Archive for the ‘Tasmanian History’ Category

You might just drive straight through Eaglehawk Neck on the way to visit Port Arthur Convict Settlement, or the coal mines historic site on the Tasman Peninsula.  You might stop briefly to visit the Tessellated Pavement State Reserve and marvel at that geological phenomenon before motoring on.  Or you might allow a little extra time and inspect the Dog Line and Officers Quarters Museum while you’re at it.

A bronze statue marks the location of the dog line at Eaglehawk Neck

A Scary Dog Line at Eaglehawk Neck

The dog line is a fascinating part of Tasmanian convict history.  If the statue is a true reflection of the actual dogs, they were ferocious!  Tethered at regular intervals, with lamp posts reflecting light onto cockle shells, the purpose of the dog line was was to prevent convicts escaping the Tasman Peninsula from the Port Arthur settlement.  Eaglehawk Neck is a narrow isthmus, and there were enough dogs in the line to stretch across the width of the sand dunes.  Their barking would alert the guards to any movement in the bush.

The narrow isthmus on the Tasman Peninsula at Eaglehawk Neck was guarded by a dog line

Obviously, the dogs needed someone to care for them, and a convict was assigned the duty.  Authorities considered Eaglehawk Neck the key to maintaining the security of the Tasman Peninsula during the convict period.  With that in mind, some dogs were even placed out on the water.  Combined with the thought of shark attacks, the area was practically impassible for all but the most determined and cunning of prisoners.  Martin Cash, who escaped in 1842 and went on to live as a bush-ranger, was one of the “lucky” few.

The historic site at Eaglehawk Neck ~ the dog line and Officers Quarters Museum

Officers Quarters Museum

The military station at Eaglehawk Neck was established in 1832 and by 1836 the settlement had grown to employ about 25 soldiers.  The building originally provided as the Officers Quarters is today a museum, which is free to visit.  The area once had a store and a jetty, and a hut where the children of the military would attend school.

Eaglehawk Neck, part of the convict trail from Hobart to Port Arthur

Eaglehawk Neck was an isolated location,  but communication between outposts was still possible.  Important, numerically coded messages were sent between Port Arthur and Eaglehawk Neck (and on to Hobart) via a chain of semaphore stations.  The mast-like structures had movable arms attached and were often used to forewarn the military about convict escapees.  So even those brave, desperate or stupid enough to chance the dog line or the sharks, faced a very slim chance of success.

The Officers Quarters Museum at Eaglehawk Neck, Tasman Peninsula

For more information about the dog line convict heritage site, contact the
Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service.  The Mount Nelson Signal Station offers
another opportunity to learn about the semaphore communications system.

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Map: Dog Line, Eaglehawk Neck Tasmania…

A season of transition, Autumn in Tasmania extends from 1st March through to 31st May, and generally weather patterns are more settled, with average temperatures varying from as low as 5°C overnight to an average 14°C daytime, though quite often we have days reaching a pleasant 18° to 22°C.

Autumn in Tasmania: twilight landscape

Autumn In Tasmania: a Season of the Senses

by Carol Haberle

A season of the ‘senses’ in Tasmania, Autumn is the time of fresh harvests, beautiful days of clear autumn light which bring a clarity to the subtle hues of our coastlines and a ‘magic’ is created in our wilderness as vivid colours come to life.  Autumn is also the season where ‘twilight’ is much more pronounced in Tasmania, that ‘golden hour’ just before sundown, when the sun is low on the horizon creating a rich glow to be cast across the countryside, turning all a golden amber just before darkness descends.

Historic Autumn

Though much of our Tasmanian landscape blazes with colour during Autumn, we give thanks to our history for this, as our ancestors, convicts and free settlers brought with them on sailing ships, seed from the huge deciduous trees of their homelands in the hope of making their new homeland, then known as the convict colony of Van Dieman’s Land, a little like the one they left behind.  As settlement took place, botanists also came to explore the ecology of this newfound wilderness, to test what would grow here under what were considered harsh conditions.

