The old Exchange Hotel in Beaconsfield has changed hands many times, and it's up for sale again if you have the desire to own a piece of old Tasmania. Built circa 1890 it has stood proudly on the main road and been the centre of many people's lives for 130 years.

You can see the winder tower from the now closed Beaconsfield gold mine just behind it.

Tags:   Luminosity7 Nikon D850 Launceston Tasmania Australia Beaconsfield Old Exchange Hotel 19th century colonial architecture B/W Black and White Monochrome Beaconsfield gold mine Old pub c.1890 Tasmaniana

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There was a time when Tasmania had its own bank. Well technically it still does, as some institutions have received banking licenses in more recent times, but the Bank of Tasmania was originally founded in 1845. It was later swallowed up into the gigantic Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Now this quaint old 19th century bank building - original sign still in place - is a shop dealing in the local arts and crafts. It stands, as you can see, within a stone's throw of the old Beaconsfield gold mine.

Alas, I have some bad news to pass on in relation to banks in Beaconsfield. In the modern building to the right of the Bank of Tasmania stood the home of the only remaining bank in Beaconsfield. One of those institutions I mentioned at the beginning: Bank of Heritage Isle.

On May 8, 2020, this bank closed its doors and all of its branches in Tasmania. And so now little Beaconsfield is without any banking facilities.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6745409/bank-closure-leave...


Such is the way of life for rural towns in this obnoxious era of conglomerates and Globalisation! You'd think there was a "plan" to get us all to move to cities wouldn't you.

Tags:   Luminosity7 Nikon D850 Launceston Tasmania Australia Beaconsfield Bank of Tasmania Manions Motor Garage Colour Architecture Tasmaniana Power lines Bank closures

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Fellow Tasmanian photographer Steve Penton has recorded a fair bit of the history of this old public hall, so I'll provide a link to what he says on his page. It's fascinating:
www.flickr.com/photos/136315829@N03/23684209770

The history is partly written on the building itself: Established 1899. Once the home of silent movies in Beaconsfield. I'm glad to say the building is now occupied with shops and has a fresh coat of paint. Signs of more life in the old girl yet.

Tags:   Luminosity7 Nikon D850 Launceston Tasmania Australia Beaconsfield Alicia Hall 1899 Public hall Silent era cinema Architecture B/W Black and White Monochrome Tasmaniana

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From the main street this building still functions as the town bakery. As you'd expect it has a completely modern front (you can catch a glimpse of it on the far left of the previous "Bank of Tasmania" photo).

For this photograph I decided to take a peek out the back and what I found was exactly what I hoped. I've given this a sepia finish because it seems in keeping with the bare bones of the old colonial building it once was. Take away those plastic buckets and the power lines and we could easily be transported back to 1888.

Tags:   Luminosity7 Nikon D850 Launceston Tasmania Australia Beaconsfield Old bakery 19th century colonial building Monochrome Sepia Tasmaniana Life in the colony Van Diemen's Land

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I stand to be corrected by architectural experts, but this seems to me to be a good expression of the post-WW2 Australian austerity house. With many materials in scare supply following the privations of a world war, domestic architecture had to make do with cheaper houses until the late 1950s.

There's nothing fancy about this house, but the builders have tried to make it interesting with the main entrance on the right hand side (quite radical for its time), and a windowed section on the other side to balance it. I'd also suggest the front concrete fence with steel rods is also authentically of the time. A nice place to live on a budget.

Tags:   Luminosity7 Nikon D850 Launceston Tasmania Australia Beaconsfield Austerity House Post-WW2 design Architecture B/W Black and White Monochrome Radical design

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