Willow Court fire issues discussed

A MEETING at the Derwent Valley Council tonight found few answers to the problem of security at the Willow Court historic site. The special workshop was convened in the wake of the destruction of one of the 1930s buildings at the site last weekend.

Mayor Martyn Evans said police and fire representatives had been invited to the meeting and he welcomed New Norfolk Fire Brigade chief Colin Triffitt and second officer Peter Brazendale. However, the mayor said Tasmania Police had decided not to be represented as the matter was "too political". Councillor Damian Bester said this was a great disappointment as the purpose of the meeting was to consider ways to protect the historic site, not to discuss politics.

There were several members of the public present and this did not sit well with some councillors. Mr Triffitt gave a description of the weekend's fire and in response to questions said alarms and a sprinkler system were the only real solution to the fire risk at the historic site. He noted that these were once in place but were no longer operational and a new installation would be expensive.

Mr Triffitt said fires at the Willow Court site were difficult, no matter when and where they occurred. The buildings were old and dilapidated and posed a risk to the safety of firefighters. Coincidentally, a training exercise had been conducted some weeks ago in F Ward, the building that was destroyed last weekend.

Deputy mayor Barry Lathey commended the fire brigade's attitude to the safety of its members, but expressed concern about the organisation's rescue role. A former fire chief, he said the brigade should not stand by and watch a building burn when there may be people inside. Mr Triffitt acknowledged Cr Lathey's experience and said the fire brigade did not shirk from its rescue responsibilities, but the safety of its firefighters was paramount.

Willow Court Working Party member Simon Rolfe asked whether there was enough water on site and Mr Triffitt said although this had improved in recent times, the brigade had not been informed of the site of the new fire hydrants. Council general manager Stephen Mackey said this was the responsibility of Southern Water.

Mr Triffitt said the fire service was developing an emergency management plan for the historic site. Cr Bester commended the brigade on its efforts and for preventing the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings. This was echoed by Heritage Tasmania director Pete Smith who was also in attendance.

Cr Evans said the key to resolving the issue of security at Willow Court was to have the site open to legitimate users as soon as possible.

Reader's letter: the Business Alliance

SOME news in regard to what the New Norfolk Business Alliance has been doing in recent times and promotions planned for the near future. For people who do not know, this group promotes New Norfolk and district with funds raised via a levy on the business operators within the CBD of New Norfolk plus matching funds from the Derwent Valley Council.

Through the month of December a television advertisement was run on a number of stations encouraging the public to shop in New Norfolk. Through January and February a broader television advertisement promoted the Derwent Valley as a great place to live or visit. Now through March our generic television advertisement will again be run, with the inclusion of a banner mentioning the Derwent Valley Autumn Festival due on the New Norfolk Esplanade on April 1.

Finally and for the first time we are trying some "street music" in New Norfolk to add some musical interest for locals and visitors. The first street music performance by Les Coq Incroyables will be outside the post office in New Norfolk from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, March 24, followed by other performances from 10am-1pm on April 14, 21 and 29.

The performance on April 14 will also be accompanied by a mini-festival with even more music on Arthur Square. This mini-festival is being arranged by Jaala Lacey.

RAY WILLIAMS

New Norfolk Business Alliance

Wade's cricket tips

PREVIEWS of this weekend's Southern Cricket Association finals matches involving teams from the Derwent Valley:

2nd Grade: After their good win Molesworth will take on Sorell at Sorell for a spot in the grand final. In their last encounter Sorell came out on top by 71 runs at Boyer Oval. I'm tipping an upset with the Molesworth boys to get up by 1 run/wicket! with new player Ben Eyles to post a big score.

New Norfolk's attempt to keep the dream alive will continue when they play Richmond/Cambridge. The two last meet in round 15 with New Norfolk winning by a staggering 200 runs. In that match Rohan Heron made the perfect 100. My tip: New Norfolk easily again, with Graeme "Snowy" Rowlands to use his experience and take a bag of wickets.

4th Grade: Bushy Park go back to the drawing board and take on Marquis Tigers. The two last clashed in round 15 with Bushy winning by 108 runs. Dylan Grant topped-scored that day with 64 runs and M. Frichol took 3 for 20 off 7.2 overs. My tip is Bushy Park to make amends from last weekend's loss and win comfortably with Damien Madden and Nick Fenton playing a big part.

Good luck to all the clubs from the Valley, we are all behind you.

WADE GLEESON

Exhibition remembers Willow Court

AN exhibition of photographs from New Norfolk's Willow Court and Royal Derwent complex will open to the public this Friday following an official opening on Thursday night. Titled For the Fallen; in Memoria, the exhibition features the work of photographer Claire Needham.

"This photographic collection of images, taken at the site of the abandoned Willow Court and the Royal Derwent complex in New Norfolk, is an expansion of my previous exhibition If Walls Could Talk… (Entrepot, 2007)," Claire said.

"Since the site's closure in 2001, the buildings have been vandalised, broken and burnt regularly; subsequently many of the buildings are now demolished. The images in For the Fallen; in Memoria, have captured the passage of time and the wear of years of this immensely significant, yet ignored complex," she said.