From England, Ireland and Europe we gained the mighty Oak, the Ash and the Elm trees, the sheer beauty of which can be seen in our historic towns of Westbury, Hagley, Richmond and Ross, to name but a few.  They also brought with them seed from the Hawthorn, we see as hedges which line our country roads, the beautiful cool willows which line our riverbanks, all of which today put on a myriad Autumn display of either vibrant autumn leaves, rich red berries or glowing pink/orange branch tips.  And from the North Americas we gained the tall, sweeping Lombardy Poplar, it’s beauty in Autumn best seen upon entering Latrobe via Spreyton.  Latrobe, the home of Bell’s Parade, a once thriving major port in the mid to late 1800’s, now a beautiful park on the banks of the Mersey River, where the sheer magnificence of Ash and Elm trees over 100 years old, can be seen in their Autumn glory.

Falling autumn leaves, Bell’s Parade, Latrobe. (Inset: Lombardy Poplars, Bass Highway, Latrobe)

Rural Autumn

As one travels through the rural, farming countryside, signs of Autumn become a patchwork of rich golden shades of yellow turning to greens, after winter fodder for livestock has been harvested and the early autumn rains replenish the fields, and of rich red/browns where the rich, fertile basalt soils are being freshly turned in preparation for winter crops.

The vivid, rich colours of autumn: patchwork fields, Forth Tasmania

Rainforests in Autumn

No autumn experience in Tasmania is complete without a visit to our rainforests, whether it be on the rugged West Coast, The Tarkine in the far north-west or down south in Mt Field National Park.  Cool night time temperatures and warmer days bring a feeling of ‘magic’…the soft mosses underfoot swell and grow rapidly as they draw in the moisture, becoming soft, damp sponges underfoot.  The greens in the canopy of the huge myrtles overhead, the dogwoods and the tree ferns become deep, rich and vibrant.  Feeding from the fallen leaf mulch, the fallen dead trees and decaying undergrowth, mosses in every conceivable shade of green and lichens in rich whites, yellows and oranges, begin to spread rapidly, and the fungi begins to burst forth, shades and hues of every colour.

Autumn rainforest, Tasmania (Inset: rainforest fungi)

The Turning of the Fagus ~ Uniquely Tasmanian

We have a purely endemic experience which goes almost unnoticed, only ever seen in Tasmania: ’the turning of the fagus’.

Tasmania can lay claim to only one native deciduous tree, Deciduous beech (Nothofagus gunnii), or fagus as it is best-known.  The Deciduous Beech is a direct link back to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.  Fossil records found at Cethana in northern Tasmania date back 35 million years to the early Oligocene period.  A small tree, usually growing to 2 metres or less, and found only in places many would call inhospitable.  Known also by European Settlers as ‘tanglefoot’, it can be the bane of a bushwalker getting caught in it’s twisted, ground hugging branches.  But this usually insignificant tree is Australia’s only winter-deciduous tree, and can be found nowhere else in the world.  The autumn display it gives is a kaleidoscope of greens, yellows, oranges and browns, and generally begins to occur around ANZAC day and only lasts two to three weeks.

Scientists, botanists, naturists, conservationists and bushwalkers the world over have been known to make an annual pilgrimage to Tasmania to see what is locally known as ‘the turning of the fagus’, where it can be best seen creating a fiery blaze on mountainsides at Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park or in regions of Mt Field National Park.

The Turning of the Fagus, Cradle Mt. National Park (Inset: Nothofagus gunnii)

All photos ©Carol Haberle, H&H Photography.
You can follow Carol on Facebook at Haberle Photo Cards

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As a tourist on Flinders Island, I couldn’t miss out on the ANZAC Day Remembrance parade and service.  Earlier in the week we had met a few veterans who had flown in from interstate as guest of their old wartime mate and Lady Barron pilot, Gordon Rorison.

