“If you go down to the docks today, you’re sure of a big surprise. …. (To the tune of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic song), though you won’t find teddy bears. I was in town yesterday. It was a glorious summer’s day with people relaxing in the park. Then I noticed knots of people heading down towards the docks. I followed them down and lo and behold there was an enormous ship in the harbour. At first I thought it was a new block of flats. Despite Hobart’s apparent timelessness, it does sometimes happen that things change while I have been away. When I came back from Korea in 2007, MONA had been built on the old Moorilla estate in the middle of the river and I thought that there must have been an enormous industrial accident in in my absence - not that it isn't an amazing place. Now, looking more closely I noticed that what I thought were balconies were in fact lifeboats, and there were a couple of funnels poking out at the top. A glimpse of the Queen ...
Practising Geographer - nature culture places people