At Premier’s Back
This building is on the legislative precinct, immediately behind the wing of the legislature that has the premier’s office in it. It is an old building that has served many functions, but it always seems to have the legislature’s back.
When I was young it is where Victorians (people from Victoria, I am not so old as to have been young during Victoria’s reign) went to get their driver’s licenses, me included. I remember an awkward 15 minutes peering into a binocular vision testing device trying to get my eyes to focus. I was using a microscope for about 6 hours a day at that time and it had a different focus point. They were trying to get rid of me by sending me to an eye doctor, but I knew exactly what the problem was and clung like a limpet to my seat. At the last possible minute, my eyes/brain clicked in and I was able focus on the optician’s charts, and pass my visual test for a motorcycle learner’s license.
I never did get a motorcycle license, or even ride one, but it was an idea with some merit to a 19-year-old. Instead, I got a TR3B sports car, far more sexy, or so I probably thought, for I can no longer remember what I was thinking to buy an old British car with a need for constant repairs. Probably a mindless impulse purchase.
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Canon 5Dii, Nikkor-N 24mm/f2.8 pre-ai lens, ISO400, various exposures.
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burnt embers 
At about the same time, my brother had an old Morgan sports car – I cringe to remember how fast he used to drive around the streets of Victoria! And if memory serves me corrrectly, the building in your photos was where I went to get my learner’s permit and later my driver’s license.
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Hi Laurie – I did not usually drive quickly. The car was old and fragile, and indeed, the wire wheels needed tuning so at speed it was a bit shaky of a ride.
I think this was the only place in Victoria to get a license in those days – there was another in Sidney, and possibly one in Saanich but I doubt it. The driver’s exam route always went the same way, with a bit on the Quadra Street hill near Fairfield Avenue – parallel parking on a hill was the test I think. I remember obsessing about getting that part right. I waited till I was 18 to get my license, but in fact started driving on an island when I was 13 – the police only visited on Wednesdays, so I could drive 6 days a week. I went on a long road trip the day after I got my license, and very nearly had an accident in the Hope Slide area when a trailer swung across my lane on a wet curve – I managed to steer around it, so those 5 years of illicit driving served me, and my passengers, well.
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Your car reference made me smile – when I was young I wanted (REALLY wanted!) an MGB GT! I ended up with a Pinto instead, which was probably a lateral move!
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Hi Melinda – I love the MGBGT, there are still quite a few of them around Victoria. There is a similar Volvo (model?) from that era that I used to lust after. Funny that you ended up with a Pinto – another problem car – at least it did not have Lucas electronics. My TR3 morphed into a 3/4 ton 4×4 Harvester International with a wooden hippy cabin on the back – as far from sporty as one could end up.
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I like the idea using these great old buildings that seem to built to last, though proper maintenance would ensure that they continue to serve their purpose. Some folks think it’s cheaper to tear down old buildings and build new ones, but it seldom is. I like your choice of the sepia tone on these, very fitting.
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Thanks Ken. I agree completely – when I lived in London many 20 or 30 year old buildings were being replaced so as to accommodate computers and more people/square foot. The life span of the modern buildings seems very short if there is a shortage of space. And old ones fare more poorly. In this area the real problem is that a building like this is an earthquake hazard and they are very expensive to retrofit to some semblence of integrity. Often they come down, if not their interiors are totally gutted and much of the heritage value is gutted with them. This is the first time I have set out to tone a photograph since my darkroom days of long ago (and that was a very brief fling indeed). I am glad you find it works, I like it too.
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