Tasmanian Devils: A Northern NSW/Tasmanian Connection

 Tasmanian Devil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a meat eating mammal.

It is also a marsupial, which means they have a small pouch to carry their babies.
It is the largest meat eating marsupial in the world.

They are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and are awake during the night.
They now live only in Tasmania, an island state of Australia.

The devil is the same size as a small dog with a wide head and a short tail.
Male devils can weigh 12 kg and be 30 cm tall.

It has black fur and makes a loud and very scary screeching noise.

It will hunt other animals and also feed on dead animals.

The devil has strong teeth and jaws and will eat all its prey even bones and fur.

Extinction

The Tasmanian Devil became extinct on the Australian mainland about 400 years before European settlement in 1788.

They were hunted in Tasmania; in the 1930's the Van Dieman's Land Company offered 25 cents for each male and 35 cents for each female killed.

In 1941 they became officially protected.

In 1996 the devils began to get very sick and then die with large tumours on their faces.
Devil facial tumour disease has greatly reduced the number of devils and now threatens their survival. In some areas 85% of devils have been found with the disease.

In the places where the tumours were seen first, devil numbers have dropped by 95%.
The tumour is spread by biting.

Because the devils are all closely related (not enough genetic diversity), the tumour cells are not seen as new; so the devil's immune system does not fight it.

In May 2008 the Tasmanian Devil was listed as endangered.

Programs are being tried by the Tasmanian government to reduce the impact of the disease.
About 60 devils without the disease have been captured and are to be kept as a tumour free group for rebreeding.

Scientists have been looking at ways to give the devils immunity but so far this has not worked.

So the race is on to breed large numbers of Tasmanian devils away from the disease-front.
It is critical that the devils being relocated are genetically diverse and are raised in a way to ensure they can be released into Tasmania once DFTD has run its destructive course.

 Devil Ark

This is where Devil Ark plays a vital role.

High in the hills of Barrington Tops in NSW is Devil Ark – a conservation breeding program for the Tasmanian devil.

Devil Ark is the largest conservation breeding program for the Tasmanian devil on mainland Australia.

At an altitude of 1,350 metres, Devil Ark provides the perfect breeding environment for devils.

The Tasmanian-like vegetation and cool, wet and snowy conditions means the devils feel right at home!

Devil Ark is very different to a zoo where small enclosures mean loss of natural behaviour.
Devils at Devil Ark are kept in a natural environment to maintain their wild behaviour and keepers intervene as little as possible.

This means a cost-effective and devil-friendly approach.

Supply River Flour Mill

Supply River Flour Mill

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Just down the Tamar from Low Head, but on the western shore, is the Supply River where my great great Grandfather, James and his brother John rented and operated a water driven flour mill.

James and his wife Margaret, children John and George and his brother John arrived in Hobart in around 1844 on the transportation ship ‘The London’.

James was initially employed in Launceston as the superintendent of the treadmill.

 Supply River Mill Reserve

Off Deviot Road, Deviot, West Tamar.

An easy 15-minute walk along the banks of the Supply River are the ruins of Tasmania's earliest water-driven flour mill.

The Supply River Mill is both peaceful and historically interesting.

During its early years, the Mill was attacked on several occasions by bands of Bushrangers.

Two 'Supply' workers along with numerous bushrangers were killed and the place, in local circles, has since retained an aspect of the 'supernatural', believed to be haunted by the spirit of a lone Bushranger.

 

The Mill

Supply River Mill was built in 1825 by a Mr. Charlton and leased to George Cathcart. On the Arrowsmith Map of 1832 it was noted as Beverage's Mill. Some twenty-five kilometres north of Launceston, on the western side of the Tamar River, the mill was located in an isolated spot. In the early days it was subject to attacks by aborigines and bushrangers. Two workers are said to have been killed in such attacks.

By 1842 the mill was owned by Guillan and Syme. They employed two apprentices, James (Philosopher) Smith and Thomas Monds. Smith then sixteen years old, went on to become a dogged mineral fossicker. Besides finding various mineral deposits around the North West, discovered the Mount Bishoff tin deposits.

Monds stayed with milling, purchasing the Carrick Mill with the assistance of John Cartledge, and founding the company that was to become the present Monds and Affleck.

The Supply Mill, as with others of the day, was highly labour-intensive. Grain and flour had to be lifted with block and tackle or manhandled within the mill and to and from the ships servicing the mill. There were two pair of four foot six inch (135cm) millstones, and the usual dressing and cleaning equipment. The small building, besides housing the machinery and grain, accommodated up to six people. (Port Dalrymple Story, Bethell)

While there was not sufficient water to operate the mill for four months of the year, working night and day the mill could grind up to forty tons of flour a week. In 1844 the schooner ‘Dusty Miller’, carrying 120 tons of flour worth ₤70 per ton, was wrecked in Portland Bay. The ship and cargo were not insured, and Guillam and Syme became bankrupt.

SALE BY AUCTION

An advertisement appeared in the Cornwall Chronicle throughout February 1848:

    SALE BY AUCTION
    ELIGIBLE INVESTMENT FOR CAPITALISTS
    Where an industrious man of such means may speedily acquire an independent fortune.
    MESSRS. UNDERWOOD AND EDDIE,
    Are instructed by Mr. Yates to sell by auction, at their rooms
    in Charles Street, on Wednesday, the 1st March next.
    All those powerful WATER CORN MILLS,
    Known as
    THE SUPPLY MILLS
    Situate in the improving
    TOWNSHIP OF EXTER,
    ON THE WEST BANK OF THE TAMAR.
    Eighteen Miles from Launceston.

