3 Comments on Old Terrace Houses

Kingpin on Fri, 7th Mar 2008 2:47 am


Ahhh yes, the rundown old terrace houses in Burnett Street, just along on the opposite side to the Republic Bar.
I lived in North Hobart for over 35 years and can tell you that those buildings have NOT changed at all since the late 1960’s and even before that! LOL.
Further up the road there is the lovely Palfreyman’s building and a row of Victorian terraces that were all decrepit by the early-70’s (North Hobart was an absolute dump in those days) and that whole side of Burnett Street was earmarked for demolition to makeway for a 4-lane motorway to feed on to the Brooker Highway.
That was around 1971-72, but it never happened, many of the buildings were either completely renovated or demolished and new showrooms built in their place (Condell Place apartments were erected in 1976). These houses were just ones that somehow, slipped through the cracks and still have the North Hobart circa late-60’s to early 70’s look.

Greg on Sat, 8th Mar 2008 11:50 pm


I was wondering how long the layer of grime on the terrace houses had been there. I suppose they were white once but that was a long time ago.

Now that i think about it, i am suprised that the renovation revolution that went on in North Hobart didn’t reach to them!

Kingpin on Sun, 9th Mar 2008 4:44 am


That area was a very seedy part of North Hobart even well into the 80’s.
Back in the 70’s and before that, most of the residences on that side had particularly rough and ready tenants in them – as did much of the suburb in those days.
The terrace house up further, just behind Palfreyman’s (No.73) was boarded up for nearly 20 years after a young fellow axed his father to death in there in the early 70’s.
There was one notorious family that used to point shotguns through the windows at passers-by in that area back then too.
Palfreyman’s closed in 1971 after being a long established business and was boarded up until the 1990’s and is now thriving.
I can remember houses further up from that having no power/water with squatters living in them even in the late 80’s.