Replica Of The 25 Ton Colonial Sloop Norfolk

Bass and Flinders prove Tasmania is an island

  

The Replica of the Norfolk in George Town

 

The 25 ton Colonial sloop Norfolk was built on Norfolk Island in 1798 and was constructed from Norfolk Island Pine.

Flinders had been doing some exploring on his own and believed that he could prove that Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was an island.

Bass and Flinders convinced Governor Hunter that another expedition should be set up with a bigger boat and more men.

The Circumnavigation

Governor Hunter quickly put the Norfolk under the command of Matthew Flinders to be used
as a survey vessel.

From the Bass and Flinders Centre

In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), proving that it was an island.
 
They sailed with a crew of 8  right into the Tamar River and anchored off what is now George Town.

This was to be their last voyage together as Bass disappeared mysteriously in the Pacific Ocean.

Flinders also took the Norfolk north to chart Cook’s Morton’s Bay (now Moreton Bay) and Hervey’s Bay (Hervey Bay).

The Norfolk was then used to supply produce from the Windsor Area to Port Jackson, until 1800 when she was seized by convicts, at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River.

Intending to sail her to the Mollucas (A group of islands of eastern Indonesia between Sulawesi and New Guinea), the convicts ran her aground at Stockton on the northern side of the mouth to the Hunter River.

History on show

The Bass and Flinders Centre

 

In 1998-99 Bern Cuthbertson from Sandy Bay, Tasmania, re-enacted all of the Norfolk's journeys in a replica of the Norfolk, constructed of Tasmanian Huon and Celery Top pines.

The magnificent replica Norfolk is now on display at The Bass and Flinders Centre in George Town.

The Bass and Flinders Centre is at 8 Elizabeth Street, George Town TAS 7253 

http://www.bassandflinders.org.au

Some Tasmanian Tree Sculptures

Is There Life After Death?

Tree sculpture at East Beach

 

 

If the George Town/Low Head area is anything to go by, there certainly is.

This is my second Australia Day back in Northern Tasmania and as I enjoyed the experience at the Low Head Pilot Station last year, I decided to do it again.

Sadly, despite the weather being near perfect, the event fell far short of last year's, in almost every respect. I did one quick circuit of the precinct and left - the problem was probably the result of the present depressed nature of the region.

Discovering East Beach

East  Beach overlooking the Low Head Lighthouse

 

Rather than waste an outing, even though it is only a few kilometre drive, I took a left turn on the way home to look at a beach.

I can be a bit slack and although it is only a longish walk from the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, I had not seen it.

The beach sweeps east, from the point that houses the Low Head Lighthouse, in a 1.5 km crescent fronting the Bass Straight.

The quite attractive beach is backed by a narrow strip of scrub, then the road and is served by a reasonable toilet block.

In 1869 a submarine telegraph cable ran from Low Head, Tasmania to Western Port, Victoria and the foundations of its wooden test house lies beside the short track from the road to the beach.

New life for these dead trees

The café and sculpture

 

Driving a little further, I came across this amazing sight in front of a café.

Six old pine trees had been beautifully converted to this tree sculptured, nautical scene.

Sailors join a whale, dolphin, sword-fish, a surfer, a lighthouse and birds in a seriously attention grabbing display.

I really should pop back and try out their coffee and fish & chips soon.

More life from death

The Eddie Freeman sculpture in George Town

 

As I was looking at the sculpture, I remembered that I had not checked on the progress of the work in George Town lately, so I headed off to have a look.

With a chainsaw and chisel, Tasmanian sculptor, Eddie Freeman, has breathed new life into an ageing Macrocarpa Pine Tree on the site of the old Cable House for the Tasmania to Victoria telegraph link.

The sculpture features a mother whale and her baby, five penguins and cable men pulling in the telegraph cable.

The telegraph cable

The artist's credit

 

A telegraph line connecting Hobart and Launceston was completed in 1857 in 1869 a submarine telegraph cable ran from Low Head, Tasmania to Western Port, Victoria.

The key to future growth in trade and commerce was a connection to the other state capitals.

There were 117 miles of cable at a final contract cost of £53,000 laid and made operational. Unfortunately the cable was constantly out of service due to faults undersea and by January 1861 it was abandoned.

An enduring cable link was established between Cape Otway on the Victorian mid-south coast, through to King Island and, ultimately, Launceston, Tasmania, the £70000 cost paid fully by the Tasmanian Government and it was opened in 1869.

Australia Day at Low Head

Australia Day 2013 at the Low Head Pilot Station

 An impressive day in a most impressive location

Low Head Pilot Station is the oldest existing group of Pilot Station buildings in Australia with its ongoing Pilot Service dating from 1805.
What better venue, then, in which to celebrate Australia Day?
The weather was balmy, the music wonderful, the food plentiful and the crowd, when not taking part in the many events, were in a relaxed and happy mood.
.

This large, functional and historic precinct was the venue for this year's Australia Day celebrations and for a municipality of around 6,500 people the turnout was excellent.
I write and produce a website for our Community Radio Station and went along to the event to grab some photos for its Photo Album section.
Just a short drive, or a longish walk, from the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, the precinct boasts, along with its ongoing Pilot Service which guides ships through the dangerous entry and journey down the Tamar River to Launceston and Bell Bay, a maritime museum and a great restaurant among other bits and pieces.
Low Head Pilot Station is the oldest group of pilot buildings in Australia and is the second oldest pilot service (after Sydney) and was the first pilot station to operate in Australia.
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 built in 1806, some 76 years before 'The Cottage.'
The pilot service still operates from this site today.

Cars, Caterers, Boats and Bands Abound

Oh yes! And a beautiful dog
When this magnificent, polite dog came up and asked me to include it in the site I found it impossible to refuse.
Sadly, I was so touched that I forgot to ask its name.

 Boats Restored by the Wooden Boat Shed

A display of boats by The Wooden Boat Shed, a part of the Bass and Flinders Centre.
The Bass and Flinders Centre, in George Town, houses a superb replica of the  25 ton Colonial sloop Norfolk.

 In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Tasmania, proving that it was an island.

Some of the  Wonderful Classic Cars on show

 As you probably know I am getting on a tad so, to me, these machines are quite modern.
They were certainly a delight to view regardless.

Food, Food, Food.

 I couldn't believe the fact that there were so many outlets offering a wide variety of food and refreshments with most operated by organisations such as Lions and Rotary.

Obviously, it being Australia and Australia Day, the burger and the sausage sanga, along with the odd beer, prevailed.

  All the Fun of the Fair

There were Jumping Castles, rides and a bucket load of contests for young and old.
This is the junior Egg and Spoon race and, sadly, I missed the shot where the slightly embarrased Mayor dropped his egg just before the half way mark.There was an Australia Day dress Competition, Children's Amusements, Damper Making, Food Stalls and other fun activities  and a  5km Fun Run from the Pilot Station, running to the Lighthouse and back.

 And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Weary with toil the crowd moved toward the band relaxing on the expansive lawn.
All in all a briliant day and its organisers are to be congratulated for its smooth, efficient running.

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

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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
Visit Website

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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