    On this valuable property there is a never-failing supply of water, rendering the mill capable of grinding and dressing 56,000 bushels of wheat per annum, and might, with a trifling outlay, be made capable of manufacturing double the quantity.
    The mill consists of a large three-story wooden building thereto attacked, containing three pairs of the very best 4ft6in. French stones, two very superior 6gt, dressing machines, and one very excellent smutting machine, with going gear, sack tackle & etc., & etc., complete.

    There is a weather-boarded residence close to the Mill, containing six rooms, and also a miller’s cottage near the same.
    There are ten acres, substantially fenced in, out of which a splendid garden of two acres is enclosed, in which the gardener’s home of two rooms is erected, and the garden is stocked with the choicest fruit tress, in full bearing.
    On this splendid property there is ample space for two or three Mills or Manufactories in addition to the Mill now erected thereon, and as the water in the Supply River is secured by Grant Deed to the exclusive use of the proprietor, intending purchasers may render the site one of the first importance in point of revenue investment, as the quality of the water is so pure as to be admirably adapted for all the purposes of paper manufactory.
    The river Tamar is navigable to the Mill Door, alongside of which vessels of fifty tons may discharge their cargos.
    Title- a Grant from the Crown.
    Terms – Twenty per cent deposit on the day of sale: £700 may secure the property at 8 per cent: for the residue, bills at 4, 6, 9, and 12 months, bearing bank interest,.
    The Mills at present are let to respectable tenants, at £200 per annum.
    For further particulars, apply to Messrs. Jennings and Grubb,
    Solicitors, Launceston; or to Mr. Yates, Cataract Mill, Launceston. Supply River Mill

 Check out the post 'Hiring A Campervan In Tasmania - You’ll find Campervans and 4x4s from providers such as Maui, Cruisin, Tasmania Campers, Jucy, Britz, Apollo and many more.

Low Head - Oldest Pilot and Signal Station in Australia

  Low Head

The latest weather for low head

 

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Low Head, a suburb of George Town, is a unique and historical precinct on a peninsula on the eastern shore of the mouth of the Tamar River

The area also has a lighthouse, beaches and a colony of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), a population of 572 (at the 2016 census) and is just a 40 minutes drive from Launceston.

Dating back to 1805, the Low Head Conservation Area is the oldest Pilot and Signal Station in Australia and has run continuously since 1833.

Offering a diverse range of 19th century buildings overlooking Bass Strait, this charming precinct is a haven of tranquillity and serenity surrounded by pristine beaches.

 

 

 

 East Beach Tourist Park
40 Gunn Pde, Low Head, Tasmania
(03) 6382-1000
infoeastbeachtouristpark@gmail.com
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Low Head Tourist Park
136 Low Head Rd, Low Head TAS
(03) 6382 1573
Visit Website

Low Head Pilot Station

 

Low Head Pilot Station is the oldest group of pilot buildings in Australia. It is the second-oldest pilot service (after Sydney).

 The pilot service dates from 1805, with the appointment of William House as Harbour Master at Port Dalrymple, and the first building on the site was probably in 1806.

 The pilot service still operates from this site today.

The first European settlers to arrive in the Tamar Valley came with Lieutenant Colonel William Paterson in November 1804.

 They landed and set up camp at Outer Cove (now George Town), established their settlement at York Town on the West Tamar, and in 1806 moved to Launceston.

The Tamar River is a dangerous estuary with a complicated navigation channel, which has always required the help of pilots.

The oldest building on the site is Pilots’ Row.

 It was a terrace of four apartments, each with four rooms, to house the pilots and their families.

 It dates from 1835 and was designed by John Lee Archer, the colonial Architect. It replaced earlier wooden pilot buildings.

As the station grew, other buildings were added. These include the Coxwain’s Cottage (1847), Boat Crew Cottages (1859, 1860, 1861, 1962), the School House (1866), Pilot’s Cottage (1917), Church, Octagonal Chart Room, Workshop and Boat Shed.

 

 Low Head Lighthouse
496 Low Head Road, Low Head, Tasmania
This free point of interest offers nice scenery, wildlife viewing and walking tracks. Dogs are not permitted. No camping or overnight parking allowed.

Low Head Penguin Tours
}485 Low Head Road, George Town,
Phone: 0418 361 860
Email: penguins@lowhead.com.au
Website

This paid point of interest offers wildlife viewing. Dogs are not permitted. No camping or overnight parking allowed. You must book in advance.

 Low Head Penguin Tours offers a unique nature experience to get up close and personal with Little Blue Penguins as they return from the pristine waters of Bass Strait to nest in their burrows.

George Town Visitor Information Centre
92-96 Main Road, George Town
Tel: 03 6382 1700.
Email: info@georgetown.net.au
OPENING HOURS: Monday to Sunday : 9.00am to 4.00pm

Dump Point
George Town Visitor Information Centre
92-96 Main Road, George Town

Toilet Facilities
Lagoon Beach: East Tamar Highway, Low Head
East Beach: East Beach Road, Low Head

Police Station
80/82 Macquarie St, George Town TAS 7253 - non-emergency Ph. 131 444

Doctor/Medical Centre
George Town Medical Centre
49 Anne St, George Town
(03) 6382 4333

George Town District Hospital and Community Health Centre
47 Anne St, George Town TAS 7253
(03) 6702 6020

Laundromat
Cnr Sorell & Macquarie Sts, George Town

Service Tasmania and Library
12 Elizabeth St, George Town

 

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Check out the post 'Hiring A Campervan In Tasmania - You’ll find Campervans and 4x4s from providers such as Maui, Cruisin, Tasmania Campers, Jucy, Britz, Apollo and many more.