Last night I attended a gathering at Willow Court with Dr Helen Norrie and Dr Tamas Oszvald, both from the University of Tasmania. They are working with the Derwent Valley Council and the New Norfolk community to scope potential collaborative projects that could facilitate the activation of Willow Court, engaging with past, present and future narratives and histories.
This initiative was funded by a grant from UTAS Creativity, Culture and Society research stream, and the project aims to develop a list of potential future projects, and collaborative partners.
The key focus of the meeting and the whole project involved piecing together information that exists, identifying gaps in knowledge/information as documented, identifying key ‘knowledge custodians’ and understanding the complexities of recent and past histories.
There was representation from:
New Norfolk High School,
Derwent Valley Council,
Friends of Frascati House,
Friends of Willow Court,
New Norfolk Business Alliance,
Local Tourist operators,
Derwent Valley Players,
Owners of the Agrarian Kitchen and other interested parties.
Can Seng Ooi, Professor in Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Hamish Maxwell- Stewart, Professor of History and the co-author of a previous report into the reuse of Willow Court, Professor Lucy Frost were in attendance.
We were presented with a scope of the project by Dr Helen Norrie and Dr Tamas Oszvald and then we were asked to introduce ourselves and our connection with the site. A moderated discussion of possible future projects on the site and the interconnection they could have with the community, locally, Statewide and nationally were then discussed. A short time of questions.
An update on the DVC’s “expression of interest” process was given by the General Manager Mr Greg Winton.
Personal thoughts: For me this is the last ditch effort to get some common ground and for all parties to work towards one agenda. Failure to work together will simply add another report to the already high pile of the 16 previous reports and this would be a serious concern for the site.
I have a good feeling about this. We can only contribute and work towards Willow Court becoming a place to visit in Tasmania and hope that other agendas will be left behind. I know that both Helen and Tamas are working hard to see that happen.
On a not so related matter, meetings at Willow Court Barracks without toilet facilities are a sure test of endurance for invited guests!