Month: April 2018

Midway Point

Miss W. Towns

Midway Point is located on a small peninsula surrounded by Orielton Lagoon and Pittwater. Midway Point is a meeting point between Hobart and Sorell. There are two causeways which join on with Midway Point, with one joining to the Eastern Shore and the other heading to Sorell. There are approximately 2,500 people living in Midway Point. From Midway Point you can see spectacular views of Mount Wellington and the Pittwater Lagoon.

Information From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway_Point,_Tasmania

Sorell Memorial Hall

Miss W. 1941-1970, Buildings , , , , , ,

The memorial hall was built in 1952 and opened in 1954 by Governor Sir Ronald Cross. Quite a lot of people visit the memorial hall because there were weddings, balls and dances The St Georges Parish fair and even suppers were held there on all different days and for all different occasions. An advertisement for the laying of the foundation stone is found here

The government paid 5 thousand pounds  and the council gave 9 thousand pounds.  It was made for all the men and women that fought in the first world war. An article in the local paper mentions the memorials and sports events held on the day of the opening.

The Sorell Memorial Hall contains a kitchen, a stage, a hall, a supper/meeting room and an oval.  It is used for the Sorell market, the Pittwater art club and the historical society of Sorell. It is located on Coles Street and is opposite Walker Street. Sorell is North East of Hobart and is about a 20 minute drive away from Hobart.

The Sorell market was opened in 1991. Back then it only had a second hand stall, a gift stall and a plant stall. Today it has about 60 stalls selling fruits and vegetables, antiques and collectables, second hand stuff, furniture, animals, plant, tools and much more. There are children’s activities and plenty of food and drink stalls. It always starts at 9am. It is held every Sunday in summer and every second Sunday in winter.

The hall has two statues in front of it.

This statue is for the Boer War (1880-1902). On it it says: “This stone was erected by the officers and men of E. Squadron 5th Battalion A.C.H in the memory of those men who died at sea during the voyage of HMT Drayton Grange from South Africa to Australia.”

On the the front of the second statue  it says:
“Erected by the residents of the municipality of Sorell this stone was laid by Sir William Allardyce, Governor of Tasmania.”

 

Here are some names that are on one of the statues at the Memorial Hall:
K.D.Hean 20.6.1916
S.R.Wiggins 5.7.-
J.H.Millington 30.1.1917
F.J.Mcdermott 3.2.-
W.Townsend 27.2.-
E.G.Barnard 10.4.-
C.Young 11.4.-
R.E.Quintall 7.6.-
M.P.G.Joseph 4.10.-
R.E.Quintall 5.10.-
N.S.Birchall 12.10.-
A.Carran 6.10.-
C.R.Young 13.10.-
A.V.Barnard 22.10.-
F.J.Denholm 12.1.1918
W.H.Barnard 21.1-
A.T.H.Bender 0.3.-
P.V.Sutton 23.4.-
P.Joseph 3.5.-
G.H.Long 23.7.-
G.Blackwood 24.7.-
C.E.Kingston 11.8.-
A.R.Blackmoore 2.11-
LEST WE FORGET.

We used a book:
Sorell Heritage Study volume 5.
Part of a series of books prepared by Ian Terry for Sorell Council in August 1996.
Thank you for looking at our page.

Shara & Tayla

McGee’s Bridge

Miss W. 2000 and beyond, Transport , , ,

The $20 million McGees Bridge was the largest single infrastructure project funded by the State Government for more than 15 years.
The new bridge was named as a tribute to Dr Rodney William McGee, ESM, who died after a long battle with cancer on 1 February 2002, aged 47. At the time of his death he was a senior engineer with the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources and recognised interstate and internationally for his expertise in bridge engineering.

The state government decided in the mid 19th century that if a crossing at Pittwater could be made, it would reduce the time to Sorell. It was decided to build a causeway for two-thirds of the length of Pittwater and have a bridge complete the rest of the crossing. The bridge was given a 50 year life span back in 1957.

Statistics:

1000 metres (causeway)
460 metres (main bridge).