Walking Through History
Heritage architect Lloyd Macomber took advantage of a conference to explore the many older character buildings which are a striking feature of Tasmania’s second-largest city. And you can do it all on foot too.
The City of Launceston in Tasmania was hosting a three-day conference; an event I felt not to be missed both on a professional level and the considerable potential for photographic opportunities. Coming from Auckland in New Zealand, it was the chance to visit Tasmania for the first time and, curiously, travel south to Australia!
Firstly, I should explain what I do for a job. I’m a heritage architect which will explain the content of this ‘Photogenic Places’ feature about older character buildings; their ornate details, landscape settings and, in the case of some, neglected state.
Setting the scene – Launceston is located in central northern Tasmania and was first settled in 1806. It is Tasmania’s second-largest city, Australia’s third-oldest city and the twelfth-largest non-capital city. It sits where the North Esk and South Esk Rivers meet to become the Tamar River. Launceston is compact and its centre largely extends up the sides of a gradual bowl to the west, south and east. The current population is around 86,000.
I visited in October when there was extended daylight from before 6.00am all the way through to 9.00pm. Temperatures ranged from a brisk seven degrees Celsius to a comfortable 18 degrees. I was fortunate to have very clear days that I took full advantage of before and after the conference events. The majority of my photographs I took after sunrise, steering clear of the mid-day sun and its flattening effect on built forms which renders them either too bright or in full shade.
Equipment-wise this trip was another first for me as I decided to leave my heavy D-SLR kit at home, choosing instead to use a Fujifilm X-Pro1 mirrorless camera supplemented by the excellent Sony Cyber-shot RX10 ‘bridge’ camera. I am, like a growing number of photographers, sold on the excellent image quality and features of these lightweight and physically smaller mirrorless camera systems – perfect for the travelling photographer.
The majority of the photographs featured in this article are of subjects all located within a 30 minutes stroll of one another. As in virtually any city, the concentration of civic and commercial buildings is representative of the architectural styles and trends of the times – in the case of Launceston, the mid-to-late 1800s period.
Heading North
While there were key attractions and landmarks that I had earmarked to visit, my modus operandi prevailed and I found myself just wandering the streets in search of photo-worthy subjects.
I was looking for those shadows, patterns and textures created by the light from a waking day. Like landscapes, building offer form, texture and
infinite detail to harness in a captured image. In my photographs, I have attempted to convey a snapshot of a city proud of its built heritage.
Staying at the Grand Chancellor Hotel on Cameron Street was an excellent choice as a central base from which to set off every morning – dressed for the nippy breezes blowing across the North Esk River, and with a small camera kit bag over the shoulder. My only real plan for covering as much of the central city as possible, was to head off in different directions each morning! To the north – and within minutes of leaving the hotel – I was at the North Esk River and photographing the impressive modern University Of Tasmania hostel building across on the north bank. I thought this image was better in monochrome due to the simple forms and strong blocks of lit and unlit buildings adjacent to the calm river water.
Across the river and walking around the uot campus – in the historic Inveresk precinct – are
“From the perspective of someone who looks at and thinks about old buildings every day as a job, launceston’s city centre is a little gem.”
corrugated iron-clad tramway buildings which flank the bending North Esk. The assortment of saw-tooth roofed buildings gleaming in the 6.00am sun again lent itself to black and white, while the patchwork appearance of the corrugated iron sheathing was better represented in glorious colour.
Inside the workshops of the Tramway Museum, the low-light capabilities of the Sony RX10 successfully captured the paint shop and its brightly-coloured signs. West of the campus and tramway on Lindsay Street is the Arthouse Hostel, resplendent in ochre yellow weatherboards and rich red and white accents. Heading back to my hotel, just south of the City Park along Tamar Street is a collection of interesting buildings including the stunning Design Tasmania gallery and exhibition building by architects David Travalia and Richard Leplastrier, featuring finely-crafted wooden furniture from Tasmanian timbers, a gallery shop and an open courtyard.