"Once a bustling hub of activity, the RDH is now in varying grades of dilapidation, degradation but little restoration; the very brickwork has become transient and ephemeral."

The exhibition is open from March 9-25 at the Rosny Barn, Rosny Farm, Rosny Hill Rd, Rosny. The opening hours are 11am-4pm from Tuesday to Friday, and noon-4pm on weekends.

Fore more information visit www.claireneedham.com

Garden open day

THERE will be an open day at the St Matthew’s Community Garden this Saturday from 10am-4pm. The garden is at the rear of the St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Bathurst St, New Norfolk.

There will be plants for sale and morning tea will be available. Look out for the giant strawberry promoting the event on the day.

Southern Cricket Association finals

Qualifying final, 2nd Grade: Molesworth I moved a huge step closer towards a grand final berth thanks to a win over Richmond/Cambridge. Molesworth made 289 for the loss of eight wickets from 50 overs. Opening batsman Bradley Coppleman was run out with the score of 111. Nathan Eiszele gave great support with a well made 43 while Ben Eyles 28 and Ricky Martin 24 also did their bit. There was a staggering 46 extras. In reply Richmond/Cambridge was never in the hunt, being bowled out for 191 off 36.3 overs (22 extras). The Molesworth attack gave very little to their opposition with Ricky Martin capturing three wickets while Ben Eyles and Tim Nichols picked up two each. Richmond/Cambridge bowling: B. Douglas 2 for 32 off six overs, B. Wakefield 2 for 63 off 10 overs (two maidens), J. Wright 1 for 38 off seven overs, J. Griggs 1 for 49 off 10 overs, A. Bennett 1 for 65 off nine overs. Richmond/Cambridge batting: J. Wright 70, A. Bennett 38, B. Douglas 15, B. Douglas 11, J. Field 10. Molesworth bowling: Ricky Martin 3 for 25 off six overs, Ben Eyles 2 for 19 off 4.3 overs, Tim Nichols 2 for 22 off six overs (one maiden), Chris Slater 1 for 11 off four overs, Nathan Eiszele 1 for 71 off eight overs.

Elimination final: New Norfolk kept its finals hopes a live with an excellent win over Rokeby at Abbotsfield Park. New Norfolk won the toss, elected to bat and hit up the great score of 6 for 269 off 50 overs (38 extras). In reply Rokeby put up a good fight only to be bowled out for 222 off 44.2 overs (18 extras). New Norfolk batting: Ashley Morgan 55, Jamie Maddox 39, Glen Williams 33, Chris Ashcroft 28, Stewart Rice 28, Leigh Berry 25 not out, Jamie Hill 20no. New Norfolk bowling: Ashley Morgan 3 for 40 off 10 overs, Jamie Maddox 2 for 41 off 7.2 overs, Rohan Heron 2 for 57 off 10 overs, Josh Walsh 1 for 14 off two overs, Graeme Rowlands 1 for 17 off six overs (one maiden), Josh Rowlands 1 for 27 off five overs.

Qualifying final, 4th Grade: In a close match at Boyer Oval, Bushy Park suffered a two wicket loss to McRobies Gully. McRobies won the toss and sent Bushy Park in to bat. After a slow start Bushy Park got to a defendable total of 10 for 156 off 41.4 overs (23 extras). In reply McRobies scrambled its way to victory, but only just and at one stage they were 8 for 11 before finishing with 8 for 158 off 41.2 overs. Bushy Park batting: Andrew Smith 44, Terrence Pritchard 33, Shaun Fenton 29, Mitch Crosswell 10, M. Frichol 10. McRobies Gully bowling: S. Coombes 4 for 20 off 10 overs (three maidens), J. Bailey 3 for 24 off 7.4 overs (two maidens), H. Thomas 2 for 48 off nine overs, R. Mazengarb 1 for 14 off seven overs (one maiden). McRobies Gully batting: B. Hardaker 67, G. Cannan 48. Bushy Park bowling: Mitch Crosswell 3 for 15 off 10 overs (three maidens), Dylan Grant 2 for 41 off eight overs, Terrence Pritchard 1 for 28 off 8 overs (one maiden), M. Frichol 1 for 32 off nine overs (one maiden).

Willow Court fire update

Starting the demolition of F Ward

THERE has been a partial demolition of Willow Court's F Ward this afternoon to allow greater access to the still-smoldering building.

An excavator arrived on scene early this afternoon to allow the fire brigade to "punch a hole" in the eastern wing of the building. It is the brigade's policy not to enter buildings at Willow Court and the former Royal Derwent due to the extensive damage done by vandals in the 12 years since the hospitals closed.

The partial demolition has allowed greater access to the underfloor and roof space of the building, which has suffered major damage in the fire which is thought to have started late last night.

Fire investigators discovered several items which have have been forwarded to Tasmania Police forensic officers for potential fingerprint and DNA evidence.
 

The partial demolition has allowed greater access to the fire at F Ward, Willow Court