Birth of Launceston’s blockie route to be celebrated in council’s new cultural strategy
Head to the old Birchalls car park in Launceston at night and you’ll likely find locals participating in a time honoured tradition the council is now looking to formally recognise — blockies. Hear why the mayor thinks it’s an important part of city history >>
The Launceston News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The Launceston News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IT is a rite of passage for all Launcestonians – credited as a catalyst for many marriages and subsequent children – and its cultural significance will now be formally recognised by the council.
The City of Launceston will this week begin community consultation on its draft Cultural Strategy for Launceston, with one particular cultural activity set to be highlighted.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said in the 1960s, the city’s traffic engineers had hoped the new one-way road system would improve the capacity of the CBD’s road network, but there was one outcome of the new system they had not foreseen.
“It’s one that is now part of the cultural fabric of Launceston — blockies”, he said.
“Blockies is a tradition that is seemingly unique to Launceston. It involves driving circuits of the CBD at night, it celebrates car culture, and it’s also about socialising with others.”
The City of Launceston’s senior asset management advisor Randall Langdon was working for the council in the 1970s when changes were made to the one way system for the Brisbane St Mall.
“Other Tasmanian cities like Hobart, Devonport and Burnie didn’t ever seem to get the circuitous route we had here in our CBD,” he said.
“What we inadvertently created through the one-way system was a route that was ideal for cruising around the CBD and then pulling off into various car parks to socialise with others.”
Deputy Mayor Danny Gibson said blockies was a pastime that had earned its place in Launceston’s cultural lexicon.
“It’s certainly become a part of that much broader identity of who we are as a city,” he said.
“Over the years the blockie route has caused the occasional problems with hooning behaviour, but it has also been a positive social outlet for many people growing up in the city.
“I know married couples who met on the blockie route back in the day. There are children alive today in Launceston because of the blockie route.”
Local stand-up comedian and actor Dylan Hesp helped develop the Launceston-based mockumentary web series Australia’s Best Street Racer last year.
He said locals had a soft spot for blockies in a way that had not always been properly discussed.
“It’s something very specifically Launceston while at the same time it captures a very regional Australian experience at the same time,” he said.
“It’s a rite of passage – if you got your Ps you’d immediately go to Maccas and go ‘round the blockie route.”
He said the council had been very supportive during production of the series.
“They really got that it was a bit of a love letter to Launceston so it’s not surprise to me the affection the council has for this authentic Launceston thing,” he said.
Residents can visit www.yourvoiceyourlaunceston.com.au and complete a short survey before consultation on the cultural strategy closes on August 28.
SHARE YOUR BLOCKIE MEMORIES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
Wet Saturday not typical winter weather, says BOM
Tasmania is facing some unseasonably wet conditions this weekend. What the week ahead will bring >>>
‘Reputation in tatters’: Former Miss Australia weeps in court
Kathryn Hay was once a respected Labor MP, now the former Miss Australia’s ‘reputation is in tatters’. She wept in court during sentencing for the emotional abuse of her former husband.