Category Archives: community

open house richmond 2024

Open House Richmond was a one-off Open House event held in February 2024 as part of the Richmond Bicentenary.

Located on the land of the Mumirimina people of the Oyster Bay Nation, Richmond hosted a number of events between December 2023 and February 2024 to commemorate the history of the town.

Having attended many Open House Hobart events in the past, my sister and I decided it was well past time that we volunteered at one of these weekends, so we put our hands up to help out on the Saturday morning.

You can read about what we did here.

Barb is wearing a red Open House t-shirt holding a clipboard standing outside of a white weatherboard building with a red Open House Richmond sign in the window. She is wearing a black cap and a demin mini skirt. — I finally got to hold a clipboard! (NB not the building I was volunteering at) Photo by Carryl M.

We were allocated to the St John the Evangelist Church precinct for three hours on Saturday. Our job was to tally the number of visitors and ask them for their postcodes. If you’ve been to Open House events before, you’ll know this drill.

The church (dating back to 1835) and the old school house (1843) were open to the public. The 1959 presbytery wasn’t open, but visitors were invited to walk around and admire its modernist excellence.

Wesley Stacey Exhibition

Before we headed off to the church, we took a look at the Wesley Stacey photo exhibition of Richmond in the 1960s. Wes Stacey (1941-2023) was an Australian architectural and documentary photographer who came to Richmond in 1968 to document the town.

The exhibition notes tell us

Wes was in Richmond for a few days in 1968 during which he brought an artist’s eye to the town just prior to its emergence from a century in the doldrums. Bypassed by roads, rail and causeways, Richmond settled into a period of reduced relevance and quietude, which saved it from unsympathetic development. Wes’ photographs record a very locally-focussed Richmond and present a perspective on the village just prior to its reinvention as a heritage tourism hot spot.

It was cool to see this photo of the church we were about to visit.

Wesley Stacey’s 1968 photo of St John the Evangelist Church

The exhibition was curated by Richmond Bicentenary Creative Director, Noel Frankham. The photographs form part of the “Wes Stacey archive of architectural photographs, 1968-1972”, held by the National Library of Australia.

It’s an amazing collection of almost 3,000 photos.

St John the Evangelist Precinct

Three hours was a lot of time to explore the area in between visitors. Here’s some photos.

Old Catholic School House (1843)

St John the Evangelist Church (1835)

The Presbytery

The original church presbytery (date unknown) eventually become a convent and was subsequently replaced by in the 1930s by a new catholic school and convent. In 1929, the old school house was converted into a presbytery, presumably temporarily.

The current presbytery was designed by Paul Fox in 1957. The newly appointed parish priest, Rev Fr JB Reed had the design approved by the Archbishop Most Rev G Young DD, and it was completed in 1959 by the builder Mr E H Hewitt of Lindisfarne.

It’s a two-bedroom house with, we were told, an ensuite bathroom, which was apparently very uncommon in the 1950s.

Presbytery seen from the old school house

At the building’s blessing and opening on 15 March 1959, The Mercury observed that, ‘although modern in design, the presbytery has been built so that it in no way interferes with the antiquity of the church’.

I had a lovely morning exploring what I could of this wonderful building and meeting and greeting visitors to the school house. It was interesting to hear some of the stories people shared.

I think part of the fun of Open House is to meet people with common interests (or even uncommon interests!) and to learn interesting things about our built heritage.

And the day wouldn’t be complete without . . .

This was presented as an example of ‘contemporary architecture within a historic setting’.

The complex was commended in the 2004 and 2005 Tasmanian architecture awards:

“This building deserves recognition because it seeks to contextualise, within an historic setting. Through means other than imitation of historic forms. It is a well-considered approach, which reworks components of the familiar without pastiche. It also provides an innovative plan for an often maligned building type.”
From 1+2 Architecture

Thanks to everyone who made this weekend possible, especially Katie and Jen from Open House HQ, who do an amazing job of putting the program together.

open house hobart 2023—the ABC building

3 Replies

2023 Open House posts

The ABC Building

It was a short stroll from the Railway Roundabout Fountain to the site of the former railway station that gave the fountain its name.

The site, originally built in the 1870s for the Tasmanian Main Line Railway Company, is now home to the ABC HQ, and was open for tours during Open House.

Here’s what the site looked like before the roundabout was built. What is now the ABC Building is in the centre of the photo, with the car park out the front.

