1. F O R T A S M A N I A T O G E T H E R
TASMANIA,
AS AN ENVIRONMENT FOR LIVING
A PLACEMAKER'S VISION
OUR OWN UNIQUE LOCALE
This island(s) and its people are unique in the world.
Uniqueness characteristics arise from individuality in
personalities and places. In fact all islands and
isolated locales are unique…..for the time being at
least. There are global pressures swamping them.
Broadly these pressures are not forced on we
Australians. Our politics allow them.
Our own uniqueness has an appeal to us and our
visitors. If our uniqueness changes it may still
appeal. The world is changing. It's really changing.
There are not only items of staggering progress. There
are horror movies right there on your TV screen.
Individuality is a critical part of life. We seek to
safeguard our uniqueness. We all love it. They all
love it.
We know we love Tasmania as a naturally bountiful
island. We love the enjoyable travel between unique
townships. We love the townships and their
hinterlands. We love the wilderness locales. The
tourists love it all too.
There is so much unique diversity in such a small
place. The unique character of our island locale is the
counter-balance of the usual mega-city. Our locale is
a place of which people may dream as they step off a
subway. This place has real value in the global
culture….value in its convenient compact country
comforts and island air so close to mega-cities and red
desert.
T A S M A N I A B E C O M E S A N
I N S I D E - O U T M E G A - C I T Y
It takes hours for people to get to work in Melbourne.
The trip from Campbell Town to most places on the
main island of Tasmania is pretty much as quick. We
note it's a lot more enjoyable.
As a base for our state-wide future we have our
natural, anthropological and colonial heritage. These
are the meaning and worth of our environment. We
have existing urban infrastructure right across the
State. We have vision.
As we would renovate a precious heritage property for
a new day, so we must renovate the urbanised
landscape of this State. The whole State is renovated
to become a city. Envisage the "City of Tasmania".
The 'botanical gardens' of the City of Tasmania are not
as usual located in an urban sprawl. The precincts of
the City of Tasmania are in fact towns and locales.
They are nestled in the 'botanical gardens', the
Tasmanian countryside. Our garden ranges through
raw wilderness, pasture and refined horticulture.
How often do the people of the east of Sydney travel
for hours to get to the west?
This inside-out mega-city, the City of Tasmania, is
designed to foster locale, home, identity and local
culture. It's for township lifestyle rather than satellite
suburbs.
The townships complement each other as precinct
components of the City. They facilitate access for
hinterland recreation and tourism. The place remains
beautiful and conveniently accessible.
Dare we rename our unique city-place to, say,
'Gondwana', or 'Island City', to commit to this new
day?
Some new small centres are built to support viability
of the City. Our existing towns, dams, universities,
wilderness, beaches etc are united into the wholistic
City of Gondwana.
Gondwana is planned wholistically, yet in the face of
corruption and folly it is no utopia. It is controlled by
a proper political order bound to give ultimate choice
to the people of its precincts, our unique locales. St
Marys and its hinterland, the National Parks,
metropolitan Launceston, Port Arthur, King Island
and so on are precincts of this ultimate mega-city.
As the City grows and refines, the precincts are
further developed. The best of their unique inherent
character and resources is conserved and honed for
optimum healthy local life. From this base agreed
developments occur so that the precinct townships
and facilities increase their mutual viabilities.
Selected industrial proposals are redirected from the
larger centres to appropriate smaller ones. This
redirection curbs urban sprawl on one hand and
fosters another locale on the other. Any other
considerations are but politic.
It may well be that some towns die. Heritage
considered, certainly the viable will flourish and new
ones will be born. Some towns are global education
facilities with few long term residents…..people
arriving and departing.
The design of Gondwana shall enable the country
youth to stay, if they wish, at home. They may work
with their childhood friends, visit their cousins, play
the traditional football match with neighbouring
regions and effect new tradition and heritage for their
locale. There is no anonymity, alienation or traffic
jams. Sprawling suburbs in Hobart and Launceston
have shrunk as the new organization encourages
some to relocate 'sea-change' style. Most towns are
rearing youth who are content and even proud of
staying learning and continuing the crafts and
specialties of home. This with TV, libraries and the
internet is quite satisfactory for them. If the
university or TAFE is more than an hour away they
have other options. This is a real world.
