MT BARROW

MT BARROW FROM WINDSOR PARK

Wikipedia (the source of all such information) tells us that Mt Barrow is 22km north-east of Launceston and rises 1,413m above sea level.

 Mt Barrow also rates a mention on Dangerous Roads.org which advises one to “avoid driving in this area if unpaved mountain roads aren't your strong point. Stay away if you're scared of heights.” Well, I'm OK with heights but don't like unsealed roads, let alone one with spectacular drops off the side so I'll take their advice ...........which is a shame as the same site claims that it is “one of the most scenic drives in the world.” I have no doubt that the views are stunning as described.

The Wikipedia entry is well worth a look and (probably because history is my thing) the discussion of how it may have come by its name is particularly interesting.

Mt Barrow is so visible on the Launceston skyline, that we tend to take it for granted, but it has, over the years received attention for all sorts of things. In the 1880s for instance, there was great hope that gold deposits might be hidden in the area. The first road that went all the way to the top was built in 1940.

I'll leave it to an early Examiner article from 11 December 1909 (via TROVE) to summarize what I'm missing out on by not venturing up to the top of Mt Barrow: “The outlook from the trigonometrical station at the pinnacle of this mountain is one which on a clear day comprises a good half of Tasmania, and the panorama of mountains, valleys, plains, rivers, settlements, cultivated and uncultivated lands, coastline, distant island etc is not eclipsed by any other obtainable from a mountain top in the Commonwealth.”

(And yes, it is a “trigonometrical station” but I'll let you look that up, as I did).

ROSEVEARS HOTEL - 215 ROSEVEARS DRIVE

ROSEVEARS HOTEL

Perhaps a little unusually, this is one of the few hotels in the Launceston region that was built at the request of the government.

The land around Rosevears, a small town on the West Tamar, some 20km from Launceston, was originally known as Cimitiere Point, but as it became increasingly settled and used for pursuits such as wheat growing, sawmilling and shipbuilding, and the area on the Western side of the river developed,  facilities were needed for both locals and travellers.

William Henry Rosevears was offered a grant of 640 acres, contingent on him providing an inn on the land. The first license was granted in the 1830s.  Rosevear's first license was for "Halfway House Hotel, Point Cimitiers, but it is probable that this is the place better known as the "Rose Inn," which, in time. became the Rosevears Hotel.   Parts of the current building were constructed as early as 1854, from bricks made on the property.'

William Rosevears had a very complicated personal life - outlined  in Lois Nyman's The West Tamar People - a book I can really recommend for people who are interested in Tamar Valley history (on both sides of the river).

The hotel has recently undergone a complete transformation (see their website) but still retains a great deal of its original charm.  The location is certainly still stunning. with views up and down the river, and across to the Windermere Church (see a previous post).

WELLINGTON STREET 155-175M Dunorlan Terrace

Dunorlan Terrace, in Wellington Street was built as part of an early affordable housing scheme initiated by Henry Reed, and completed after his death.

According to the Australian Heritage Places Inventory, the building is of Italianate style, described thus: “This is a group of three terrace buildings with a hipped roof and dividing parapet walls with shared chimneys. The original verandah has been removed and replaced with a concrete walkway and steel railing. The first floor windows have segmental arched heads with a rendered voussior stone. Each terrace consists of a side hall and is a single room wide and two rooms deep”.

This particular terrace was designed with the “artesan class” in mind. At the end of May 1884, The Tasmanian reported that all but the middle residences of the eventual 14 5-roomed houses had been completed and let to “respectable tenants” at a “moderate rental.” Competition was said to be fierce.

If you look at the sold properties of local real estate agents you can see what some of them look like inside today.

WELLINGTON STREET

WELLINGTON STREET, LOOKING SOUTH

Wellington Street has been a main thoroughfare in Launceston since its earliest days.

It was one of the original fourteen streets of Launceston officially named by Lt Governor Arthur in January 1825.

The others were:  Bathurst, Charles, Elizabeth, Brisbane, Frederick, George, Cameron, Tamar, William, York, Cimitiere and Paterson.  The fourteenth street was recorded in the Tasmanian and Port Dalrymple Advertiser of 26th January 1825 as St John's Street.  Today we seem to have done away with the 's and it is simply referred to as St John Steet.

