The largest demolition in Tasmanian history - 10 Murray Street Government Offices, Hobart. The mid 20th century offices were a Modernist landmark on the Hobart skyline and were demolished in 2018. I documented 10 Murray Street over a period of 10 years so that there is a record of this important design for posterity. I documented the demolition process too - as this forms an important part of the process of documentary photography and telling the story of the history of 10 Murray Street Government Offices. Check out the ongoing project on my website https://www.tryanphotos.com/10-murray-street-tasmania-cover
Dirk Bolt
Documenting for Posterity - Today is Tomorrow’s History
in Government
*The term ‘Modernism’ throughout the article refers to the period of design occurring approximately between 1930-1980 in Tasmania. This period will be referred to as Modernism in the article.
Over the past decade the built landscape that is Tasmanian 20th Century Modernism has changed. Designs from this period have been altered beyond original recognition or demolished completely. Of course, there are many examples that remain and some that have been sympathetically renovated too. Going through my archives and of late being out in the field documenting Tasmanian Modernism I have witnessed dramatic changes to the built landscape, with only photographs as a visual reminder of what once was. Change is constant, and it motivates me to carry on documenting our built environment.
10 Murray Street Government Offices, Hobart. The offices opened in 1969 and were demolished in 2017/2018. In my period of time documenting Tasmanian Modernism a lot has changed. I spent over a decade photographing 10 Murray Street, documenting the entire process of its life. View the project gallery of 10 Murray Street here
The period of Modernism in Tasmania (especially the Post War years) witnessed a dramatic scale of building activity that has left Tasmania with a rich diversity of architecture from the Modernist period. This period cemented the very foundations of a confident and forward looking Island State, with the result that every corner of the island was affected in some way by Modernism. This era, and the late 1800s Victorian boom period, represent some of the greatest rates of change that's happened in Tasmania, and not witnessed on those scales since. During the Victorian period cities such as Launceston that were predominantly Georgian streetscapes were dramatically altered by demolition of many of these buildings for ostentatious Victorian architecture. Similarly some 50 years later these buildings were demolished for new Modernist designs, as well as alterations to existing buildings. This was a popular method of redevelopment whereby the older facades of buildings were demolished and newer designs attached. Especially during the interwar and post-war period, remodelling a building would have provided a cheaper way of modernising than demolishing and starting again. I find this kind of remodelling fascinating as it offers the chance to look at the layers of history, to see how a building has changed over the years, a kind of architectural archaeology.
Housing Department Estate, Risdon Vale Hobart - circa late 1950s/early 1960s. The period of Modernism in Tasmania witnessed a dramatic scale of building activity (especially State Government housing) leaving Tasmania with a rich diversity of architecture from the Modernist period. Photographic source: Tasmania Archive and Heritage Office
Fast forward to 2019 and Modernism isn't so young anymore. Art Deco architecture is now the elderly, edging ever closer to 100, whilst buildings from the 1970s are in their middle age - not having been around long enough to be looked back upon with nostalgia whilst not new enough to be considered relevant to today's needs. I guess it takes time for styles to gain an appreciation, or become fashionable and desirable. In the 1990s Art Deco wasn't admired as much as it is today, grand buildings were altered or demolished without a second thought. A decade ago, wood panelling and use of timber veneers were not popular, but the use of these materials is now a common sight and in vogue again today.
I enjoy the journey of documenting Tasmanian 20th Century Modernism through photography and research, but also enjoy the process of documenting contemporary architecture, the here and now as well as how cities, towns and the rural landscape of Tasmania is constantly changing. Photographs provide a portal into how a place and space looked at a particular point in time and, in doing so, represent trends/fashions/social norms of a time.
I like to think of myself as a documentary photographer for the built environment, preserving the past through photographs that hopefully convey a sense of feeling and emotion, more than just a snapshot. Transforming the seemingly everyday mundane into a powerful visual story. I also love capturing Modernism beyond the dramatic shots and exploring those more abstract photographic moments - such as how light and shadow interplay and interfuse with a subject, or how the use of materials evoke a sense of a bygone era.
Existing archive photographs photographs and the photographers who made it their life’s work to document the world around them provide visual reminders of the past, and how things have changed or been altered over time. I hope that I'll be able to look back on my photographs I've made knowing I've in some way contributed to preserving the built environment.
Suburbs in Tasmania developed rapidly after the War. With this housing boom came with it commercial businesses the sprung up. Corner stores, as pictured above, were a central part of the suburbs. The corner store is an example of how dramatically things have changed since the 1960s, with many having since been abandoned, redeveloped or demolished. Photographic source: Tasmania Archive and Heritage Office
I can’t bring a building back that's been demolished, but through photography I can freeze a point in time so that there is a record forever. Being out and about making photographs for the Tasmanian 20th Century Modernism Project offers great satisfaction and reinforces the realisation that we are but specs in time. The important thing for me as a photographer is to document this change so that there is a record of the past for posterity.
In future Tasmanian 20th Century blog posts I’ll be sharing photos and stories of the designs from this period that have been altered, or demolished.
Tasmanian 20th Century Modernism project website and social media:
Website www.tryanphotos.com/tasmanian-modernism
Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/tasmanianmodernism/
Instagram www.instagram.com/tasmanianmodernism