Citation
The Rare Retreat of Alexander North: Peter MacFie, Tasman Peninsula Chronicle No 4, p16, Nubeena, 1988
Tasman Peninsula Historical Society
Outline
Ravensbourne, Koonya, Tasmania was built by architect Alexander North in the late 1880s. This is a summary of his life and the buildings he designed.
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Excerpt
High on a hill overlooking Koonya, the Derwent and Mt. Wellington in the distance is Ravensbourne, a small rubble and concrete house with narrow windows giving a definite medieval appearance. It was built during the late 1880s by Alexander North and was originally known as Homelea.
North was one of a small group of professionals who moved onto the Peninsula after the closing of the prison at Port Arthur and who used their houses as retreats. Near-neighbours at Koonya were William Charpentier in his ornate timber farm-house (a master-craftsman who later became founder of the Hobart School of Arts, later the Hobart Technical College) and J.R. McClymont, naturalist (see Chronicle 2). North and Charpentier shared similar interests, including an enthusiasm for native Tasmanian timbers, while North later became chairman of the Launceston Technical College in 1907 (the year of Charpentier’s death). Their lifestyles must have contrasted with that of the struggling pioneering families who were their neighbours.
End of Excerpt
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Index
Beaconsfield………………………………………………………. 2
Charpentier, William……………………………………….. 1
churches
All Saints church, Exeter………………………………………. 2
Beaconsfield church……………………………………………. 2
Church of our Lady, Mangana………………………… 2
Glengarry.church………………………………………….. 2
Holy Trinity church, Launceston………………………. 1
Illawarra church……………………………………………… 2
Lilydale church……………………………………………….. 2
Port Arthur church……………………………………………… 3
St John’s church, Launceston…………………………… 1
St Mary’s Star-of-the-Sea church, Burnie…………… 2
St Michael’s church, Bothwell………………………… 1
City Park gardener’s lodge………………………………. 1
Coronation Gates, City Park…………………………….. 1
Glen Dhu…………………………………………………………….. 2
Glengarry…………………………………………………………… 2
Hobart School of Arts……………………………………….. 1
Hobart Technical College…………………………………. 1
Homelea…………………………………………………………… 1, 2
Illawarra…………………………………………………………….. 2
ivy……………………………………………………………………….. 3
Kendal School of Art…………………………………………. 1
Koonya…………………………………………………………… 1, 2
Lambert School of Art,……………………………………… 1
Launceston………………………………………………………… 1
Launceston Technical College…………………………. 1
Lilydale………………………………………………………………. 2
McClymont, James R………………………………………… 1
North, Alexander………………………………………….. 1, 3
Omagh………………………………………………………………… 2
Penitentiary……………………………………………………. 2, 3
Port Arthur………………………………………………………… 2
Ravensbourne………………………………………………………. 1
Ritchie’s Mill……………………………………………………… 1
St John’s, Launceston……………………………………….. 1
Tasmanian timbers…………………………………………… 1
Thyne’s Mill………………………………………………………. 2
tourists……………………………………………………………….. 3
End of Index
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