History of Hobart - Late 20th Century

Late 20th Century

Although post-war Hobart was a thriving small city with a growing population and good combination of industry and primary agriculture, the city was largely confined to the western banks of the Derwent River.

The first plans for a bridge across the Derwent River had been made in 1832, but the width and depth of the river, combined with the powerful currents, proved to be too much of a deterrent for then current construction materials and techniques. A solution was hit upon to create a pontoon bridge, and in 1943, the Hobart Bridge was opened, spanning the Derwent River for the first time. To deal with the perceived problem of upriver shipping access, a lifting span was added near the western landing that allowed quite large vessels to pass through.

The Hobart Bridge had created the desired expansion of residential development on the eastern shore of the river, but by the mid-1950s, the population of the eastern shore, as it soon became commonly known, was so great that massive traffic congestion problems plagued the bridge. Stormy weather also created severe hazards on the water level roadway, with large waves sometimes sweeping over the roofs of vehicles.

By the late 1950s, it was realised a larger capacity bridge was needed. Construction on the much larger concrete arch Tasman Bridge began in May 1960, and was completed on 18 August 1964 at a total cost of £7 million. The bridge was originally four lanes, and expanded access to the eastern shore dramatically.

The 1950s brought an increased sense of mobility amongst Australians, both socially and geographically. Tourism was on the increase in Tasmania, and the state government invested £2,000,000 in the early 1950s for the construction of the 4700 ton Princess of Tasmania. Built in 1958, she was the first of a line of drive on ferries to cross the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Devonport that allowed tourists to travel by car from mainland Australia to Tasmania. Despite the popularity of the ferry service, it was already clear that aviation was the future of travel. In 1956 Lanherne Airport (now known as Hobart International Airport) was opened 20 km to the east of Hobart, and immediately created an increase in the number of tourists visiting the city.

The Hobart Metropolitan Tramways reached a peak in popularity in the 1930s and 40s, but by 1960 increased pressure from private car ownership and petrol-powered buses led to economic trouble for both passenger rail and the Hobart Tramways.

The final straw for the Tramways came on 29 April 1960 when a number 131 tram was struck by a lorry near the intersection of Elizabeth and Warrick Streets. The brakes failed as a result of the collision and the tram began to roll backwards down the step gradient of Elizabeth Street during evening peak hour traffic. Despite being dazed by the collision, and rather than secure his own safety by jumping clear, tram conductor Raymond Donoghue guided the remaining passengers to the front of the vehicle as it was rolling backwards, and warned motorists by continuing to ring the tram's bells and desperately trying to operate the emergency hand brakes to no avail. It is estimated that the tram built up a speed of 40 to 50 miles per hour (64 to 80 km/ph). The tram collided with the front of the following number 137 tram, killing Donoghue instantly. He remained vigilantly at his post throughout the disaster and in his heroism, he saved the lives of all of the passengers aboard, although 40 people were injured. Raymond Donoghue was awarded the George Cross posthumously for his actions.

As a result of the accident and the economic questions, Hobart's trams were abandoned that year in favour of the Metropolitan Transport Trust's fleet of petrol driven buses. Most of the fleet of trams were sold off for scrap metal, although some were placed into storage, and the early 21st century saw calls for the restoration of a tram service, possibly as a reduced tourism service along the Hobart waterfront.

1967 proved to be a disastrous year for the city of Hobart. On 7 February 1967, a combination of high winds, a heat wave, ill conceived back-burning and deliberate arson led to the worst outbreak of urban bushfire in Hobart's recorded history. The fires, which came to be known as 'Black Tuesday', swept down both shores of the Derwent River, driven by high winds, and destroyed countless homes and other property. 52 people were killed in the Hobart area alone, and 10 in other parts of the state. Until the disastrous Black Saturday 2009 fires in Victoria, the 1967 Tasmanian bushfires represented Australia's greatest loss of life on a single day outside of wartime.

The tourism boom continued throughout the 1960s, and prompted local hotelier Greg Farrell, head of Federal Hotels group and owner of the Riviera Hotel in Lower Sandy Bay to lobby the State government to allow the construction of Australia's first legal Casino.

