Title

Plate 6: Hobart Town. [by Eugene von Guérard].

Author

Author not identified

Source

[Not applicable]

Publication date

1868

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Plate 6: Hobart Town.

The situation of the southern capital of Tasmania, is almost, if not altogether peerless. Genoa, Naples and Rio Janeiro may assert their claims to vie with it in this respect, but it is doubtful whether nature has done so much for the last three cities as for the former; and most impartial judges would concur in giving it the preference. Placed at the head of a noble estuary, and at the foot of a magnificent mountain, surrounded by foliage of English verdure, enveloped in an atmosphere of Ausonian blandness, and overarched by a sky of Australian brilliancy, Hobart Town fascinates the eye of the artist; and, excepting in regard to some of its architectural details, combines all the elements of the picturesque, both as regards site and scenic accessories. Behind it, Mount Wellington rises to an altitude of more than 4,000 feet, and its gigantic slopes are covered with forests, extending from its base to the edge of the bare granitic peaks, which are crested with snow during the winter months. In front of the city, the Derwent expands into a lake-like sheet of water, irregular in outline, and fringed by undulating hills dotted with farm houses. And the whole scene is dominated by the gigantic mass of the mountain, with its head in the clouds and its feet in the sea, filling the eye with its vast proportions, and impressing the mind by its imposing bulk. Sometimes it disappears from view for hours and days together, hidden by an impenetrable veil of clouds; and when, after these periods of retirement, it does reveal its utmost height and amplest magnitude, it seems to challenge a more fervid admiration and to compel a more respectful homage, than it would do if it were perpetually visible and if familiarity blunted the spectator's perception of its undeniable sublimity. This view, it is necessary to add, is engraved from a sketch made in 1855, and the publishers believe that additional interest will attach to it on that account; as enabling persons to compare the present with the former aspect of the city, and thus to measure the gratifying progress which Hobart Town has made during the last twelve years.

Accompanying text, 1868.