Tower of Dreams - a photo on Flickriver

Tower of Dreams

            When Australia's leading modernist architect of the times, Sir Roy Grounds, designed this dodecagonal prism tower, I'm not sure the phrase "Tower of Dreams" entered his mind. But in fact that is what it's been since opening in 1973.

Wrest Point received the first ever casino license in Australia, a move that was to open the flood gates for casino developments in the country. Victoria was one of the last states to approve a casino license and they now have the largest casino in the country. *

There are some ironies in the way Wrest Point became Australia's first casino. In 1972, after many years of conservative rule, Australia elected possibly its most socially progressive Labor government ever. The Whitlam government moved very quickly to change the social fabric of the nation, and as a high school student at the time I can remember wearing my "We Want Gough" badge to provocative places - like church!

The mood of the country was of one ready to accept wholesale change. The conservatives (The Liberal and National Party Coalition) were opposed to gambling at the time, but the Labor government of Premier Eric Reece (the same Reece who gave the green light to the destruction of Lake Pedder) soon gave in to the Federal Group who owned Wrest Point. And so a "progressive" government awarded the license. In Victoria the exact opposite occurred in the early 1990s, when the Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett awarded Crown Casino their license, with opposition coming from the Labor Party.

Times had changed and social attitudes change even faster it seems. The Whitlam government - elected on a wave of social reform initiatives in 1972 - was removed from office by the Governor General in a controversial interpretation of the Constitution in 1975. But the people had seen enough. And Whitlam's Labor lost the subsequent election in a landslide. Liberals also came to power in Tasmania, and were soon embraced the ethos of allowing gambling to continue.

So here it is today, a Tower of Dreams. It was that for another former Australian Prime Minister too: For this was Bob Hawke's favourite casino.

* [When all the other states were opening gambling venues, Victoria's Labor Premier Cain vehemently opposed it. I knew John Cain personally, and he was a social progressive in just about every facet, except he could never abide gambling. He saw it as a means whereby wealth was transferred from ordinary workers to the rich conglomerates who owned the licenses. I tend to agree, although what the rich do in their high rolling gaming rooms doesn't worry me a bit. Australia's wealthiest man for some time used to regularly lose millions in the Las Vegas casinos. (chuckle).]

Taken in: Australia / Tasmania / Battery Point (show map)

Taken on: September 15, 2020

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Luminosity7

Nikon D850

Tasmania

Australia

Hobart

Sandy Bay

Architecture

Night Shot

Tower

Wrest Point Tower

Sir Roy Grounds (1905-1981) - architect

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Tower of Dreams

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Camera: Nikon D850, f/6.3, 6 sec, 15mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	6
Focal Length:	15mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One 20 Windows
Show full info

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