Willow Court Mental Asylum
Oldest running mental asylum in the southern hemisphere.
Willow Court was established as a depot for chronically ill, or ‘invalid’ convicts, in 1827. One of the oldest continually run asylums in Australia, the institution was commissioned by Governor George Arthur and designed by renowned Colonial Engineer, John Lee Archer.
From its establishment in the 1820s to its closure in 2000, Willow Court was shaped by the evolution of ideas and practices relating to the treatment of mental health and disability. Over time, the facility provided services for adults and children living with disability and/ or mental illness, those experiencing alcoholism, people deemed ‘morally delinquent’, including young unmarried mothers, the ‘criminally insane’, and members of the LGBTQI+ community. Through various stages of construction and demolition, operational changes, technological advancements, and name changes, this precinct has been in a constant state of flux.
By the late twentieth century, as new ways of care were introduced, patients were gradually removed from the institutional setting of Willow Court into supported accommodation across the State. Today, this assemblage of heritage buildings, yards, gardens and streetscapes reveals a complex and multi-layered story of a public health institution that has left an indelible mark on the Tasmania community.