by Stephenie Cahalan
Tasmanian Theatre Company
Director, Sue Benner and Assistant
director Ivano Del Pio
Featuring Rowan Harris, Karissa Lane, Jane
Longhurst, Jeff Michel
With cars left behind in the safety of a Sandy Bay
car park, we boarded a minibus and rode through the streets of Hobart’s
well-appointed middle class into another era. The bus exited the kerbed bitumen
and climbed a winding dirt track to reach an architectural icon.
Fort Nelson House is a rounded, glass
eyrie that describes its owner and designer Esmond Dorney as craving both
openness and seclusion. The dwelling, which evolved over several
iterations between 1966 and 1978, is surrounded by 78 acres of native bush
overlooking the Tasman Peninsula, Bruny Island and the Meehan Range. The house
and property, now owned and managed by the Hobart City Council, is rarely open
to the public.
