The Lucky City
Nov 17Some 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 of nature and happy accidents.
The historic buildings throughout the city remain intact largely by luck. As one of you put it, it seems they were “preserved through neglect”.
Even the delight of running into a friend unexpectedly – you can’t get enough of these unplanned get-togethers.
In our conversations, many of you recognised that these things are in some way endangered. You spoke of them as a gift that we need to protect and enhance. One of you, a 6th generation Tasmanian who has lived in many of the world’s great cities, said “We have something very rare here – something that the rest of the world wants, but has lost. We need to accept our responsibility as custodians.”
Lots of you are worried that we have relied on luck for too long. You think it’s time to appreciate what we still have, think about what we want to change, and come up with a plan to get there. Others think that Hobart is at its best when life just happens.
November 22, 2017 at 2:55 pm
CarrieMy favourite examples of unplanned Hobart are the Salamanca Market and Dark Park! Also Salamanca and Battery Point, which I am told were almost demolished in the 60s and 70s. The source that told me that argued that the reason they weren’t demolished was that there was not enough investment to follow through. That investment is now here, so we have to be careful what it does.
November 24, 2017 at 7:01 pm
melissaWhales and dolphins coming up the river. Watching birds of prey, especially grey goshawks perching on top the neighbours roof and trees. We have a wealth of wildlife on our doorsteps. Growing up in Melbourne I used to laugh at the Americans asking if we have kangaroos jumping down our streets, now I have wallabies in the front yard. That’s special. I like that I can watch the changing light on the hills across the river. I hope that development is kept limited allowing us to keep that green boundary of hills.
November 25, 2017 at 8:04 am
CarrieYes! The ruling in, when was it, the 70s? The ruling that the top 1/3 of the hillsides had to be left as bush was a great idea and an excellent example of forward planning! Our city would be nowhere near as beautiful today if we had development all the way up the hills