10 minute read

Hobart Happenings

Next Article
Science

Science

CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS!

The Frank Hurley Photography Awards is an international competition to find the best in new photography. It honours the spirit and adventurous career of James Francis ‘Frank’ Hurley, OBE, best known for his Antarctic work with Douglas Mawson and Ernest Shackleton. The awards are presented by the Mawson’s Huts Foundation, of which David Jensen, AM is chairperson. “Frank Hurley was no stranger to Hobart, spending time here capturing images of the town before and after his two voyages to Antarctica with Mawson in 1911-13 and 1929-31,” David said. “His images of the Douglas Mawson’s ship the “Aurora” departing Hobart on December 2, 1911 and of members of Australasian Antarctic Expedition work on the waterfront are in the national archives and the Mitchell Library in Sydney.”

Advertisement

By all accounts, Hurley made himself at home here in Hobart. “While Mawson used Hadley’s Hotel as his office, Hurley and other members of the expedition found accommodation elsewhere in Hobart and were very popular guests of the local community,” David shared. “Prior to the departure, Hurley spent days

photographing the city including views from Mt Wellington and of the team working on packing supplies on Queens Wharf which sadly burnt down years later. It’s hoped many Tasmanians will enter the Frank Hurley photo awards and help honour this great Australian.” www.frankhurleyphotoawards.com

HIKE YOUR WAY TO HAPPINESS

Tasmanian Iconic Walks is gearing up for their third wilderness bush walking event in Tasmania, on 7 November 2020. After some concerns about what COVID-19 would do to the chances of running the event, the organisers have been celebrating the recent green light to hold the fundraising event on the beautiful Tasman Peninsula. In teams of four, walkers will traverse the Tasman Arch to Fortescue Bay trail, while raising money for Stroke Foundation (their charity of choice). Registrations open early this month, so it’s time to get fit, and get ready to take part in TIW’s award-winning fundraising hike. Sign up to their early bird email series at www.tasmanianiconicwalks.org

POKIE LOSSES SPIKE

The Department of Treasury and Finance recently posted the figures for the days gaming venues were open in June once restrictions were lifted, from the 26 - 30 June. In five days, more than $2.6 million was put through the machines, about $525,000 a day. Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb shared, “With even with fewer machines operating due to social distancing, this was a spike of more than 25% per day compared to March this year.”

RIVULET RUBBISH

A few readers have told us of their concern about the amount of rubbish lining the Hobart Rivulet since the big downpour in June. The stretch from Cascade Brewery down to Hamlet Cafe is particularly bad. Let’s hope the poor ducks don’t get confused and choke on some plastic.

CHANGES TO UNDERAGE STRIP SEARCH RULES

New recommendations about the potentially traumatic practice of stripsearching (or ‘personal searching’) children at reception prisons in Tasmania were put forward by the Commissioner for Children and Young People last year. “The Government has accepted, or accepted in principle, all of the Children’s Commissioners recommendations in relation to personal searches,” the Attorney-General, Elise Archer, shared with us. “The Tasmanian Government will consult on draft legislation later this year which will address the recommendations by the Children’s Commissioner.” We’re told they will remain committed to implementing any measures that will ensure the dignity and self-respect of children and young people in the custodial process, which is a step in the right direction.

ABSEIL THE EDGE IN 2020

The EDGE abseil is on again at Wrest Point on 6 September, for Father’s Day, fittingly named EDGE – Do it for Dad 2020. Participants scale 60m down Wrest Point tower to raise funds for the RHH Research Foundation. To register to abseil or donate to local medical research email research@rhhresearchfoundation.org

SPONSOR THE DERWENT SCORPIONS TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS!

You might remember back in September last year we featured two local Glenorchy cricketers, Shaun and Zac. They had faced a bit of adversity and through it all managed to put together a cracking cricket team packed with international players. They were even featured in an SBS documentary last year, exploring their story of hardship and inclusiveness. They’re on the lookout for a sponsor to help them with their entry fee to the ICSL T20 cricket competition starting in October. For a $1000 investment, there’s some fun benefits like entry to games, invitations to club functions and a guernsey. We’ll also cover the sponsorship story in a future issue, for a little extra incentive. “We’ve had many players in our squad from all different backgrounds, people who are disadvantaged, suffering from mental illness and homelessness, as well as people who have never been accepted into cricket teams nor given the chance they’ve deserved. Over the years we have taken them in under our wings,” Shaun shared. Let’s get behind the Derwent Scorpions! Email Steph at editor@thehobartmagazine. com.au for more details.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS BACK IN BUSINESS

The work of Hobart charity, Dress For Success has never been more important, as unemployment grows in the wake of COVID-19. Their aim is to empower women to achieve economic independence, they’ve been offering support with CVs and work-ready outfits since they opened in November 2019. “Dealing with a global pandemic in the first six months of operating wasn’t exactly in our business plan,” said General Manager, Amanda French. “We’re seeing a whole different group of women experiencing unemployment like never before. We are prepared to see women come through our doors in the coming months that may never have experienced unemployment before, but have now lost their job due to industry shut downs and the impact that COVID-19 has had on different businesses,” she said. If you need support, or have quality work clothes to donate, head to www.hobart.dressforsuccess.org.

