Former name | Lady Franklin Museum |
---|---|
Established | 1843 |
Location | Lenah Valley, Tasmania, Australia |
Coordinates | 42°51′58″S147°16′41″E / 42.86611°S 147.27806°E |
Type | |
Architect | James Blackburn |
Owner | Hobart City Council |
Public transit access | |
Nearest car park | On site |
Website | artstas |
Place ID | 2,610 [1] |
Status | Permanently Registered |
The Lady Franklin Gallery and Ancanthe Park is a historic sandstone museum and 2.96-hectare (7.3-acre) [2] parkland in Lenah Valley, Tasmania, Australia. [3] When it opened on 26 October 1843, it became the first privately funded museum in Australia.
“A pretty little design for a Glyptothek... I mean nothing more than 1, 2 or 3 rooms, of small size tho’ good proportions, to hold a small number of pictures, and a dozen of casts of the Elgin and Vatican marbles”. [4]
– Lady Franklin's museum vision in 1841
In 1836, Lady Jane Franklin and her husband Sir John Franklin relocated to Van Diemen's Land when he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the colony. In 1839, she purchased 53 hectares (130 acres) of land in Lenah Valley with the intent of building a museum and botanical garden, which she named Ancanthe, Ancient Greek for "blooming valley". [5] Built at her own expense in the Greek revivalist style with convict labour, the sandstone museum opened to the public on the 26th October, 1843. The museum displayed Tasmanian memorabilia, books, botanical specimens, sculptures, and other items from Lady Franklin's personal collection. Her hopes for the parklands to be transformed into a botanic garden never materialised. When the Franklins departed Tasmania in 1853, the museum and estate were entrusted to the nearby Queen's College, which itself was purchased by the Hutchins School in 1893. During this period, Lady Franklin's artefacts were dispersed, large portions of the parklands were sold for housing and the museum became a storehouse for apples. [3]
The museum and parklands remained privately owned and in a state of disrepair until they were purchased by the Hobart City Council in 1921. [6] The Art Society of Tasmania located to the premises in 1949. [7] The Lady Franklin Gallery is designated on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. [8]
In 2013, the Saving Ancanthe Action Group unsuccessfully petitioned for the Hobart City Council to facilitate the purchase of former parkland surrounding the gallery on the merits of its historical and environmental value as a means to save it from housing development. The group further hoped to establish a Cultural Landscape and Historic Centre in the Vicinity of Ancanthe Park. [9] In 2014, author Alison Alexander, who won the National Biography Award for her book The Ambitions of Jane Franklin, Victorian Lady Adventurer opposed the subdivision of sixteen allotments of Ancanthe Park. [10] Since at least 2015, the Ancanthe parkland has been further subdivided, with allotments sold for housing development. This resulted in the extension of Ancanthe Avenue, which runs directly through the former estate.
Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the southernmost and least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest if territories are taken into account, before Darwin, Northern Territory. Hobart is located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, making it the most southern of Australia's capital cities. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
Councils of Tasmania are the 29 administrative districts of the Australian state of Tasmania. Local government areas (LGAs), more generally known as councils, are the tier of government responsible for the management of local duties such as road maintenance, town planning and waste management.
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Hobart City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, covering the central metropolitan area of the state capital, Hobart. The Hobart local government area has a population of 53,684 and includes the suburbs of West Hobart, Lenah Valley, Mount Stuart, South Hobart, New Town, Sandy Bay and most of Fern Tree, North Hobart and Mount Nelson.
Glenorchy City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Glenorchy local government area has a population of 50,411, covering the suburbs north of central Hobart on the western shore of the Derwent River, including its namesake suburb, Glenorchy.
William Lodewyk Crowther FRCS was a Tasmanian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 20 December 1878 to 29 October 1879.
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Jane, Lady Franklin was the second wife of the English explorer Sir John Franklin. During her husband's period as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land, she became known for her philanthropic work and her travels throughout south-eastern Australia. After John Franklin's disappearance in search of the Northwest Passage, she sponsored or otherwise supported several expeditions to determine his fate.
Lenah Valley is a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania. It is situated in the foothills of Mount Wellington, north of the CBD between Mount Stuart, New Town and the City of Glenorchy.
The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its mission is the advancement of knowledge.
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually.
Lady Frankin may refer to:
James Blackburn was an English civil engineer, surveyor and architect best known for his work in Australia, where he had been transported as a sentence for forgery. According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Blackburn "has claims to be considered one of the greatest engineers of his period in Australia, and his architectural achievements established him as Tasmania's most advanced and original architect." He was key to the formation of the Department of Public Works in 1839, serving as one of its core members under Alexander Cheyne.
Hobart City Centre is a suburb surrounded by metropolitan Hobart, which comprises the original settlement, the central business district, and other built-up areas. It is the oldest part of Hobart and includes many of the city's important institutions and landmarks, such as Parliament, the Supreme Court, Franklin Square, the Elizabeth Street Mall, the Royal Hobart Hospital, the Theatre Royal, Odeon Theatre, State Library, the NAB Building, the Museum, and the Cenotaph. The city centre is located in the local government areas of the City of Hobart.
Trams no longer operate in Hobart, the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania, but the city once had an extensive and popular system that reached the majority of its suburbs. It was the first complete electric tram system in the Southern Hemisphere, and the only one in Australia to operate double-decker trams.
The electoral division of Hobart is one of the 15 electoral divisions in the Tasmanian Legislative Council. It was originally created in 1856 when the Council became the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania. The seat was abolished in 1999 and re-created in 2008 after a redistribution saw the former division of Wellington returned to its former name.
Franklin Square is a 1.6-acre (0.63-hectare) oak-lined public square located in the Hobart City Centre in Tasmania, Australia. It is named for Sir John Franklin, an Arctic explorer and former Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. The centrepiece of the park is a statue of Franklin, with an epitaph written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. As the city's most central urban parkland and transportation hub, Franklin Square is frequently utilised for festive markets, public gatherings and as a place for public protest.
The Tasmanian Heritage Register is the statutory heritage register of the Australian state of Tasmania. It is defined as a list of areas currently identified as having historic cultural heritage importance to Tasmania as a whole. The Register is kept by the Tasmanian Heritage Council within the meaning of the Tasmanian Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995. It encompasses in addition the Heritage Register of the Tasmanian branch of the National Trust of Australia, which was merged into the Tasmanian Heritage Register. The enforcement of the heritage's requirements is managed by Heritage Tasmania.
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The Art Society of Tasmania was founded as the Tasmanian Art Association in 1884 by Louisa Swan and Maria Evans as a means to cultivate artistic culture and practice in the Colony of Tasmania.