Sepia Saturday: Pinnacle Point

The Phelan's holiday to Tasmania in 1937, mentioned several times on this blog, has provided yet another photo for the Sepia Saturday themed posts. This week the theme photo shows men at a height but seemingly unaware of the dangerous position they are in.

Well the Phelans weren't in danger but they were at a height. This photo was taken from the top of Mt Wellington above Hobart in Tasmania, at a spot called Pinnacle Point. The views from there are spectacular because it's a very beautiful harbour. Their car must have been chugging a bit on its way to the top! The mountain is 1271 metres (4179 ft) high and the 7 km road had only just been built. It was opened in January 1937 and had been a government project during the depression years to provide work for unemployed men. Prior to that the only way up was by foot. (Charles Darwin climbed it in 1836.) I wonder if the graffiti on the rocks in the foreground is still there. 

View of Hobart from Pinnacle Point on Mt Wellington, 1937

This is a recent photo from about the same spot. Note that the city has now spread to the other side of the bay. For most of its life the city didn't have a decent bridge across the Derwent River so it wasn't until after the Tasman Bridge was built in the 1960s that residents started to populate the eastern side.

Hobart as it is now. 

If it's danger you want you can see all manner of more dangerous activities over on the Sepia Saturday webpage.