We have all marvelled at the opulent lifestyles depicted in grand heritage homes, but at Rosny Historic Centre in Tasmania’s City of Clarence it is the lifestyle of ordinary folk that is preserved for posterity. Clarence City Council obtained the cottage and barn when it purchased the Hobart Golf Course in 1962.
The cottage, built in the 1850s, had served as home to a succession of greenkeepers over many years. The barn, which dates back to 1817, reminds visitors of the area’s early farming history and is believed to be the oldest rural homestead on Tasmania’s eastern shore.
The complex also includes an old schoolhouse which now houses a gallery. It stages exhibitions of artwork from around Australia, as well as providing exhibition space for local artists.
Each room in the cottage represents a different era in history through to the early 1950s. One room is set up as an old style chemist shop complete with the apparatus and paraphernalia of the time.
Sarah Bishop, who manages the Centre, said that schoolchildren visiting the Centre are always amazed to see how people in ‘olden days’ managed without modern facilities.
“We provide a real alternative to the grand mansions,” Sarah said. “We show how the average person lived. Unlike other places where exhibits are kept at a distance from the public, we welcome people to leaf through old magazines on display and gain a real feel for the times.”
Older visitors love the Centre, because they recognise familiar aspects from their own lives. Sarah said that Centre is not just a tourist attraction but serves local people as a reminder of the district’s history, as an historical display and as a source of community projects and educational activities.
For further information contact Sarah Bishop, telephone, (03) 6245 8600.
