Reflective Dark MOFO

After going through the site during Dark MOFO I was taken by surprise how some people had written messages on their mirrors to loved ones. It doesn’t take much to realise how profound these are. I started to look through the documents that I have to see if I could find a matching name and time frame. I could only find this:  

In 1975 in M Ward I found someone with the same name. They were 9 years of age at the time and had already been there for 2 years which would have made them 7 when that entered the Hospital in 1973. This part of the hospital closed in 2000 and the children were the first to move out, so I don’t think this is the person or the right fit for the data I have.

 

On another issue, in excess of 260 mirrors were found and counted during the week leading up to the recent Open Day. This is after the staff from Dark MOFO had “removed” them after Mike Parr’s performance during the Dark MOFO 2016 event. Some had been stuck to Heritage walls and there is now damage. Some people had pushed their mirror onto the walls by finding cracks or even creating new places in the old walls  to leave their mirror.

One original plaster wall collapsed shortly after the event and it was believed to be because of the foot traffic up the stairs. Another ceiling plaster had also collapsed, this was believed to be original and dating back to the first construction in 1830 according to Brett Noble, Archaeologist.

The Archaeology team from Flinders University are preparing a report of what they found when they visited the site in January 2017. It is hoped the the Derwent Valley Council can then look at this and make informed decisions about the use of the site, obligations of users and create policy and procedures about the sensitive use and compensation around damage caused to the site in the future. The Council manage this site on behalf of the people of Tasmania. 

The site is unsafe to walk around because of the broken glass (mirrors). Also left behind are power cables and even a large screen that was used for one of Mike Parr’s films.

It is unclear who was responsible for doing a final inspection of the site after it was handed back to the Derwent Valley Council, but it appears to be a big fail in ensuring that the site was left in a condition it was found in.

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Council staff made it up!

Russell Penman was the Director of Nursing and the CEO of Willow Court Training Centre during a major part of the downsizing of the institution, as it started moving from a medical (care) model to a social model of support.

Through this interview we can hear what it was like to manage a place that was reported to have a ghost and what the reality was. The Derwent Valley Council heard Russell in a workshop last year and he recorded this interview with myself and local resident, Anne Salt shortly before. The interview reveals Russell’s personal history within the Disability Support System, the job of closing Willow Court Training Centre and the interaction between the community and the hospital.

While it is clear that to perpetuate this story and attempt to bring it back to life, the people who can profit from that will be doing so. We would like to interview the person who worked at the Council during this event who told Russell it was about creating employment, because they knew that the Hospital was downsizing.

We approached this interview with an open mind, because we didn’t know what we were going to discover and what Russell was about to reveal to us. He revealed much more than a simple Ghost Story, he was able to explain the affects it had on staff and patients alike.

The collection of audio memories is a part of the joint project between the Willow Court History Group and the Friends of Willow Court. The copyright holder is the speaker, in this case Russell Penman.

1 Introduction and relocating from South Australia.

2 Russell loved the town being so close to the hospital. The Ghost and managing the media.

3 The setup to raise and encourage employment opportunity by creating Winston. Historical search for Winston. Historical books in the Barracks. The “mad town”

4 Group homes are up and running, family, staff and the uncertainty of de-institutionalisation. After the job.

(c) 2017 Copyright Story: Mark Krause,

(c) 2015 Copyright Audio: Russell Penman.

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Government Apologizes for Abuse of Disabled

Icelandic Government Apologise BY VALA HAFSTAÐ

Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson

The Icelandic government has issued an apology to those who suffered abuse at Kópavogshæli, an institution for the disabled, which was operated 1952-1993, mbl.is reports.

A report published this week revealed deplorable conditions at the institution, where children suffered physical and psychological abuse, along with severe neglect, causing them permanent damage.

The report criticized authorities for a lack of a clear legal policy regarding what sort of institution Kópavogshæli was meant to be. Health authorities were blamed for failing to live up to their duty to monitor the operation of the facility.

The report was discussed at a government meeting today.