The issue divided locals and politicians alike, and a referendum was called in 1968. With a 58% majority, the referendum was passed, and construction began on what was to become an icon of the Hobart waterfront, the 17 story octagonal tower of the Wrest Point Hotel Casino. It opened in 1973 amid much fanfare and was soon leading another tourism boom with gamblers and celebrities visiting from throughout the world.

Despite the double boom in tourism in the 1950s and 1960s, Tasmania's geographic isolation deterred the craved foreign investment in industry that was needed to stimulate the economy, and the government was constantly dealing with economic fluctuations. Hobart went through short periods of building booms, followed by longer stagnations, a cycle that continued into the 1990s.

On Sunday 5 January 1975, a disaster occurred in Hobart when the handyweight bulk ore carrier MV Lake Illawarra collided with the Tasman Bridge in what would later be referred to as the Tasman Bridge disaster. The ship crashed into pylon 19, and then bounced across to strike pylon 18, knocking both pylons down, and also causing a 127-metre section of steel and concrete roadway to collapse onto the deck of the ship. The Illawarra sank, killing seven crew, and five motorists were killed when they drove off the gap, plunging into the river below.

Whilst many ferry services were launched to try and aid commuters stranded by the disaster, others had to endure a 20 km round trip to the temporary bridge that was constructed near Risdon Cove. Although it isolated many city workers, the disaster had a positive effect in that it encouraged a boom in the establishment of local commercial services on the eastern shore in places such as Rosny Park.

The disaster prompted the development of a second major crossing of the Derwent River near the location of the temporary Bailey Bridge at Risdon Cove, 10 km to the north of the Tasman Bridge. With Federal Government funding, the $49 million Bowen Bridge was opened on 23 February 1984 by newly elected Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The Bridge was named after Lieutenant John Bowen who had established the first British settlement at Risdon Cove in 1803, approximately 500 metres from the eastern landing of the new bridge.

The Tasman Bridge was eventually repaired, which took over two years and cost an additional $44 million. Many additional safety features, such as navigation aids, were added, and the opportunity was taken to expand the capacity to five lanes. The fifth lane is a central reversible lane that follows am and pm peak hour crossing times.

One of the largest building projects in Hobart for many years was completed in 1987 when the unpopular waterfront Hobart Sheraton Hotel (now the Grand Chancellor) was opened. Taking over two years in its construction and built on a site in the docks area, its rooms have exceptional views of Sullivans Cove and the Derwent River, but the hotel's construction was extremely unpopular with residences and commercial businesses immediately to the north who had previously enjoyed similar views, now obscured by the hotel's construction. The hotel's builders were also criticised for not sourcing enough of the sandstone coloured bricks that were meant to complement Hobart's colonial waterfront heritage. When the bricks ran out early in construction, they had to complete the project with a pinker shade of bricks that many people disliked. The construction of the Hobart Sheraton broke Wrest Point Hotel Casino's monopoly on the 4–5 star demographic.

The 1990s was a decade of substantial change for Hobart. Although a nation-wide recession brought high levels of unemployment and a lowering rate of home ownership, a profound shift in the political landscape followed on from the 1989 state government election. The conservative Liberal government of Robin Gray had sought a third term in office, but had dramatically underestimated the widespread opposition to the construction of another paper pulp mill within the state, and the growing groundswell of support for the Tasmanian Greens party. In what was the worst outbreak of bushfires in the 1990s, 6 houses and over 3,000 hectares of land in the Hobart area were destroyed by fire on 17 January 1998.

In what was one of the largest projects to go ahead in the late 1990s, a partnership between the Hotel Grand Chancellor, the Australian Commonwealth government and the Tasmanian Government created a permanent home for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra when the 1,100 seat Federation Concert Hall was opened on 4 September 2002. The hall's design sparked controversy due to its polished brass exterior cladding, but was welcomed by the orchestra who had been forced to play at a variety of venues from the Hobart City hall to the Hobart Odeon Theatre. It had formed part of an overall redevelopment of the Wapping area, that had seen the old Metropoitan Transport Trust bus garages, lower Collins Street, and other buildings restored.