Author Archive

Many of our interviews were with people who had come here from the mainland or other parts of the world. For each of them, Hobart solved a problem. For philosopher and author John Armstrong, who had come here from London...

In the film The Hunter, a villain refers to the thylacine as “the rarest, most elusive creature on the planet.” When we asked, you told us that the last known thylacine died in captivity at Beaumaris Zoo in 1936. Yet in...

Some of the things you love most about Hobart were never planned. The view from the top of kunanyi / Mount Wellington. ‘Sammy’, the seal that that hangs out on rocks around the waterfront. The weather.  We're surrounded by flukes...

One of our interviewees had planned a party in a park with a group of friends who only knew one another online. They thought it would be valuable to connect in person. “We tried to make a booking, but had...

Many of you use a similar phrase to describe the architectural uniqueness of Hobart. It went something like this: “I heard this is the best-preserved Georgian city in the world.” We could not verify this, but Bath and a few...

In our interviews, we heard of lucrative job offers on the mainland. Many of you have been tempted by the bright lights of bigger cities, with promises of career progression, generous pay rises and annual bonuses. You told us that,...

In our interviews you talked a lot about walking. Even the most committed car commuters among you long for a good walk, whether it’s on the waterfront, through the CBD, up or down the Rivulet Trail, or in the bush...

Some of you like to say it takes twenty years to be accepted here. It does hint at the uniqueness of the city and its culture. Others ask, “Can we please stop saying that?” As we lure talented people and...

Most of you think tourism is great for Hobart. You like what tourists add to our culture and you enjoy the money they bring into the state. Directly or indirectly, we all benefit from it. But again and again, we...

At a BBQ or dinner party, when Hobartians meet for the first time, you play the name game. It doesn’t take long to find out how you’re connected. In our interviews, you spoke of this with delight. It’s unusual for...

Every good company has a founding mythology. A lot of people in Hobart know Bill Lark’s story. He was fishing with his wife and friends in the late 1980s, drinking whisky, when it hit him. Why wasn’t anyone making whisky...

Many of you spoke of a difficult time in Hobart, when large employers were leaving the island, consolidating, shrinking, or closing altogether. Many of you, or your parents, had imagined a “job for life” and the shift in the global...

In the late 1950s, it seemed convenient to tear down those trashy old buildings at Salamanca. Many of you talked about it: what nearly happened. You spoke of how Battery Point was nearly razed to build something more modern and...

You’ve just visited Beijing or Melbourne or London or Paris. It’s been wonderful but as your flight home nears its end, you see the long stretch of sand at Seven Mile Beach from the air, and you begin anticipating something....

This is an unusually good place to grow food. Our conversations with you took place in the spring, and you were often coming from or going to a session in your garden. From farmer’s markets to local grocers, it’s easy...

One of you summed up the unpretentious culture of Hobart perfectly: “It’s not what you wear or the car you drive when you go into the bush. It’s the rock you climb.” When you choose Hobart, you sacrifice a life...

Not everyone gets the facts right, when they tell the story. What they do know is on a terrible day in 1975 a freighter hit the Tasman Bridge. Large sections of it fell away and twelve people died. There was...

In every interview, we asked what you are most proud of. We asked what you would miss the most if you were forced to leave this place. Your answers varied. Some of us love that in the Sydney to Hobart...

Londoners, Parisians, Canberrians: inhabitants of a city generally create a common name for themselves, an easy tag. It’s an expression of pride and personality. When we hear the word Melbournian an image immediately pops into our minds. Obviously, we are...

A handful of cities attract most of the world’s attention. Some are old, some are relatively new, but they’re all massive. They’re intensely competitive. They’re people magnets and money machines. One common theme we heard from you, whether you were...