Photograph - Hobart - Railway Terminal, Cenotaph - shows end of Liverpool Street buildings and area where Railway Roundabout and fountain were later built - also street decoration for the 1954 Royal visit (street arch with crown on top) — Hobart Railway Station before 1961 (Source Tasmanian Archives & Heritage Office AA375-1-216)

If you look very closely at the far left of the photo, you can see the street arch with the crown on top that was made for the 1954 Royal visit and is now at the Riverfront Motel at Berriedale.

This was a self-guided tour of the studio so there was a lot of people lining up to get in, and the focus was on the ABC’s activities rather than on the architecture so I can’t tell you much about that.

The older building at the front of the site is the original railway station building from the 1870s. According to Col Dennison, the line opened in 1875 and the station closed in 1974.

A long, low modern builidng behind an older, two-storey Georgian sandstone Building.There are flagpoles and signs out the front and a road runs past the complex — The ABC site as it is today

A picture from Col’s book Yesterday’s Hobart Today shows a signal clock above a wrought iron porch at the front of the building.

Photograph - Front view of Hobart Railway Station - a Georgian style sandstone building with low shrubs at the front and a station clock above the portico — Hobart Railway Station c 1940 (Source Tasmanian Archives & Heritage Office PH30-1-517)

I’ve seen some more recent photos of the site and it looks to have been a Datsun car parts office at one point.

If the ABC purchased the site in 1985, we can assume the large building dates back to around that time. It brings to my mind the CSIRO building on the waterfront, which was opened in 1982, so that sounds about right.

THE ABC Sign, black text on a white background: Australian Broadcasting Corporation — The ABC sign and some witches hats

The tour led us through the radio and TV studios, as well as a glimpse into the tech world.

A satellite dish atop a wall — Outside the ABC

A tiny studio, called the Tardis, captured my attention and as I was looking through the window, one the producers, Jo Spargo, told me this was where they do off-air interviews. She asked if I’d like to come in and talk about my story and my memories of the ABC.

Why not?

Jo’s questions led me into talking about my Hobart Street Corners project.

She asked what my memories of the ABC were, and I said when I was a kid, ABC was the only channel we watched. We’d watch Doctor Who and The Goodies, my Dad would watch the 7.00 News and then the TV would go off. That changed a bit when we got older but that was my childhood.

A page of newspaper clippings from May 1972 about ABC TV programs including "Doctor Who fights rival" — My Doctor Who memories don’t go back quite as far as 1972

Jo said that was a lot of people’s childhoods!

Presenter Sabra Lane talked us through her day on the radio and explained how she works in the studio.

We saw the TV news and weather sets, where people were able to have a go presenting and reading from the teleprompter.

Barb is standing in front oe a map of Tasmania's weather holding out her arm to St Helens. She is wearing floral leggings, a black jacket and a black face mask. She has a camera in her other hand. — I’m not planning on changing careers any time soon (photo: Lil Sis)

We saw a lot of historical relics from the ABC, including the gong used to announced the beginning and end of radio programs, and the ABC plaque.

A round plaque depicting the seven stream of ABC activity with a transmission tower in the centre — The ABC plaque

According to the blurb next to the display, the ABC commissioned a plaque to put into its buildings after television was introduced into Australia. This was designed by Melbourne sculptor Andor Meszaros, who had designed the commemoration medallion for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.

The description of the plaque says it shows surround figures depicting seven program departments, with the centre motif revealing a man’s head superimposed on a transmitter tower. This symbolises the mind at work and thoughts being transmitted.

Speaking of childhood memories, we were also encouraged to take photos of ourselves with Big Ted and Jemima.

Barb is standing in front of the ABC Radio sign next to Jemima and Big TEd from PLay Schoool. — Childhood memories

Even though we didn’t learn much about the buildings, it was an interesting morning. I’d had no idea what it was like inside so appreciated the chance to walk through and find out.

Close up of a pebble-textured wall reflecting in some black windows — Taking a close look at the outside

Thanks to the ABC and Open House for putting the day together.

An old two-storey sandstone building with a human walking past — The old railway office, now part of the ABC complex

open house hobart 2023—railway roundabout fountain

4 Replies

2023 Open House posts

The Railway Roundabout Fountain

My first Open House Hobart stop on Sunday morning was the Railway Roundabout Fountain, which is located at the roundabout formerly known as the Railway Roundabout. I still call it that, even though the railway station is long gone (and is now the site of my next tour, the ABC Building).

Here’s a video of the roundabout from 1961 before the fountain was built.

