Current reading and Olga House.

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I am currently reading “A Background to the History of Nursing in Tasmania” by Beatrix Kelly. This book has a section (20 pages) devoted to Mental Health Nursing and Willow Court and the interactions with other providers of care including Port Arthur, Cascades Asylum, Hobart General Hospital and St Johns Park among many others. Most of her research comes from Dr G M Crabbe’s “The History of Lachlan Park Hospital” although she has made this very readable. There is only one photo of the site and that is Olga House. Now the Willow Court  Antiques shop which was known as the Boys Cottage. This is a book that is available through second hand book shops for a reasonable $25.

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Olga House was included in a 2003 conservation plan and contains a short history. Of interest is the missing tower and chimneys and the “unsympathetic” modifications.

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