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| Hobart's Town Hall. |
The Tasmanian-themed issue of Griffith REVIEW - Tasmania:
The Tipping Point?, a collaboration between Griffith REVIEW and the University
of Tasmania, will be launched this evening at Hobart's Town Hall. Within the
special issue, thinkers and doers from Tasmania and beyond challenge how
Tasmania is seen by outsiders, discuss how Tasmanians see themselves and
examine whether the island state has reached a 'tipping point'.
In an excerpt from Tasmania: The Tipping Point? Professor
Cassandra Pybus, one of Australia's best known and most admired non-fiction
writers, ponders...
THE sharp chill of winter has settled upon southern
Tasmania and I now rise at the same time as the sun to witness an eerily
beautiful phenomenon unique to this part of the world. The 'Bridgewater Jerry'
is caused by cold air draining down the mountain overnight and collecting in
the Derwent Valley at Bridgewater, where it is expelled each morning as a dense
column of fog that rolls down the river to dissipate into the ocean....
No matter where I am on this island, every day there will
be a sight to stop me in my tracks and fill my chest with sudden radiance. What
I feel is passion, no doubt about it; Tasmania is my one enduring love. When I
am away for any substantial length of time this glorious landscape fills my
dreams and impels me homeward. Herein lies my conundrum: I can't live anywhere
else than this beautiful, empty terminus of the world, yet living here poses an
intellectual challenge I find difficult to transcend.
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| Professor Cassandra Pybus, |
Tasmania has long been on the edge of national
conversations about prosperity, equality and identity. In Tasmania: The Tipping
Point? Griffith REVIEW serves up strategic slices of Tasmania's past, present
and future, prepared by some of the country's most talented writers and
storytellers including Natasha Cica - Director of the Inglis Clark Centre for
Civil Society at the University of Tasmania, MONA's David Walsh, and Matthew
Evans, acclaimed food writer and gourmet farmer.
Geographic isolation, a distinctive natural environment
and small social scale are increasingly seen as blessings, presenting
remarkable opportunities. The arrival of David Walsh's block-busting Museum of
Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart has inspired confidence in championing Tasmania
as a cultural, economic, environmental and social test bed - despite some
entrenched local resistance. Tasmania: The Tipping Point? challenges how
Tasmania is seen by outsiders and illuminates how Tasmanians see themselves, at
home and in the wider world.
With a treasure trove of interesting stories and
historical tales just waiting to be uncovered, Tasmania is a haven for the
thinking traveller; a place where enchanting stories and cultural pursuits are
matched in equal quantity only by its pristine wilderness and sumptuous
produce. From the historical significance of the Female Factory in Hobart and
further afield in Port Arthur to the magnetic pull of cultural trailblazer the
Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Tasmania is the perfect destination for visitors
who like to delve a little deeper.
The perfect lure for the thinking traveller is Tasmania's
glowing line up of autumn and winter events. For the first time in 2013, Dark
MOFO, the winter stepchild of Tasmania's popular summer event MONA FOMA, will
add a little spice to Tasmania's events offering. Led by MONA in conjunction
with a range of partners including Festival of Voices, MOFOs can expect a
festival of fire, food, art, music and light held during winter's deep embrace
at MONA and in the streets of Hobart. Festival highlights will include a
large-scale fire and light event at Salamanca, a night market at Princes Wharf
shed No 1, a music program from Brian Ritchie, and MONA's next major exhibition
The Red Queen (19 June 2013 to 29 April 2014) which explores the way art
operates as part of the messy machinery of human nature.
Other cultural gems not to be missed include Ten Days on
the Island; Tasmania's state-wide, multi art form event, Hobart Baroque;
Australia's first ever festival dedicated to celebrating music from the 17th
& 18th centuries and the state's acclaimed Festival of Voices in July. For a full and up-to-date listing of Tasmanian events and information on travelling to Tasmania, visit the Discover Tasmania website at www.discovertasmania.com.
Travel to Tasmania
Travellers can fly to Tasmania on Jetstar, Virgin
Australia, Qantas, Qantaslink, Tiger Airways, Sharp Airlines or Rex Airlines,
or take the Spirit of Tasmania ferry from Port Melbourne (VIC) to Devonport
(TAS).
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