17 QUANDRANT MALL - THE INGLES BUILDING

INGLES GROCERY STORE, , THE QUADRANT MALL

The Ingles family began their grocery business in Paterson Street Launceston in 1882, after David Ingles and his family emigrated from Scotland to Launceston in 1881. A year later they moved to the Quadrant. A new shop was built next door to the existing one in 1896. Among other innovative features was electric lighting! The three storey building that still stands in The Quadrant was built in 1910, by the firm of Hinman, Wright and Manser and gives its name to nearby Ingles Lane.

There were branches of the Ingles business in both Launceston and Hobart (Elizbeth Street), and their early success was no doubt a relief as David Ingles was twice widowed, three times wed, and, according to one source, had a total of twenty one children! (His obituary in The Examiner suggests two wives and less children but it seems probably that they were not aware of family in Scotland.). There is a picture of one of the adult children, David Ingles jnr in the Launceston FamilyAlbum - a collection of photographs and stories of those that attended the 1890 Exhibition, which can be viewed on line (http://www.launcestonfamilyalbum.org.au).

A photograph of the interior of the shop taken in 1913 can be viewed on the LINC website.

David Ingles died in 1921, at which time he was living at 100 York Street. At least three of his sons who were directly involved in the business died in the 1940s. I have spoken to someone who remembers the shop still operating in the 1950s, and although I don't know when it closes, suspect it was some time during this decade.  The latest TROVE reference I can find is an advertisement for an experienced grocer, from 1954.

SWAN BAY

When the Tamar River was the highway to the Valley, many of the smaller communities were more self-contained but better known than they are today. Swan Bay, located at the widest point of the Tamar River was one such place. Located some 23 kilometres from Launceston, it is within easy commuting distance, and is sometimes even referred to as a “suburb,” although this is a bit of a stretch.

Swan Point, on the opposite side of the river was named by Matthew Flinders in 1799. I'm not sure how Swan Bay, on the East Tamar, acquired its name – perhaps simply because it is nearby or more obviously because, even today, the area has many swans!

SWAN BAY,  EAST TAMAR

The availability of timber, and easy river access led to the first industry in the area.  As early as the 1830s, ships were being built in the bay – for example the 46 ton brig Mary, built by Francis McCollin, and the schooner Look-in built in 1838. A floating dock was constructed in 1844 and towed to Launceston.

Relationships between the early settlers and the native population of the Tamar Valley were not good and there was an unfortunate encounter in 1830 when a team of three wood splitters working at Swan Bay were attacked – an old man was clubbed to death and died, another was speared but lived, as did the third man. From this distance we cannot know the antecedents to this event.

Over the years, as much of the heavily wooded land was cleared, a variety of produce was grown in the area – cherries, grapes, and of course, the once signature crop of the Tamar Valley – apples. Old packing sheds which once served Miller's Orchards can still be seen on Los Angelos Road, and fruit growing in the area is undergoing something of a resurgence.

Swan Bay State School, opened in 1912 with twenty pupils. It burnt down in 1936, when the bark and sticks for the next day's fire was left on the hearth, without the previous days embers being completely extinguished. The school was located on the Corner of George Town Road and Swan Bay Road. Roads by this name no longer exist in the area, but I would guess perhaps the old East Tamar Highway and the top end of Windermere Road might fit the bill.

A Methodist Church was built on land donated by the Coward family at 1004 Windermere Road. The church opened in 1923, and was demolished in the fifties when it was deemed to be structurally unsound. You can see photographs and more information at http://www.winderdoon.com/community/ss/SSFebruary2011.pdf

Swan Bay was a popular spot for picnics, and yacht races in the late 1800s and the early years of the twentieth century. The foreshore is silt and reeds now, but references from earlier times make mention of “the beach”.

Until recently Swan Bay has been a bit of a hidden gem, A change of council policy means that recently many of the larger blocks have been turned into subdivisions and housing development in proceeding at a rapid rate. There are other commercial plans in the wind and for better or worse (and time will tell which) Swan Bay is undergoing a period of great change.

