues who were undergoing treatment and the hobby and past time of a small number of paranormal enthusiasts.

We are keen to have a position statement from the Mayor in regard to the previous Resident’s right to be represented by Council during the meeting with the Tasmanian Government, and the enthusiastic support of the Paranormal Documentary which was a joint Derwent Valley Council project with the film maker.

The Greens candidate recently wrote to this website and explained the apology in this way which we have found to be a wonderful explanation and extremely well written;

Support an apology. The Greens support and have been working towards a formal apology for those former patients who were not treated as well as they should have been against the standards of the day. We are cognisant of the feelings of former staff who assert that, to their knowledge, all patients were cared for in an appropriate manner, and feel that an apology is an accusation that their work in caring for residents was somehow inadequate. It needs to be acknowledged that the majority of staff operated to the highest ethical standards at all times and that an apology is not a slight on them. Our position is that an apology should occur as soon as possible, so that as many former patients as possible can be made aware of it.

Pip Brinklow,

The Greens House of Representatives candidate for Lyons

This was well explained, thank you Pip.