A space-age looking water fountain surrounded by trees — Railway Roundabout Fountain

The Open House people had left a great history of the fountain on the site, which gave some of the context for the time in which it was built—including the Space Race—and the story behind its design.

The roundabout itself was designed to smooth the traffic flow that the intersection of Brooker Avenue and Liverpool Street. This was more difficult because of the large numbers of pedestrians in the area, travelling to and from the railway station on one side and, the swimming pool and the university campus on the Domain side.

To deal with this, they built four tunnels underneath the roads, which met in a sunken garden in the middle. We are told,

At this focal point, something bold and dramatic is needed – a monument, a structure, a statement – something that reflects the mood of change in the world, the optimism and excitement that is gathering momentum.

Looking up at a cloudy blue sky from the underside of the fountain. The spire of the fountain soars into the sky — The view from underneath the fountain

Hobart Council ran a competition to design a fountain for the space. The winning design was from three workers from the Cadbury chocolate factory: graphic designer Geoff Parr, engineer Rod Cuthbert, and advertising administrator Vere Cooper.

Chris Viney, writing the blurb for Open House describes it as follows

A slender white 12-metre needle springs upward from its base in a circular bowl at ground level, passing through a wide, shallow dish, supported by slim pillars. Jets of water shoot skyward to play on the needle, then cascade down through holes into the lower bowl, which is tiled in a mosaic design.

Sunlight forms patterns through the holes—at night, floodlights illuminate the needle and the falling water. It’s a fountain for the Space Age, an exciting, forward-looking, upward-thrusting design for the decade of change that has just begun.

A space needle design fountain lit up at night with the sunset sky in the background) — The fountain at night (Photo from 2019)

Another thing I didn’t know was how they’d designed the anemometer to stop the water spraying over passing cars and pedestrians. The original design hadn’t worked, and Rod Cuthbert said he developed his own based on one of his son’s toys.

“A weight suspended on a stainless steel wire ran through a small hole in a brass disk. When the wind moved the weight, the wire touched the disk and closed an electrical circuit, lowering the water jets.”

A close up on a fountain spire with water jets against a cloudy blue sky backgrouond — Closeup of the spire

The fountain was refurbished in 2013, with new computerised LED lighting providing 17 million colours instead of the original four. Totally appropriate for such a space-age design.

Close up image of water jets against a fountain spire, with blue sky and clouds in the background — Watching the water

I had fun exploring the different angles and moods of the fountain.

A wall of water across a blurred background of vegetation, with the rim of a fountain in the top left of the image — Underneath the fountain

Depending on where I was standing, it looked like two different days.

View looking up at the fountain with a half-cloudy, half blue sky — When you can’t make up your mind which sky to use as a background, use them both

Black and white image of a fountain sire with tall water jets against a cloudy sky — Cloud cover

A closeup of the water jets against the spire of the fountain — More of those water jets

Black and white image of water jets below a tall fountain spire — Water chaos

Thank you, Open House, for the history lesson. I’ll be paying more attention to the fountain (and the Tom Samek mosaic on the walls) next time I’m passing through.

Mural of small grey tiles alternating with lighter grey, darker grey and one red tile — The mural at the fountain

And, a random piece of trivia. The UK’s Roundabout Appreciation Society called the railway roundabout the World’s Best Roundabout in 2015.

coogee

Leave a reply

I didn’t realise until after I’d got back home from the Sydney trip that there was a companion to the Randwick Art Deco walk for the neighbouring suburb of Coogee.

That’s cool. I have somewhere new to explore next time I’m in the area.

I spent only a couple of hours in Coogee this time. It involved a walk down Coogee Bay Road, fish and chips on the beach, and the return walk up a back road that ended up in St Pauls Street in Randwick.

I was going to explore more the next day but the rain put an end to that idea.

This shop + flats on Coogee Bay Road is in the Coogee Walk. Constructed c. 1933.

Coogee Beach Rainbow Walkway (opened February 2021)

open house hobart: st pius x church

2 Replies

Open House Hobart weekend was held on 13-14 November, with a fascinating range of buildings open for tours and drop-ins.

After our visit to the Esmond Dorney-designed Tate House in Taroona, Lil Sis and I called in to St Pius X Catholic Church, also designed by Dorney, consecrated in 1957.

Phone photo of St Pius X Church from 2018

According to the flyer they handed us when we arrived, the first Mass held in Taroona was at the old public hall in 1949. Before that, residents had to travel to Mass outside the area, which was difficult as not many owned cars and petrol was still rationed.

