Yesterday was the 2nd day of Open House Hobart, when a wide range of government and commercial buildings and private homes are open for inspection. We chose the Dorney house, which sits all alone in the bush on Porters Hill. Interior photos from its heyday can be seen here.
The site was chosen for a concrete defensive fort in 1910. The house (and its two predecessors which both were lost to bushfires) was built on top of the obsolete fort. This third house dates to 1979. Esmond Dorney was an eminent architect, and he built the house for his own family. His son Paddy, also an architect, was there yesterday speaking about the house and answering questions.
Paddy said that the original fort had 6" guns, while the Dreadnought-class battleships which were the norm in all major navies by the time the fort was completed had 9" or 10" guns. One of those ships could moor out of range of the fort and bombard Hobart in perfect safety; so the fort was obsolete from the outset.
The river view sweeps from Bruny Island all the way around to the city of Hobart, about 200°, then across mostly vacant bush from there back around to Bruny.
The site was chosen for a concrete defensive fort in 1910. The house (and its two predecessors which both were lost to bushfires) was built on top of the obsolete fort. This third house dates to 1979. Esmond Dorney was an eminent architect, and he built the house for his own family. His son Paddy, also an architect, was there yesterday speaking about the house and answering questions.
Paddy said that the original fort had 6" guns, while the Dreadnought-class battleships which were the norm in all major navies by the time the fort was completed had 9" or 10" guns. One of those ships could moor out of range of the fort and bombard Hobart in perfect safety; so the fort was obsolete from the outset.
The river view sweeps from Bruny Island all the way around to the city of Hobart, about 200°, then across mostly vacant bush from there back around to Bruny.
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| That's Michael 3rd from right |
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| Photo: Campbell Ship, borrowed from here |
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