ANZAC Day wreaths at the Cenotaph on Flinders Island

ANZAC Day 2012

by Roger Findlay

The dawn service took place at Emita. I am told it was quite cool with a strong breeze off the sea. Our excuse for non-attendance was our consideration for the local wildlife (wallabies and wombats) that would be out on the dark roads.

The bakery seemed to be the best place to be before the parade. Hot coffee and cakes were going down a treat with those that had risen early. Medals were proudly displayed on the chests of our heroes with some having served in more than one campaign. Wives were having fun too. They were rightly proud of their men regardless of the extra inches around the waist and the lack of hair!

Some of the Flinders Island veterans gather at the hotel on ANZAC Day

32 Squadron RAAF Flight Lieutenant

Once a giant of a policeman arrived on the scene, those parading started to group. Flight Lieutenant, Shane Rowe, of the 32 Squadron had flown in from RAAF Sale the day before along with his wife, Mandy, Kerry and Pete (a former islander). With the Flight Lieutenant Rowe at the front and the schoolchildren at the rear, the march was a short one as was the service in the Furneaux Arts and Entertainment Centre.

32 Squadron RAAF Flight Lieutenant Rowe leads the Flinders Island ANZAC Day parade

At the end of the service, the Flinders Island choral group had a great time with the usual Roll Out the Barrel, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary and White Cliffs of Dover. I didn’t want them to finish as they were enjoying it so much. (Proud Islanders, I thought).

Flinders Island Choral Group performing on ANZAC Day

Whitemark Hotel: ANZAC Day Tradition

The Whitemark Interstate Hotel was the next port of call. ANZAC Day would be incomplete without a beer. The absence of Two Up surprised me but everyone appeared to be having a good time regardless. We didn’t stay for lunch but we did return in the evening. New friends along with Jeanette and I, found bottles of good quality wine reasonably priced as were the huge meals prepared by the jovial Irish chef in a cosy dining area. I was informed that the hotel accommodation was cheap, clean and comfortable.

Whitemark Hotel Flinders Island, scene of post-march celebrations on ANZAC Day

On a day where Lest We Forget was at the fore, we will never forget this special ANZAC Day in Whitemark and those that we met.

Lest We Forget: Memories of ANZAC Day 2012 on Flinders Island

Roger Findlay spends all his holidays in Tasmania, then writes about the
experience for Think Tasmania. If you’d like Roger to visit you in the name of
research (so we can publish information about your business), please contact us.

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Map: ANZAC Day, Flinders Island…

What IS The Tarkine?

by Carol Haberle

In the 1830’s George Augustus Robinson wrote in his diaries of entering the ‘Tarkine’ in search of the ‘Tarkineer Aboriginal Band’, just one of the Aboriginal tribes who inhabited the western Tasmanian coastline (from the Arthur River to the Pieman River) before European colonisation.  This is the earliest recorded usage of the word ‘Tarkine’.  Rich in Aboriginal culture and history, today we know The Tarkine as a very diverse region.

Views over the Tarkine from Whyte’s Lookout, Waratah, Tasmania

A region that consists of wild, rugged coastlines; cool temperate rainforests; privately owned rich, fertile farmlands; state forests and protected areas.  A 477 000 hectare wilderness in the remote north west of Tasmania.  It covers an area from the Arthur River to the north; the Pieman River to the south; the Murchison Highway to the east and the Indian Ocean to the west.

Tarkineer Aboriginal Band

Along the wild, wind-swept coastline can be found numerous hut depressions found in aboriginal middens, artefact scatters, ceremonial stone arrangements, petroglyph’s, and spongolite (a particular rock used to make stone tools).  All the remains of the sedentary way of life of a band of aborigines who lived along the coastline, hunting seals, land mammals and gathering shellfish.

Mouth of the Arthur River on the edge of the Tarkine: the wild, windswept coastline

Huge sand dunes which extend several kilometres inland and continue to grow, slowly filling forests with sand.  Small fishing villages from where brave fishermen still today test the wild oceans in their small fishing boats.