RIVERFRONT, SWAN BAY

PITT AVENUE

Pitt Avenue, Trevallyn/Riverside, joined the list of Launceston Streets in August 1948. It came about as a renaming of a part of Cherry Road.

It is speculated that the name may have been a tribute to Hedley George Pitt, a former mayor of Launceston, but when notification of the new name was published in The Examiner it was referred to as “Colin Pitt Avenue.” Colin Pitt had been Surveyor-General and Secretary for Lands who, among other things, played an important role in the building of the West Coast Road to Queenstown.

Veulalee Avenue, which had also been part of Cherry Road came about at the same time. Rather charmingly the reason given for the two new names was for the convenience of residents and postal officials who had complained of the length of the road.” Well, I suppose that is one way to make a road shorter!

ECCLESTONE ROAD, RIVERSIDE

ECCLESTONE ROAD, RIVERSIDE

Ecclestone Road at Riverside is one of the older (and longer) roads in the Launceston area. Although it still has some challenges, the road has improved in recent years with the advent of Tasmania Zoo and residential development no doubt encouraging progress.

It has been suggested that the name of the road may have come “from Ecclestone House or vice versa, but it seems more likely to have simply been named for the place to which it led.

Ecclestone was a parish within the Dorset county of Tasmania, probably named for a parish of the same name in Lancaster, England. Governor Arthur officially proclaimed the named counties of Tasmania in 1836, but not the northern parishes. I did, however find reference to Ecclestone Parish as being within the Launceston Police District in January 1838.

William Henry Wells in his Geographic Dictionary of 1848 describes Ecclestone as”a parish of Tasmania situated in the hundred of Stanley and county of Devon; it is bounded on the N by the parish of Stanley, W by the parish of Bridgenorth, S by the river Meander and E by the S Esk river.” You can find a historic map showing its location and even the early land grants on the LIST site.

When the Launceston area was affected by floods in January 1917, the road to the west was cut at Hadspen and the nearest detour to get to anywhere further on, such as Westbury was via Ecclestone Road.  This unusually busy traffic attracted attention to the disrepair into which the road had fallen.  A correspondent to the Examiner at the time wrote: “Surely the Tourist Bureau people are not aware that one of the finest bush drives handy to Launceston is so close to them, and with a few patches here and there it would be well patronised as it is a very healthy and varied drive to Westwood this way.”

Its worth noting that Ecclestone sometimes appears without the 'e” at the end.

96 MARGARET STREET- UNITING CHURCH

UNITING CHURCH - MARGARET STREET VIEW

The first Methodist church was built on Margaret Street (near the corner with Balfour Street) in 1837. Sunday School services commenced on August 27^th of that year. 

 The building was expanded using plans by well-known architect Peter Mills in 1858. The current church, however, evolved out of the Wesleyan Sunday School built by J and T Gunn in 1889, and remodelled in 1917-18. Sunday School numbers peaked in 1906 when over 500 attended.

The impressive pipe organ was installed in 1920 (see the previous post). Also within the church is an honour roll, unveiled in 1920, listing members of the congregation who served in WW1. It contains 95 names. Further details, and a picture of the memorial can be found at:http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/70522-margaret-street-methodist-church-roll-of-honour/

I have not seen a copy, but I did find reference to a book compiled by G Iken and Lewis E Barnard commemorating the centenary of the church in 1938. Celebrations of that event extended over nine days. The Methodist Church combined with the Presbyterian Church and the Congregational Union to form the Uniting Church in June 1977.

Both buildings are now for sale...................

UNITING CHURCH BALFOUR STREET VIEW

MARGARET STREET UNITING CHURCH ORGAN

ORGAN, MARGARET STREET UNITING CHURCH

The organ in the Albert Hall is often discussed, but less well known is the impressive pipe organ in the Trinity Uniting Church, 96 Margaret Street (on the corner with Balfour Street)

If you are interested in the specifications of the organ, they are recorded in detail on the Organ Historic Trust of Australia website (ohta.org.au), along with a little of its history.

