Makersof BURNIE
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meet the MMAKERSAKERS of BBUURNIIEE tasmania 2010/2011 There’s a story around every corner... BURNIE FACT FILE POPULATION: About 20,000 LOCATION: North West Tasmania, on Bass Strait Tasmania’s most westerly city CLIMATE: Cool temperate AVERAGE RAINFALL: 970mm per annum LONGITUDE: 145° LATITUDE: 41° CLOSEST AIRPORT: Burnie Airport CLOSEST PASSENGER SEAPORT: Devonport CLOSEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Melbourne MEDIAN HOUSE PRICE (2010): $228,000 AUD 2 PAPER MAKERS 4 MAKERS’ WORKSHOP 6 IT ALL BEGAN… WHISKY MAKERS At least 12,000 years ago the first Tasmanians walked across a land bridge before the rising seas flooded the Bassian Plain in The Great 9 South Land, creating Bass Strait and the island of Tasmania. For the next 12,000 years the descendents of these original 4000-5000 aboriginal people hunted and gathered, largely without tools and weapons. CHEESE They had to carry fire sticks, because it is believed they did not have the MAKERS knowledge of lighting fire. 11 Tasmania was unknown, until it was “discovered” by a Dutch seaman, Abel Tasman, in 1642. Claimed by Captain James Cook in 1770, British sovereignty was asserted when the first settlement in Tasmania GARDEN was established in 1803 on the Derwent River. MAKERS In 1828 London-based Van Diemen’s Land Company chose Burnie as a settlement site because of its port, and a home was carved out of 13 the huge eucalypt forests of Emu Bay. Like all pioneers these first white settlers were makers. For the next 100 years the port of Burnie shipped timbers, minerals and BURROW produce from the region, MAKERS and the people of Burnie made things. 14 They made paper and pulp from the timber, they made chemicals for paint products, they made acids for industry, and in keeping with the technologies of their time, they made a mess of their environment. HISTORY In the early 1990s Burnie’s generational reliance on big companies was MAKERS shaken to the core, when several companies closed under the pressure of global markets and environmental issues. 17 The people of Burnie were desperate to find a new way of looking at things. Upon reflection, they imagined an alternative future for the town and their families and set about making it happen. They cleaned up the MEET THE environment and looked at the past, present and to the people who most MAKERS inspired them. The Makers. These days, the people of Burnie make giant machines to mine ore and 19 specialised machinery for aquaculture and agriculture. They produce wonderful cheese, single malt whisky and milk. They make BURNIE delicious and healthy things to eat from local produce. They make paper by hand from recycled materials, and they make inspirational and MAP functional artworks inspired by the natural and industrial environment. 22 They make a noise at performances and footy matches and make peace in natural places of reflection and recreation. They make time to look out for each other and improve their environment. WHERE TO The people of Burnie have interesting stories to tell and invite you to STAY discover them for yourself. 23 BBURNIEURNIE A PAPER TOWN BURNIE TODAY Burnie is Tasmania’s most westerly city, located on the North West Coast about 40 minutes from Devonport. It has a northerly aspect and is nestled around Emu Bay on Bass Strait. The 20,000 residents enjoy a vibrant shopping district that spills onto the beach for seafood and coffee. Burnie has surprising restaurants and cafés to linger in. It has a dynamic cultural life, galleries, performances, exhibitions and community events. Fantastic food is made in Burnie like whisky and cheese. The best milk in the world for cheese making is produced in the area. There are well stocked delis to tempt you with gourmet treats. Burnie’s hills hide impressive gardens and parks, and it is surrounded by beautiful beaches, sparkling water and fresh air. In some areas people live in perfect art deco or federation homes and public spaces featuring buildings by contemporary Tasmanian architects and designers. But there is no escaping the presence of a busy container port, the rail hub or the factory framework lining the highway around Emu Bay on the eastern approach to Burnie. A factory which evolved over 75 years manufacturing high volumes of paper for world markets. In its hey day The Pulp employed 3500 people, and after 75 years of supporting the families of Burnie, the mill finally ceased operation in June 2010. BUT PAPER IS STILL MADE IN BURNIE 4 CREATIVE PAPER IS STILL MADE IN BURNIE In the 1990s Creative Paper began as a Work for the Dole project, exploring paper making by hand, using traditional methods and unique local fibres. Fibres as unique as roo poo and wombat poo, apple pulp, lavender and rainforest leaves. All manner of plants and recycled materials can be used to make