Tasmanian Rainforest

The Tarkine includes Australia’s largest tract of cool, temperate rainforest, which supports the flora, lichens and fossils that help tell the story of Tasmania’s ancient flora and it’s evolution, showing links to the ancient super-continent of Gondwanaland.  A walk through the cool, green comfort of these rainforests is a delight.

Lichen and fungi on the Tarkine rainforest floor

Soft green mosses, fungi and lichen underfoot; towering manferns; huge old myrtle trees up to 50metres high tower overhead.  Leatherwood and sassafras trees, everything so cool, green and alive with unique creatures and habitats not found anywhere else in the world.  It is a home to many threatened and endangered species of both flora and fauna.

Global Significance: Settlements, Mountains & Rivers

The Tarkine is also home to globally significant magnesite karsts (landforms characterised by caves and sinkholes), including unique cave and pinnacle formations.  Filled with pioneering heritage, our history is evident in the historical settlements of Temma, Corinna, Balfour, Waratah, Luina and Magnet.

Trowutta Arch ~ an example of a magnesite karst in the Tarkine, Tasmania

From the mountains to the sea, the wild rivers flow through much of the Tarkine.  The Arthur, the Pedder, the Thornton, the Rapid and the Donaldson all flow from mountains through the wilderness of the Tarkine.  The Arthur River is completely wild, never logged, never dammed and free from bushfires for over 650 years.

So often we hear of a place that has outstanding heritage significance.  A place that has both natural and cultural history; a place that is important to science; a place relatively untouched by human activity or a place of extraordinary, pristine beauty…

In Tasmania, we have The Tarkine.  It contains all of the above, and so much more.

The cool, green comfort of the Tarkine Rainforest, Tasmania

All photos ©Carol Haberle, H&H Photography.
You can follow Carol on Facebook at Haberle Photo Cards

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Map: Tarkine Tasmania…

David and Anne Kernke are the owners of Shene, the historic Tasmanian property located in Pontville.  Anne has been following Think Tasmania on Facebook, and was impressed by the photographs taken by Dan Fellow.  She invited him to visit and inspect the work they’re doing as the custodians of this Heritage Highway treasure.

Shene Tasmania is a valuable link with Australia's colonial heritage

Shene: Unveiling a Heritage Treasure

Photos by Dan Fellow

The story of Shene dates back to 1819, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie issued a land grant to Edward Paine, grandson of King George III.  The homestead and stable complex were designed by Francis Butler, son of prominent English lawyer Gamaliel Butler.  Francis was the architect responsible for many of the iconic buildings throughout the Hobart region, but the construction of this Pontville property was a symbol of the wealth and power of the landed gentry.

Shene includes an elaborate homestead and stable buildings designed by Francis Butler

Visit the historic stables and barn buildings during a walking tour of Shene

These days, Shene is providing owners David and Anne Kernke with a wealth of history to share.  Built using convict labour, there are tales of conflict between the settlers, the convicts, local Aboriginals and the occasional bush ranger.  As a vital agricultural holding, the wheat grown on the property was used to sustain the colony in both Hobart and Sydney Cove.

Some amazing history has been uncovered during the renovation of Shene

Tour and High Tea with David and Anne Kernke

The public can now gain an incredible insight into early colonial times by joining a walking tour of Shene.   David and Anne Kernke escort visitors around the privately owned estate, taking in the Georgian homestead, servant’s quarters and the iconic stables and barn.

Join owners David and Anne Kernke on a heritage walking tour of Shene

Tours are strictly by appointment and operate Friday through to Monday at 2:00pm (or at other times by special arrangement).  Bookings are essential, and are to be made at least 24 hours in advance.  Visitors are advised to wear sturdy footwear appropriate for walking.  All bookings are made online.

David and Anne Kernke have uncovered a diverse range of treasure at Shene

Passionate about Shene, David and Anne Kernke are keen to share their heritage property

The guided walking tour of Shene lasts approximately 90 minutes, but guests are welcome to stay on and appreciate the heritage experience.  The official tour concludes with High Tea served in the homestead, and features produce grown on the property at Shene.