The population of the City easily doubles that of the
old failed frail and hopeless "regional/rural
communities" state model. Our own special cultures
run rampant, rather than dwindle and die from
centralization policies. Gondwana has limited it's
2. precinct-town growth to between 5,000 and 150,000
people depending on design and location.
The choking people from other mega-cities come here
in droves for R & R. In turn because Gondwana has
no usual mega-city resource in-house we forge
resource access relationships with Melbourne and
Sydney.
Toss in a twenty year employment project during the
coming global transition depression and the City of
Gondwana is skirted by monorail.
Gondwana has survived the World Trade Organisation
regimes by ensuring every settlement precinct has its
own potato patch. It has broadcast its fundamental
belief in "locale ahead of world trade". This has
increased its uniqueness, self esteem and visitor
appeal.
Tasmania revamped - saving our dieing towns, natural
beauty and lifestyle viabilities. A city in urban design
theory only. In reality a magic island(s) with humane
global villages.
SNAPSHOTS
POLITICS
The beginnings of the Gondwanian urban
revolution lies in the establishment of satisfactory
political and advisory bodies. It began with the
establishment of the Consolidated Tasmania
Committee. The Committee is comprised of
representatives of community groups, local
councils, regions, State and Federal interests. All
urban development and funding decisions are
considered for optimum benefit to the whole
island(s). The local communities are empowered
to refuse or propose any development they desire.
The State community must work around the
desire of individual locales. The Committee
originally set out to bolster the townships.
Gondwana was the logical outcome.
"REGIONAL/RURAL" RACISM
It took a while but eventually it was realized that
there was no such thing as a regional town.
There were small country communities
discriminated against through centralization
policy.
ROADS
Some towns and regions have opted to limit
highway design to maintain the meander of the
country.
HI-TECH MEGA-BUILDING
The Strathgorden Dam has become part of an
exceptional hi-tech, clean green, mega-structure-
town catering to 25,000 local residents and an
equal number of visitors. Vehicular access is
limited to service vehicles, trains, VWs and taxis
and this excludes ministerial cars. An air strip is
secreted in the hills.
The town is a magnificent looking thing. The
dam waters flow through the complex generating
positive ions, electricity, hydraulic power, indoor
pools and streams, hydroponic gardens and
aquariums. All vegetables, drinking water and
wines are in-house. Trout cuisine has developed
a local dialect.
There are broad floating public spaces at the dam
surface creating a vibrant interface with the mega-
building. Water skiing, fishing, boating and
swimming are close at hand. Canals and
pavilions intersperse these wharf areas.
Gondoliers dressed in thyalacine patterned coats
croon the tourists.
An hydraulic lift zips down many levels to the
valley below and a whole new rain forest suburb
thrives.
This place has become known the world over as
the "Lodge of a Last Wilderness". It's a place
people just don't want to leave. But maybe it
should be somewhere else.
GRASS ROOTS PARADISE TOWN
In this scenario the old town of Bicheno hasn't
changed all that much. It has finally taken heed
and updated some community town design work
it undertook some years ago. There's a new very
subtle and organic but spacey looking hospitality
building on Peggys Point. There's plenty of
electronics but TVs are banned in the town centre
and so are cars. There are bikes and tents
everywhere. People are welcomed to camp
properly in the heart of town. It sees many a
concert and theatre weekend drawing out
colloquial culture from the regional woodwork. An
abundance of locally endemic shrubs and trees
are protected from bitumen and trample in the
town centre.
Many children aspire to carry on the fishing
traditions.
In this scenario they are fighting to keep a small
population in the face of demand for settlement.
CHANGING ROLES
Hobart the prettiest of all and not so much a
capital but a place of established infrastructure
has firmly ceased expansion into its bushlands. It
has been remodeled to celebrate its original
landscape. The Cove escarpment has been
significantly interpreted as a sculptured
pedestrian bridge rising from the Town Hall
through the old Hydro Building and coming to
ground behind Parliament House. This occurred
only as a result of Hobart's modified role priorities
as the place of the Western beginnings. It was a
resolution of the new Gondwana urban design
politics.
GLOBAL PRESSURES
Transnational companies offering huge money to
Gondwana have had their development
applications rejected because they fly in the face
of the delicate values of locale.
M. John Latham 3.5.2000
Supporting "A Special State's Special Towns"
jbra@eisa.net.au
6265 1420
PO Box 54, Sorell 7172
