9th March 2012 - Media release

Media release - 19th January 2012

Donations - click on image to view full size

Picnic in the Park (click image to view full size)

How can you help?

Saving Ancanthe - How can you help?

1. Contact the Hobart City Council Aldermen:

Voice your concern to the Aldermen. The Aldermen have been elected by those within the Hobart community, and their role is to best represent your opinions. Even if you belong to another council or reside interstate or overseas, your opinion is valued. Ancanthe Park has local, state, national and international significance and therefore the opinions of the broader community should be considered. 

Below are the email addresses for each Alderman:

lord.mayor@hobartcity.com.au;

ronchristie@netspace.net.au;

ald_zucco@netspace.net.au;

rob_valentine@netspace.net.au;

jbriscoe@netspace.net.au;

eva@ruzicka.id.au;

ptsexton@tassie.net.au;

helenburnet@netspace.net.au;

philip_council@netspace.net.au;

billharvey@iinet.net.au;

sue@suehickey.com.au;

leofoley@netspace.net.au;

2. Contact the Saving Ancanthe group:

The Saving Ancanthe group meets regularly to work on our plan to save the integrity of the park and to keep communication clear. If you contact the group by email we can inform you of the next meeting (ancanthe@gmail.com).

3. Volunteering:

If you are unable to attend the group meetings, you can still contribute to the campaign. The group has a number of current activities where volunteers can contribute their time. Emailing the group to volunteer is a good place to start (ancanthe@gmail.com).

4. Discuss your concerns:

Talking to your neighbours, colleagues, family and friends is a great way to inform them of the issues. If they are passionate and willing to volunteer, they may wish to contribute to the group. Reading the Saving Ancanthe Fact Sheet may be helpful. Spread the word!

Fact sheet

Saving Ancanthe Fact Sheet:

  

• Ancanthe Park was originally purchased 170 years ago and will celebrate its bicentennial in 2041.
• It was the vision of Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of Arctic explorer and Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land Sir John Franklin.
• Lady Jane Franklin’s vision was to create a museum, a centre for learning, and was inspired by nature. She chose Ancanthe, on the lower slopes of Mount Wellington, surrounded by farmland and trees.
• The Franklins were very interested in natural history, literature and the arts. They introduced a system for secondary education and helped to make Tasmania the intellectual centre of the Australian colonies during their stay.
• Lady Jane and Sir John Franklin purchased 410 acres of land at Ancanthe, including 10 acres of garden and later 400 acres of working farm land adjacent.
• She created a unique sandstone Grecian temple in the garden which has now become the Lady Franklin Museum.  
• The land has been progressively sold and subdivided. It now consists of merely 4 acres.
• The Lady Franklin Museum is now home to The Arts Society of Tasmania, which hosts exhibitions all through the year.
• The park provides the community with a unique environment to enjoy its winding paths and grassy embankments, while surrounded by the native wilderness and its wildlife.
• The proposed subdivision of the adjoining land will sever the final link to Mount Wellington, making Ancanthe a small island in suburbia, and offending its cultural and historical significance. 

Further information can be found at www.facebook.com/Ancanthe