The parish community made plans to build a church in 1949. They obtained the site from the Trustees of Sisters of Charity in 1955 and set out to raise funds. Eventually they obtained a £4000 loan, managed to raise another £1000, and looked for an architect who would taken the project. Esmond Dorney was the only one prepared to consider it.

It has features that you might associate with Dorney, most notably the curved tubular steel framing. There’s a lot of varnished plywood panels and glass. You might notice that the windows on the bush-facing side are wide and clear to allow in the views of the bush, and on the other side it’s the wood panels that are wider and the frosted glass panels are narrower. It’s an interesting twist on an otherwise symmetrical design.

Pius X Church – the non-bush facing side

In the brochure, Parish Priest Father Nichols says, “It could be argued that it doesn’t have the traditional appearance of a church building, however its shape and form provide a very fine “skin” for the assembled church to carry out its worship”.

Fittingly, in 2017 the Australian Institute of Architects awarded its award for Enduring Architecture to Esmond Dorney for his design of this church. It’s listed in the Register of the National Estate and is considered to be the first modernist church in Australia.

I’ve walked past it many times and tried to photograph it from the outside with limited success (the photo at the top!) but this is the first time I’d been inside. It’s certainly a stunning venue and I think our community is very lucky to have it.

50 in 50: week 7

Leave a reply

50 in 50: week 2

Leave a reply

This is the second week of my 50 in 50 challenge, where I use only my 50 mm lens for 50 days and post a photo a day.

open house hobart day 1 part 2

5 Replies

Part 1: Supreme Court

After our tour of the Supreme Court, Lil Sis and I had some time in town before our next tour so we rushed through three buildings in quick succession. The crypt at St David’s Cathedral, which sounded a bit grim but turned out to be a couple of small underground storerooms. At least we know what’s down there now.

St David’s Cathedral crypt

Next stop was City Hall in Macquarie Street, which is a very cool building dating back to 1915.

City Hall, Macquarie Street

Last time I was there it was full of rallying unionists. Today, it was empty. We had access to the caretaker’s cottage and the roof so there were some good views across the city and some potentially interesting photo opportunities.

City Hall, interior

City Hall, rooftop

Construction House on Bathurst Street is an awesome example of mid-20th century modernist architecture, and that was where we headed next.

Construction House

It was designed by the architects Bush Parkes Shugg and Moon and built in 1956. I recently learned it was originally their offices before the Department of Education moved in. It is known for the massive rubber plant that grows up the staircase and for the beautiful mosaic by Max Angus on the front. I also recently learned that the original building only had three levels, with the other two added later.

Staircase + rubber plant

My dentist operates out of this building, after the building that previously housed his practice at 173 Macquarie Street (also, coincidentally, designed by Bush Parkes Shugg and Moon) was demolished to make way for the Ibis hotel. I’ve never been as good at remembering to go to the dentist as I am now. I have a theory, after seeing other dentist practices in beautiful modernist buildings, that dentists operate out of lovely buildings to encourage their clients to visit regularly.

Today, thankfully, was not a dentist visit and we had access to the staircase and the rooftop, which was great because of the views and the chance to see the rubber plant all the way up.

Construction House staircase

We didn’t stay long because we had another tour booked in Bellerive and had to leave for that. This was the Jarvis House, which is one of the many sensational houses designed by Esmond Dorney. This one is from 1959.

Esmond Dorney drawings for the Jarvis House

The owner of the house, Carol, was recently featured on an ABC radio segment about the house and as I was listening to it, I was wishing I could actually see what they were talking about. Today was that opportunity.

Jarvis House

It’s a lovely house with great views (which would be much improved by removing the tree over the road . . . . ) but if you go over the road the outlook across the river to kunanyi is breathtaking.

20191109 View of kunanyi from Bellerive 5 edit

View from Bellerive across the river

It was worth the trip just for that and the house was a bonus! One interesting feature of the house is the way the ceiling actually slopes downwards towards the back of the house, which isn’t immediately obvious until someone points it out to you. (Look at the drawing!)

How gorgeous are these curves!

It’s been (sympathetically) extended over the years and Carol has been very passionate about keeping it consistent with its original form. It really is remarkable and I am very grateful that Carol was so willing to share it with us.

Jarvis House front deck

So that was our Open House morning, with much more to look forward to in the afternoon and the next day.

A day in Launceston

5 Replies

Recently I travelled to Launceston and ended up with a full day to myself. I spent the whole day walking around the city, going to museums and galleries and looking for things that caught my eye.

Here are some of the things I saw. No explanations, just photos.

20190510 Launceston 001