The organ was originally in the Paterson Street Wesleyan Methodist Church, where it had been installed in 1880. It was not, as one might think a sharing between the sister churches – but a purchase and donation by local businessman J H Hart in 1920, that made its installation in Margaret street possible. Considerable modifications were made during the relocation, including the addition of an electric motor! (All the details can be found in an article published in The Telegraph on September 4^th 1920). The inscription on the organ reads “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.”

In honesty, I have to confess that my brain glazes over more than a little when I read long account of the measurement and construction of pipes and suchlike (although I realize this is of great fascination for some), but I have had the great pleasure of hearing the organ played, and can vouch for its powerful resonance.

UPDATE:  The sale of the property means that it will be used as a fitness studio rather than a church, and in June 2018, it seemed likely that the organ would be purchased by the Anglican Church and installed in All Saints Church in South Hobart.

ST AILBE'S HALL, 46 MARGARET STREET

ST AILBE'S HALL

Most of us who have lived in Launceston for a while have had cause to visit St Ailbe's Hall in Margaret Street, be it for the Library Book Sale, one of the Garden Society's shows or for one of the numerous other events and exhibitions that are regularly held there. It is, therefore, somewhat embarrassing toconfess that I only just realised that there was an “i” after the a in the title!

The hall was built by the Catholic Church and was opened by the then Archbishop of Hobart, Dr W Hayden, on Sunday 22 May 1932. The cost of construction eventually totaled around five thousand pounds, most of which came from bequests from William Dargan, and Miss E. Bourke. The hall was built with the social and recreational needs of the Catholic community. H East was the architect, and H Quinn, the contractor.

Just by the by, St Ailbe was a 6^th century Irish Bishop. The English version of his name is “St Elvis”!!

ROYAL PARK - THE AB BIGGS OBSERVATORY MEMORIAL PILLAR

AB BIGGS OBSERVATORY PLAQUE

At first glance, this memorial to AB Biggs appears a little underwhelming. It should however, be remembered that it was erected in the depths of the depression, and non-commercial societies are rarely flush with funds at the best of time .

It would make great addition to a history-themed scavenger hunt (collecting photos of course, not the actual objects), as its existance is not widely known. I am ashamed to say I must have walked past it countless times without really noticing its significance. (In my defence I did have a very badly behaved dog in tow but still.....) I'll give you a clue – its quite near to the croquet club. (Yes, Launceston does have one, in fact more than one, but that's a story for another post). However lest I complete this entire post with bracketed afterthoughts I'll get to it and add this extract from The Examiner of the 19^th September 1935:

"Many years ago, long before this park was thrown open to the public, on the place where we now are there stood a little octagonal building," said Mr. Meston. (Meston was president of the Northern Branch of the Royal Society, the Governor, who was the state president was prevented from attending due to ill-health)."So insignificant was it that to many it seemed but a kind of shed. This was the observatory of Mr. A. B. Biggs, F.R.S. Here and in the little building adjacent, a transit house presented to him by the American Astronomical Expedition which visited Tasmania in 1874, he carried out his observations. The scope and accuracy of his work soon brought him international repute, and his name was widely known in astronomical circles throughout the world. Many of his observations were published in the "Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania," to which from 1884 onwards he was a frequent contributor. One of his labours was to calculate the latitude and the longitude of Launceston. This he did with the care and exactitude which is characteristic of all his work. At his death in 1900 the observatory and transit house were demolished, and nothing was left to mark the sites. If the official latitude and longitude of Launceston are to have any value or meaning, it is essential to know the exact position where the calculations were made. The erection of this memorial pillar, therefore, has a very definite scientific value, for it marks the site of the observatory.”

The “AB” in the Biggs stands for Alfred Barrett. Quite apart from his work as an amateur astronomer(its hard to imagine any paid positions being available in Launceston at the time), Biggs was a teacher, bank officer, member of the Royal Society, actively involved in the Mechanics Institute and the choir master at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church. One could easily add “among other things” for Biggs seems to have had a varied and very productive life and displayed an interest in many aspects of science including seismology and telephony. There are many online referencesto AB Biggs, if you'd like to know more about him, and there is also an interesting  book by Margaret Giordano called Watcher of the Night Skies  which is a very well-written and interesting account of his life