Derwent Valley residents call for Willow Court precinct master plan as neglected site languishes

It’s long been a target of vandals and firebugs and yet the historic Willow Court precinct predates even Port Arthur. That’s why locals want to see action taken to preserve and protect the site.

Willow Court historic site in the Derwent Valley, the old Barracks building.

Derwent Valley residents are fed up with vandals and arsonists targeting the historic Willow Court precinct and say more needs to be done to protect and preserve it.

A group of passionate locals is campaigning for a master plan to be developed for the Derwent Valley Council-owned site, located at New Norfolk, and is asking the state government to fund the initiative.

Originally established as an institution for chronically ill convicts in 1827, Willow Court eventually housed the Royal Derwent Hospital, which had more than 1000 beds and treated people with mental ill-health and people with intellectual disability under the one roof until it closed in 2000.

Because of the precinct’s complicated history, the council developed ethical principles and guidelines for Willow Court in 2022 to help shape future developments there and also published a heritage interpretation plan for the site.

Autumn leaves cover the ground at the old nurses' home at Willow Court at New Norfolk

Corumbene’s Health Hub recently opened at Willow Court and the nearby Agrarian Kitchen continues to be a wildly popular hospitality venue. The Rockliff government has invested about $1.4m into the precinct over the past 12 months.

Derwent Valley resident Steve Balmforth, who helped organise a community workshop on the future of the precinct in November, said a master plan was needed to “encompass the whole area” and that the council didn’t have the resources needed to protect the site.

“We don’t want to see this … piecemeal approach [and] ad hoc development continue as it has in the past. It’s a site that’s worth preserving,” he said.

“As an example of what’s happened over the years here, there’s been vandalism, places have been burned to the ground. And as recently as last week, one of the beautiful old chapels that are in the precinct here had to be demolished because it had been a victim of arson attacks over the last couple of years,” he said.

Anne Salt, Lyons Greens MP Tabatha Badger, Steve Balmforth, and Peter Rouleston (L-R) at Willow Court. They are calling for a master plan for the historic site. Picture: Supplied

Anne Salt, who worked to integrate residents of Willow Court into the community in the 1970s, said the precinct was “part of that story of what happened to people that were transported [to Australia]”.

“There’s a lot of unresolved trauma that has never been addressed so it’s quite a significant site and there is still a lot of work to be done,” she said.

Lyons Greens MP Tabatha Badger urged the state government to fund a Willow Court master plan, saying the precinct had “so much potential” and the “destruction” and “graffiti” had to stop.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to cost what it’s going to cost to produce a high-end document that can achieve proper outcomes for this incredible site,” she said.

Government minister Felix Ellis said any investment decisions relating to Willow Court were for the council to make but that the Rockliff government remained “interested in this space” and would “work with the council around it”.