Architectural Quality
To the south are many attractive examples of Victorian and Edwardian era houses and churches, located in the matrix of streets east of Prince’s Square. Of particular interest is the former Gothic Revival church on the corner of Fredrick and St John Streets. This compact, yet handsomely-proportioned masonry church exhibits all the signs of a well-worn shoe – its structure is apparently sound, but no longer able to hide the distressed and tired peeling paint and delaminated plaster.
Head south towards South Launceston and the tight weave of double-storey colonial terraces gives way to Federation-style and early 20th century buildings. On the corner of Wellington and Lithgow Streets, sits an attractive stucco house named Alwyn, positioned well back on a large plot behind pencil conifers and bright and bold plantings in the front yard. En route, I passed the fine Launceston College buildings on Paterson Street, including the four striking palm trees in the forecourt. Perhaps it was because of my automatic tendency to look at heritage buildings, I did not take much notice of the modern developments occurring in Launceston’s city centre, but there is quite a bit of activity going on. One block that clearly is destined for new things to come is the mostly vacant land between Wellington and Charles Streets east of Royal Park. Here though, my attraction was to the buildings in distress, the buildings on a lean and those missing much of their anatomy, but which offer plenty of potential as photographic subjects.
Moving into the heart of the commercial centre, I was impressed by the architectural
Being There Do you have a favourite place in Australia for photography?
We’d love to hear about it. We need between ten and 12 good quality images and around 1500 to 1200 words describing the region, the best spots for photography, how to get around and a few tips for visiting photographers (with regard to weather, seasonal changes, road conditions, available services, etc.). So, if you fancy yourself as a travel writer, here’s your chance (and, yes, you will get paid). Images can be in any form, either film or digital files, but the latter need to be of sufficient quality for magazine reproduction (i.e. at 300 dpi resolution and at least 15x20 cm in size). Please also remember to add the text file to the disc… a number of submissions have turned out to be pictures only. Send your submission to Camera Magazine, Next Media Pty Ltd, Locked Bag 5555, St. Leonards, NSW 1590. If you want to discuss a possible location, send a brief outline via email to pburrows@nextmedia.com.au
SUBMISSIONS UPDATE
For readers interested in contributing to ‘Photogenic Places’, below is a list of the locations that have been covered by articles submitted, but not yet published. Check here to avoid doubling up. As a rough guide, we’re now suggesting you concentrate on a smaller area rather than providing a regional overview, perhaps with a more detailed description of what’s available to see and photograph. • Fraser Island (Queensland) • Mungo National Park (NSW) • Murrindindi (Victoria) • Busselton (Western Australia) • Penguin Island (Western Australia) • Strahan (Tasmania)
quality, elaborate detailing and number of fine churches, commercial and civic buildings, clock towers and steeples.
To the east, the terrace houses on Cimitiere Street are iconic and stand high and proud above the road. The lush, well-kept gardens in the front yard lead the eye easily up to the strong blocks of pioneer red, silvers and greys of roofing iron with evenly-spaced brick chimneys. If fine stand-alone houses in leafy treelined streets interest you, then I can recommend the suburb of Newstead which is situated some distance from the centre, but easily reached by public transport or a car.
To the west is arguably the most famous natural attraction in the City of Launceston, the impressive Cataract Gorge. It’s a river gorge approximately 1.5 kilometres from the city centre at the lower section of the South Esk River. The First Basin on the southern side features a swimming pool, a chairlift, two cafés, a funicular railway and an open area surrounded by bushland. At the bottom of the funicular railways is a rather small cottage perched on the side of the gorge and no doubt well photographed by all who visit.
Crossing this stretch of the South Esk River is via the 1864 Kings Bridge. My time spent in the gorge was on the north track, keeping a keen eye out for photogenic compositions of trees, rock faces and water.
From the perspective of someone who looks at and thinks about old buildings every day as a job, to me Launceston’s city centre is a little gem. It is a compact city that’s so easy to walk around, and the stunning and varied examples of period architecture together with the natural backdrop of hills and rivers all add up to a successful destination, with your camera!