**EMILY BULLOCK **is a Hobart-based writer. Her creative non-fiction studies the affective poetics of place.
I came across this little treasure not long ago and was immediately blown away. The way in which Emily writes about Willow Court & Royal Derwent is simply amazing.
I contacted her about the piece and she informed me it was part of her PhD thesis on Tasmanian Gothic. Emily said she would send me the rest of the chapter which I’m really keen to read.
Emily also noted that she would like to write a book about the asylum.
To read the article please click on the following link:
Below is one of my favourite parts of the article, which I think reflects the way that I feel about the site.
“And so I return to what is left of this place, now derelict. I have been compelled to return to ‘New Norfolk’ again and again; it is possessing and I am possessed. Once infected by the place, it never leaves you, just as you can never entirely leave it.”
“Evidently, it is not just me who is compelled to return to New Norfolk time and time again; an entire culture of trespass explores this space of ruination. The floor is littered with detritus from recent Goth camp outs and other ‘juvenile delinquents’ who stage nightly rituals here.”
Nick Jarvis