paper if they have the right properties. Expertise has been developed and techniques refined over the years and Creative Paper now produces a range of value added PAPER PEOPLE MAKERS items for specialist markets. The beautiful folios, journals, cards and paper products are produced by hand from a range of Artists, Pam Thorne and Ruth Rees collaborated on unique papers hand made in Burnie. numerous large papier maché projects in Burnie between 1996 and 2007, before continuing with their Creative Paper has, over time, become the nucleus for all individual arts practices. manner of orbiting artists and creative ideas. In November 2009 You can find their life sized papier maché sculptures Creative Paper moved from its old factory home to be front and at the Makers’ Workshop, Burnie Regional Art Gallery, centre at Burnie’s new visitor centre, the Makers’ Workshop. Hellyers Road Distillery, Pioneer Village Museum and the Burnie City Council offices. NotNo only do we get to make paper but we get to experiment with new fibres and colours. Every sheet we make is unique and individual. PAPER MAKING TOUR You are invited to keep the Burnie paper making I love explaining the process to visitors who take the tour, tradition alive and try your hand at making paper because most people can relate to some aspect of it. with the support of experienced and informative They get something out of it and are happier for their paper makers at the Makers’ Workshop. experience.ce. Learn the art of making paper by hand, and leave DARREN SIMPSON your watermark on your own unique sheet when paper maker you take the paper making tour. TOUR DEPARTURE TIMES DAILY 9:15am 10:00am 10:45am 11:30am 12:45pm 1:30pm 2:15pm 3:00pm 3:45pm 4:30pm TOUR COSTS Adults $15 Children (5-14) $8 Concession $12 Family (2Ad + 2Ch) $40 Groups of 10+ $10pp T: 03 6430 5830 5 MMAKERS’AKERS’ WWORKSHOPORKSHOP WHERE IT ALL COMES TOGETHER MAKERS’ WORKSHOP The stark architectural lines of Burnie’s newest visitor attraction dominate the western end of Burnie’s main beach. Recently opened, this contemporary structure is a new concept for Burnie – part museum, part arts centre and part visitor information centre. The Makers’ Workshop is a place that honours Burnie’s history, makers, innovators and artists. It includes the visitor information centre, a café, gallery and gift shop, a paper making workshop, interpretative displays and working artists. Since the 1930s no matter where Burnie was on its journey through existence, its fate has been wrapped in paper. Stories of those paper making connections and The Pulp are told at the Makers’ Workshop. Significant moments in Burnie’s history are etched onto the glass case surrounding Burnie’s town clock. This clock was originally installed in the Burnie Town Hall tower in 1913 as a memorial for one of Burnie’s favourite sons, Captain William Jones. The clock tower served as a landmark for more than six decades until the town hall site was redeveloped in 1976. It was kept in storage at the museum until restoration and installation in the Makers’ Workshop in 2009. The clock is a marker of time and in this case has been used as a vehicle to tell the significant moments in time from Burnie’s settlement to its development into one of Australia’s largest container ports. 6 MAKERS’ STUDIOS Depending on the day, there may be one or several makers working on site at the Makers’ Workshop, producing any number of interesting things, including papier maché sculptures, hand woven baskets, glass beads, jewellery, hats, paintings, prints, wood work, violins, glass ware and of course paper. In total there are five studio spaces (with four of them looking suspiciously like converted shipping containers) located throughout Makers’ Workshop. You are encouraged to meet the Makers and have a conversation about what they’re making or see their objects for sale in the gift shop. The gift shop sells products from over 50 Tasmanian ELPHINSTONE artists, makers and suppliers as well as imported items. R1500 LHD LOADER At the Makers’ Workshop you can find the first load- haul-dump (LHD) purpose designed underground loader, designed by Dale Elphinstone and his team at their Burnie engineering facility. At the time it was designed there was nothing like it in the world. It met the need for a machine that could extract ore from underground mines and haul it long distances. International success led to a range of loaders, trucks and other hard rock mining machinery, later marketed by the giant Caterpillar Corporation. Still operating in Burnie as Caterpillar Underground Mining, the company sells its equipment world wide and provides jobs for hundreds of people. VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE About 40 volunteers are rostered to the information counter and help visitors with enquiries about Burnie and travels throughout the region and Tasmania.