The walking tour at Shene concludes with High Tea in the Georgian homestead

Shene Tasmania is located at 76 Shene Road Pontville.  It’s
about 30 minutes north of Hobart on the Midland Highway,
driving towards Launceston. For more details, contact
David and Anne Kernke on 0408 020 007 or visit the Shene website.
You can also follow Shene Tasmania on Facebook and Twitter.

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Map: Shene, Pontville Tasmania…

Walking down the main street of Sheffield towards the pub, we came across a visually run-down building with dirty, smeared windows.  Peering through the panes, I had discovered an engineering treasure I will never forget.

Sheffield region of Tasmania: these days missing one former engineering treasure

Engineering: Treasure Lost in Tasmania

by Roger Findlay

Looking out from the other side of the window was a life size, shiny metal kangaroo holding a stubby of beer.  I marvelled at this feat of modern day engineering and wanted to see more.  The one-time shop was closed but the sign told me it would be open at 9am the next day.

We got there a bit later than that and the greeter was sitting in a rocking chair busily knitting.  Mark Wasley never did tell us whether he was a local but, to this day, I’m sure he was the right guy for our daughter Carly.  He was a smashing bloke with the temperament of a Labrador.  In a dashing tweed jacket he was handsomely bearded, intelligent, interesting and, more interestingly, he was a knitter!  (What more could I want in a son-in-law?)  On cold nights the loving couple could sit by the open fire sharing a hot chocolate and singing chorus’s while knitting in harmony for their soon-to-be child.

Mechanical Engineering: Pneumatics & Mechatronics

For all of my working life, I’ve been involved in mechanical engineering and I’ve a good understanding of the expense involved in the manufacture of the working models inside the dingy building.  Having recently been to MONA, I see them in a class way above some of the similar exhibits I saw there.

Briefly, all of the robotic working models were controlled by compressed air.  Pneumatics is the technical term for this field of engineering.  Mechatronics is the term used for mechanical and electrical systems that control motions such as pushing, pulling, rotating and gripping.  If you’ve ever seen The Terminator you’ll know what I mean.

The Terminator, part of the Tiger's Tale show in Sheffield, is now extinct

Apart from the beer drinking kangaroo, talking cockatoo and six-foot tall Terminator, there was a ten minute show.  But first I had to feed coins into a slot to see the models perform.  As The Terminator went through his routine, I was listening to the pneumatics opening and closing valves and exhausting without fail.  I envisaged countless hours of milling, turning, drilling, fitting and polishing to achieve the end result.

The coin-fed robotic cockatoo, one of the stars of the former attraction in Sheffield

The Tiger’s Tale: History in Sheffield

As I was feeding my last coin into the Cockie’s cage, I glimpsed Mark the knitter preparing for the remote controlled Tiger’s Tale.  Along with a few others, we were ushered up the stairs into a small, dark theatre and onto the stalls.  We didn’t know what to expect as a life-like person sat above us with a large TV camera. Was he real?

Catching the Tiger's Tale on film: engineering a quirky show in Sheffield

The props portrayed a farm yard with a dog kennel, chook house and dunny.  Apart from the sound effects and the lights, everything else in the show was controlled by pneumatics.  As far as I can remember, the farmer was trying to shoot the Tasmanian Tiger that continually stole his chooks, but that hardly matters.

Former tourist attraction in Sheffield Tasmania: the Tiger's Tale show

We were in stitches when the farmer sat on the dunny and from behind the door his pants lowered to the ground.  All the time, the camera man was filming away and all the time the pneumatics performed the actions.  The show ended dramatically with the Tassie Tiger getting his chook and the farmer ever frustrated.

The Tiger's Tale: an engineering attraction lost to the town of Sheffield in Tasmania

The knitter was no engineering expert.  Someone else owned the models.  All the knitter had to do was cue the show and press the start button.  In the unlikely event of the air mechanisms failing, the show could not go on.  Perhaps the expert lived a few doors away where the glass marble shop is now.

