Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

Modern architecture in Hamilton Hill

We wandered out to the grotty Big W store in Spearwood yesterday on a mostly unproductive excursion. I sorry to report that the emporium operated by Woolworths has become pretty scungy. The shopping trolleys were revolting and the merchandise generally seemed even less diverse than the last time we were there. The pot plant section looked like someone had turned off the water for a couple of weeks. The entire shop seemed to have stagnated. It had the appearance of what one would expect to find in a recession.

Nearby there were two pawn shops I wanted to visit. Maybe the fact there are two pawn shops says something for the economic malaise of the area. I don't usually visit pawn shops, but I'd been told that they were good places to pick up cheap photographic gear like tripods and lenses.

Well, not at these two establishments. The selection was very poor. Only one tripod and I wouldn't have parted with two bucks for it. Mind you I don't think there's much on offer for two bucks in pawn shops. I thought most of the well-used merchandise seemed pretty awful, and very expensive. Even old CDs seemed mostly to be about eight bucks. The stores had an aura of gloom about them. Places of last economic resort for desperate people.

Opposite one pawnshop there is a very fine example of a stone WW1 Memorial Hall and a small war memorial. The Hamilton Hill site has been a mess for most of last year, maybe longer, while the Cockburn Shire has been conducting a community redevelopment project. Cockburn overseas the affairs of Hamilton Hill and the neighbouring suburb of Spearwood.

Yesterday it was obvious that the project was nearing completion. The lawns have been installed and the fences taken down - or perhaps it was the other way around.

Standing alongside the restored hall could be seen the latest architectural contribution to the area. I'm not sure of it's function - workers were still adding the finishing touches inside, but the first thing that came to my mind was that it looked like a circular concrete Fuehrerbunker. Even the narrow windows are no more than slots, and they looked like they had been intended to accommodate machine guns.

I took a some photos of the site in August. They're on my Panoramio website.

The first image was taken facing east and shows the pawnshop in the background.

The second image of the memorial perched precariously on an island of sand was taken facing west.

The third image was taken yesterday, also facing west. The war memorial now sits safely in a sea of grass. The Memorial Hall has been restored. The grey 'Fuehrerbunker' on the right is sure to arouse some architectural curiosity. There's also a very nice view of some powerlines.

© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.

Click here to visit 'dogandcatwatcher', my YouTube website.

Original still photographs are stored online in a cache at my Panoramio website or my Picasa site. Most of them have a brief description and a link back to a relevant essay. Images on Panoramio can usually be enlarged several times by clicking them.

About the writer

Click here to see our backyard.

Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!

Advertisement