2017 Chess Nationals, Melbourne

In September, Marcus came third at the Tasmanian state finals in the secondary section, a terrific result. He was then specially invited to the nationals - his Taroona High team were well outside the top 5 teams that qualified.

So at the end of November he and I went off to Melbourne for two nights. We stayed at the competition venue, Queens College. It's one of Melbourne Uni's residential colleges.

He had a great first day, winning 3 of his four games which put him in equal 6th. The next day was much tougher, and he won one of his three games, to finish equal 16th. He has two more years in this age group.

He has definitely come home determined to play more chess and study to improve his skills.

Here are some pics from in and around the college, the university, Carlton and Parkville.

The senior kids are mostly private school.
Marcus always stands out at these things in his red Taroona gear.

On day two while Marcus played I strolled through the nearby Melbourne Cemetery's Jewish section.

At the airport someone had left this impressive leather helmet atop a bin near departures.

Houses on hills, inner suburbs of Hobart

Davenport St, Glebe

Knocklofty Terrace, West Hobart (closed to vehicles)

Lillie St, Glebe

Lynton Ave, South Hobart

Lynton Ave, South Hobart

Mellifont St, West Hobart

Molle St, West Hobart

Molle St, West Hobart

Nevin St, South Hobart

Union St, North Hobart

Pilgrimage to the big smoke part 3: Tigerland

I wrote about my footy-centric trip to Melbourne in September.

Part 3 is here at TTBB - Tigerland.

Pilgrimage to the big smoke part 2: Glenferrie Oval

I wrote about my footy-centric trip to Melbourne in September.

Part 2 is here at TTBB - Glenferrie Oval.

Pilgrimage to the big smoke part 1: VFL grounds

I wrote about my footy-centric trip to Melbourne in September.

Part 1 is here at TTBB - Fitzroy and Footscray.

Ruins of The Grove, Glenorchy

Marcus played soccer at Grove Road, Glenorchy yesterday. He needs to arrive 45 minutes before kickoff, and my usual drill is to walk around the neighbourhood for most of that time and arrive warmed up and ready to run up and down as a linesman or just sit and watch with a little bit of circulation going.

On my walk yesterday I went down a random side-street and found this ruin. It's on the property of McKay Timber. I have since looked it up, and its a massive block of land, 27 acres, dotted with stacks of drying timber. The white building in the background is a timber kiln I think.

Still from the above StreetView

So after a quick bit of digging this morning I found this note from the Glenorchy Planning Authority. They had asked the owner for consent to add it to the heritage list, and they had refused.

The ruins are in a bare setting with timber yards to the west. The former house is clearly visible from the end of McKay Street. The house was built by Captain John Briggs in c.1840 and later acquired by Stephen Wright in 1868. Under the Wright family The Grove became an iconic Glenorchy property with a large orchard and extensive hop grounds which provided seasonal employment for local residents. By 1890 the Wright’s were the colony’s largest fruit growers. By 1933 the Wright’s glory days had been eclipsed and the house and fine gardens were subsequently abandoned. The property became part of a timber yard after World War 2 and the dilapidated house was subsequently destroyed in a fire in c.1992.

I could tell by the ornate arch that this was probably a residential building and had been built with a lot of care, but I would have guessed 1890s.

This photo is from the excellent and moving blog post about the house, by Warren Dent.

I took the photos below with my crappy phone; these will have to do until I get back there with a proper camera. McKay's planned to demolish the ruin after the fire in 1992, but their permission expired before they accomplished this. I assume they are now just waiting for the weeds and weather to do it for them. GPA would like to to a survey and explore the area to learn more about the orchard and the family who were such a prominent part of early Glenorchy – I hope that before it's too late the current landowners choose to cooperate.

This corner of Glenorchy now a mix of residential and warehouses. Very quiet on a Saturday. There is early-spring snow on Mt Wellington.

Looking back towards Grove Rd, and beyond it the Brooker Highway and Montrose Bay. The old house's upper storey would have had pleasant water views over the orchard.

This neighbouring warehouse takes a stern view of… something.

Entropy by Anon [timber sleeper chunks, car body, 2017]

Mountain history, hairdressers

I was just searching through some local history and came across this nugget about huts on Mount Wellington.

The original Blue Bell Hut was built in 1891 (Cornish photo text 11) and was rebuilt in 1898 by a group of hairdressers, including Messers Salter & Abbott. This second hut burnt down soon after completion. Forest Hut 1 was built on the site of the Blue Bell Huts. There is however a major inconsistency…

I am imagining Messrs Salter and Abbott and their colleagues working hard all morning then breaking for lunch, and perhaps listening to some Beyoncé on the portable gramophone.

[Image above of another similar hut is courtesy of http://www.mtwellingtonhistory.com/]

Hame hooks

I was snuffling around a site I visit every now and then, OzWrenches, when I came across their "modest collections of Horse Hame Hooks". (Hame hooks are a part if a working horse harness; a pair of metal strips which take the full force of the pull, padded by the horse collar.)

This "modest" collection includes 74 different hooks. Even the "hooks with kangaroos on them" department has 13 examples. Here they are, with one or two non-macropod designs. Thank you OzWrenches for everything you do.