World of Marbles contemporary art gallery: main street, Sheffield

The Sheffield Region Survives… but the Tiger’s Tale Does Not

We went back to Sheffield a few years later.  The murals and views of Mount Roland were as good as ever but the robot show had gone.  I’m not one for change and found it hard to accept everyday bric-a-brac as a replacement.  I could understand the departure, but a unique display like this would rake in a fortune in the major cities.  I would estimate the cost of the models to be in excess of $0.5m but you couldn’t put a price on the one that got away.  Knit a row, pearl a row……..

These days, tourists to Sheffield in Tasmania can enjoy the fabulous murals

Roger Findlay spends all his holidays in Tasmania, then writes about the
experience for Think Tasmania. If you’d like Roger to visit you in the name of
research (so we can publish information about your business), please contact us.

If you like this article about Tasmania, and you’d like to read more, just subscribe to our newsletter or join us on Facebook.  If you really like this article, and you want others to see it, you can choose one of the “share” options below.  We’d love that!

Comments relevant to this article are also very welcome, just leave a reply below.

Map: Sheffield, Tasmania…

Last night I was invited to view and listen to a rehearsal for the Latrobe Federal Band.  This year they celebrate 140 years, and I was overwhelmed firstly with the quality of the music, and secondly with the family history embedded in this band.

The Latrobe Federal Band is celebrating 140 years in 2012

Latrobe Federal Band

by Lorraine McNeair

The Latrobe Federal Band was formed in 1872 by Captain McNee with twelve players, and the money for the instruments and uniforms was raised by bazaars and various other money-raising functions.  There are still connections in the present band which go back to that original twelve musicians.  Some of the surnames mentioned being involved are Coventrys, Perkins, Clarkes and Hicks.

I talked last night to a young school girl who is the fourth generation to play with the brass band. The president (Kem Perkins) is the third generation to serve in this position and has been president continuously for forty-five years. The Latrobe Band is the oldest, continuously functioning brass band in Australia. It continued to function, with great dedication, throughout the Depression and two world wars, though dwindling to only nine musicians.

On Easter Sunday of this year the brass band will play at St. Luke’s Church Service, beginning at 10.30pm before the service begins, and again during the service.  Later in the year, on the 9th and 10th November, there will be a band reunion, concert and dinner, at which Vivien Martin, a past Musical Director, will be Guest Conductor.

Xiao Xia Jiang: Musical Director

The present Musical Director is Xiao Xia Jiang, and last night I was highly impressed with her high expertise and energy.  She is also a very accomplished opera singer, and I look forward to an opportunity to hear her perform.  In 1979 the Latrobe Federal Band toured the United Kingdom, and was asked by the BBC to play a moving rendition of Amazing Grace in honour of Lord Louis Mountbatten who was assassinated whilst the brass band was there.

Xiao Xia Jiang, Muscial Director of the Latrobe Federal Band in Tasmania

Of special mention should be that of the late Lou Coventry, who was heavily involved with the Latrobe Federal Band from 1899 when he joined as a boy.  He was Bandmaster from 1919 until 1965 when he retired at 76 years of age because of ill-health.  He is so revered that the bandrooms, which were developed in the late 1970′s with a grant from the local council, are named after him.  What a fantastic memorial to a great man and musician.  It is said that he conducted the band with one hand whilst playing an instrument with the other!

The beat goes on... and on and on! The Latrobe Federal Band has a bright future.

Latrobe Federal Band: A Bright Future

The future looks bright too, with the best Junior Band program in the State.  They have a wonderful Junior Band Room, which was developed with generous sponsorship from various organisations.

If you are near the north west coast of Tasmania at Easter (or at any time), and see that the Latrobe Federal Band is playing, be sure to go along and listen to wonderful renditions of music to delight any heart.

Lorraine McNeair is a volunteer with the Latrobe Information Centre.
She is a writer, photographer and artist, and is passionate about
sharing all the interesting things she knows about Tasmania.

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Map: Latrobe Tasmania…