The statement, signed by Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, reads, “It’s hard, but necessary, to face how difficult the conditions of disabled individuals, children and adults, were at Kópavogshæli.”

The statement continues:

“Today I address all those who as children were placed at Kópavogshæli and their families:

On behalf of the government, I apologize for the inhumane treatment and various neglect suffered by children at Kópavogshæli. Likewise, I apologize to all disabled people, children and adults, who have been placed at institutions in this country and suffered abuse or ill treatment.

Painful experience can never be fully compensated for, but on the basis of laws regarding compensation, we will now work to compensate those who suffered abuse or ill treatment for the damage it has caused, to the extent of our ability. Government ministers are reviewing suggestions made in the report and evaluating what measures will be taken in order to protect the human rights of disabled people in Icelandic society.”

Related Story: Report Reveals Abuse of Disabled at Institution

 

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The Florence Nightingale connection

Sharon Hutchison (Matron)

For those that attended the successful plays at the last Open Day at Willow Court (11-12 February) you could be forgiven for thinking that Sharon Hutchison (The Matron) was the only person who had a connection with the most famous Nurse in our history, Florence Nightingale. But only a week before the open day, I received an inquiry that started a new chapter in research and this involved the famous Nurse Educator herself. I can say that she is not known to have visited or worked at the hospital but her influence reached around the world. We have discovered that there are a number of connections so far, the first is Selina Alexander. 

Selina Alexander, a qualified nurse, later to become the Matron of the Hospital, with a reference from Florence Nightingale. She was responsible for raising the pay and conditions of her staff. In 1890, aged 35, Selina married, as his second wife, Robert Shoobridge of hop-producing Valleyfield who was a government visitor of the asylum. They were to become parents of Nancy Hope Shoobridge.

Florence Nightingale

We also know that once married, women weren’t allowed to hold employment in the hospital. But further there was sad news, the connection is that the young girl, Nancy Hope Shoobridge wasn’t to survive the passage back to England to visit her Grandparents. 

In the east of the Sanctuary of St Matthews Church, New Norfolk is a stained-glass window of the manger scene. The child holding a Bible behind the angel at the crib is Nancy Hope Shoobridge (1890–98), who died at sea aged eight on her way to England to see her grandparents. In 1910, her parents donated a cottage hospital to the town in her memory and continued to contribute much to the social welfare of the community.

Donated Cottage Hospital

This all came to light after an email arrived. The sender was looking for more news and connections because she has the reference note that was Selina Shoobridge (nee Alexander) and it is forming part of a presentation at the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.

The Official Visitors wrote about Miss S Alexander (Matron) in the book, Troubled Asylum on page 106:

“Staff Changes;
The ranks of the Official Visitors were not the only ones unsettled in
the year (1890). Dr MacFarlane in his report list two important resignations and two subsequent promotions: – There have been several changes in the staff during the year. Miss Alexander resigned her position as Matron, and was succeeded by Miss J R Ayres, the Sub Matron Miss Alexander, now Mrs R W G Shoobridge, had been Matron since December 1883. She performed her duties in a most highly satisfactory manner.”

It is a great day to celebrate International Women’s Day by researching and writing about two wonderful Women that are connected to the Hospital and it’s long history.

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Susan Piddock new links and articles

 The Dr Susan Piddock page has been updated with the latest links and articles. Susan has a strong interest in Asylums and has created some well researched, evidence based material and has offered it for you to read. Click the image below to go to the page.

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Dr Lynley Wallis

https://soundcloud.com/user-896032534/digging-into-the-history-of-an-asylum

Willow Court Lunatic Asylum was Australia’s first, and longest lasting, asylum. Established in 1826 under various names and management it closed in 2000. Only now are archaeological digs beginning on the site, in the Derwent Valley in Tasmania, to discover the daily lives and experiences of patients and staff over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. On the project is a Broome based archaeologist. Dr Lynley Wallis is with the Nulungu Institute at the Notre Dame campus in Broome.

 

We also have more coverage of this a past Open Days in the Gallery open days tab.

Open Days & Events

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