RETREAT AGAIN TO THE HAVEN

Parents rejoice, The Haven is open again now with new hours, from 10am - 12 midday on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The volunteer-run family havens in both Hobart (121 Macquarie St) and Launceston (11-13 Wellington St) are a spot where parents can feed a baby, change poo explosion, make a cup of tea and meet other parents. All families and carers are welcome at The Haven and entry is $2 per family. You can also stay in touch via Virtual Haven, with talks, workshops and social Zoom catch ups for parents and storytelling and making sessions for kids.

A NEW ONLINE HOME FOR THE HOBART MAGAZINE

We’re excited to share our new website with you! Launched in June, the new website features more stories, more local news and more ways to engage with other readers and the community. You can sign up to our newsletter and take a look at all our past issues, dating back to our launch issue from May 2018. We love hearing from our readers and are always keen to listen your feedback and story suggestions. Check out our new online home at www.thehobartmagazine.com.au.

Apply now to join the first all-girls Kinder class at St Mary’s College

Book now for a personal tour online at www.smc.tas.edu.au/ kindergarten or contact Enrolment Officer, Fiona Medwin at enrol@smc.tas.edu.au or (03) 6108 2560. From their first visit, we encourage our students to connect, wonder, create, explore and discover. The Kinder program at St Mary’s College is designed to nurture and provide opportunities to build confidence, independence and to grow their love of learning.

When it’s girls-only, girls get every opportunity.

BRIDGING THE DESIGN GAP

Potential designs for the $576m Bridgewater Bridge have been released, with two options on the table for now. Some are questioning the omission of options for rail and the merit of removing the old bridge vs leaving it there. The first option is for a new two-lane bridge to be built and the replacement of the existing bridge with a new bridge, providing two lanes in each direction. The second option would see a new four-lane bridge built, with two lanes in each direction.

Option 1

Option 2

FROM POACHING TO COACHING: SHFC REBOUNDS

In the off-season South Hobart Football Club lost players to rival clubs. Club president, Victoria Morton sees it as an opportunity for growth and a chance for fans to get behind their club as they vie for the winter titles.

We heard the Glenorchy Knights and Olympia FC Warriors poached players.

Was it tough to see them go? Nearly every player in Tasmania is an amateur. They’re free to leave a club and can’t be held for more than 7 days. So whilst we’re disappointed players from our club left, they’re free to do so but it was very tough to see them leave. They had been an integral part of our club and had given fabulous service for many years. There’s a certain sense of pride in looking round many Southern clubs and seeing South Hobart FC Academy graduates take to the field. It shows that our youth development programs are doing what we set out to achieve - to create great young football players. There’s a growing conversation at National level regarding a fair commercial transfer system. This would reward clubs like mine who develop young players with a transfer fee. Clubs who put an emphasis on player development would receive a fee for the movement of their home grown players. This fee could then be invested back into the 10 home club to improve our academy even further. This system is used world wide and would make sense in the Australian football ecosystem.

What opportunities has the exit created at South Hobart Football Club?

Our players leaving provided many opportunities for our talented and ambitious players to step up and play senior football. There’s strong competition for places and this is healthy at a football club. I might add that five female Academy graduates played in the top tier of women’s football last weekend too.

Does this fire up the rivalry between

the clubs? Rivalry is great for football. We’ve had a particular rivalry with Olympia for years and that has created an exciting atmosphere for both sets of supporters. That is what football is all about, passion and support. Football is nothing without supporters.

What role does your academy play in

the success of SHFC? The Academy is essential for the growth of our club and even during the pandemic our numbers have soared. Our code of football is bottom up funded, therefore we need to be completely self sufficient as we pay our governing bodies and not the other way round. Football doesn’t attract large broadcast rights either, so funds are always tight. Our sponsors are marvellous but, especially in this post COVID world, will be very hard to sustain. Our Academy has become the major focus of our club. It provides a stream of talented youngsters who wish to train and play at the highest level possible. National Premier League clubs are now forging ahead with their own academies and this is the norm rather than the exception. What is lacking in Tasmania are pathways for our talented players. We need our own national representation in the A-League and W-League. Whilst the Academy is thriving it must not be forgotten that a very small percentage of players make it at the professional level. The emphasis at our Academy is that those who attend are nice people first and fabulous, footballers second. Community first!

Women’s Super League kicks off

This article is from: