The Battery Point Community Association Plaques Project celebrates the rich architectural heritage of Battery Point. The plaques enrich our physical environment and add to peoples’ ability to interpret Battery Point’s rich and complex history.

Beyond highlighting buildings of interest, the project has helped reveal even more of the fascinating and important social history of the Battery Point community.

Burhunt was the home of Miss Dorothea Isabel Henslowe, a towering figure in the life of the Battery Point community for over 50 years (see also this story).

The current owner of Burhunt came into possession of a set of photos kept by Miss Henslowe and, importantly, her Visitors Book for the house. In her long life in Battery Point, Miss Henslowe had visitors from around Tasmania and across the world, including the United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Canada, the United States of America, and the Pacific Islands. The Visitors Book also records details of Royal Visits to Hobart, parties and celebrations, and community gatherings, all from the perspective of Burhunt, as well as intimate domestic details concerning the house itself.

With the current owner’s kind permission, the Association presents the Visitors Book and the photos in this story.

Do you know any of the people, organisations or places mentioned in the Visitors Book? We would love to hear from you so we can add even more depth to this important part of our shared social history.