Family Camp

When our eldest child started primary school at St Joseph's, Yarra Junction in 1990, we discovered that the school held an annual Family Camp on Melbourne Cup weekend.

At that time, the camp was held at Marysville. Some families would go up for a day trip; others would stay from 1 to 4 nights over the weekend.

We went along for just one night that first year, and had such a great time that we went back each year until our last child finished primary school in 2005.

In those early years, we had many wet Melbourne Cup weekends. Some years, only the diehards went - maybe just 10 or so families. One November, our youngest child spent the weekend in her pusher, as it was just so wet!! But in later years, we had up to 30-odd families involved in some way or another.

The Marysville years were great. The caravan park where we camped was very close to the township, and we could walk to the shops and the lovely little town that Marysville was. Each Melbourne Cup weekend, Marysville hald its Wirreanda Festival, with many private gardens open for people to walk through, and a carnival atmosphere in the town. It was a great spot for camping. We all used to set up our tents in the unpowered area. The camp fire used to burn all weekend, and at night, when the kids were all asleep, we would sit around the fire together.

On the Sunday morning, there used to be a street parade, which we always went to watch. After we had been going there 7 or 8 years, some new cabins were built in the area where the unpowered camping used to be, and the only area left for camping was alongside the river. That wasn't ideal for families with small children, and so in the late 90s, we changed Family Camp to Alexandra, where we went for several years. Some of our closest friendships were forged in this community.

Family camp continues for the current families at St Joe's. The last couple of years that we attended, the camp was held at Korrumburra. It has changed somewhat from the early years. Today's families have different interests, and the camp has evolved.

This year, some of the "older" families are getting together again on Cup Weekend in Alexandra. Our campervan needs some canvas repairs, so we have booked ourselves a cabin in the caravan park where we stay. Of course, not towing the van leaves Gavan free to tow the boat up!! I am really looking forward to the weekend, which is now only about 5 weeks away. Of course, none of us will have kids there - unless any of our adult children come along! A few of us now have grandchildren who may be brought along!!

Can't wait..

Devonport and Mersey Bluff

Tonight, we will be back on board the Spirit of Tasmania for the return trip to Melbourne. We have again booked a cabin for the overnight sailing, and will be in Melbourne early on Saturday morning.

We drove north from Hobart on the "heritage highway" route, which took us towards Launceston. The road took us through Oatlands, where we stopped to look at the Callington Mill windmill. Another "oldest" for Tasmania, this is the only working 19th Century tower mill in the southern hemisphere. Oatlands is another historic village, complete with Georgian buildings. We passed through several of these on today's drive.

We have decided that Launceston will require more than "passing through", and so did not attempt to squeeze in a visit today. Instead, we turned west towards Devonport, and were there in time for lunch and a walk around the town centre.

The afternoon has been spent just outside Devonport on the Mersey Bluff, overlooking Bass Strait. The cloud that had been around in the morning lifted, and it has been a beautiful afternoon. There are some paths around the cliff, and apparently there is a blow hole in the rocks, although there wasn't much action happening there today! (it was a couple of hours off high tide, so perhaps that is why).

Getting ready for the last part of our holiday now.

Hobart City

We had quite a bit of rain overnight, and it was still a bit damp and overcast this morning, and so we decided to go into Hobart and take the tourist double-decker bus trip around the city this morning. This had been recommended to us, and I have done the similar trip in other cities, and found them to be very good.

Today's tour did not disappoint. The narrative filled in many gaps for us, and we saw a lot more than we can when one of us is driving and the other map-reading!

In the afternoon, I went for a walk down to Salamanca Place again, while Gavan went around the Maritime Museum. On Saturday, we only really went to the market, and hadn't gone in to any of the galleries and gift shops along the street. Couldn't leave Hobart without doing that!!

Walking back to where we had left the car, we passed St David's Cathedral and went in to look around. The wood carving in the choir screen was well worth seeing. Unfortunately, my photos don't really do it justice.

The last stop for the day was the Hobart Cenotaph, overlooking the Tasman Bridge and the harbour. The Cenotaph has a recent addition of a memorial to Tasmania's Victoria Cross recipients.

This is our last night in Hobart. Tomorrow we head north again to Devonport, via Launceston. I think we have seen a lot in a short time, and we are glad that we didn't try to cover more ground, as we would have missed a lot along the way. There's always next time!!!

Richmond

Several people had recommended that we include a visit to Richmond on our itinerary and so we were keen to get there. It is only about 25kms from Seven Mile Beach, where we are staying, and so it was just a leisurely drive this morning.

Richmond is an historic town, known amongst other things for its bridge across the Coal River, which is the oldest bridge in Australia, and dates from 1823. It is a beautiful old stone bridge.

The village has many lovely old buildings and houses in it, and as with Hobart, the heritage has been well preserved. We spent a lovely day just wandering around Richmond, and in and out of its many galleries and gift shops.

Richmond is also home to St John's Catholic Church, which was built in 1837 and is the oldest Roman Catholic Church still in use in Australia. It's a lovely old Church, although how the elderly got up that hill to Mass in the days before everyone had cars is beyond us!

Hobart and New Norfolk

We had a little bit of rain overnight, and some showers this morning. We had already decided to have a quieter day, with less driving, and had planned to go in to Hobart.

We started off near Constitution Dock, where the boats dock after the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Looking across to Macquarie wharf, we could see two Sea Shepherd ships were in port, although they were made to look tiny by the P & O cruise ship beside them!!

We stopped to look at the "Heading South" sculptures, by Stephen Walker. There are two sculptures "The Bernacchi Tribute" and "Seals and Penguings", commemorating the port's role in Antarctic exploration. The "Seals and Penguins" sculpture is on the rocks in the water below the wharf. It shares the rocks with local bird life, which seems entirely appropriate! Also visible in the water were many starfish.

I love the way Hobart has preserved its building heritage. We noticed it on Saturday at Salamanca, and each time we been into Hobart we have been struck by it again. This morning we saw a lovely row of buildings along Hunter Street, beside Macquarie Wharf.

Our next stop was at the pinnacle of Mount Wellington. We expected it to be cold and windy, but were not expecting the ferocity of the wind!! Fortunately, there is a viewing shelter so it was possible to get out of the wind. And what a magnificent view it is. Hobart is a really lovely city. We went out of the shelter to the open air viewing platform, but it was almost impossible to hold the camera still in the strong winds. The photos can't do justice to the view - spectacular.

After a fish and chip lunch on the wharf, we headed out of Hobart again to New Norfolk. This is a nice little town further up the Derwent River. We parked (coincidentally!) beside the public libray. So that has given me another photo for my Public Library set!! There are a number of gift and antique shops in the town, and we wandered up the main street. We spent some time in an antiques and 20th Century collectibles shop. I have never seen so many pianola rolls in one place before: three shelving bays packed with them! But the biggest surprise that this store had to offer was in a little side room. I stumble upon the Tardis in the most unexpected places - the last time was on the Historic Wharf in Portsmouth.

The day's sightseeing finished on the riverfront in New Norfolk, where we came across some very friendly ducks (possibly because they were being fed by a local child and her mother!). It is a very picturesque part of the Derwent - but then, I am yet to see a part that isn't!

Port Arthur

Port Arthur today. And it takes a full day too! So what to say about it? I am struggling to find the right words to sum up the day. It is such a beautiful setting, and yet such terrible things have happened there. It's quite eerie.

Our admission included a port cruise, which we did first. Looking at the area from the water, you can really see (as was pointed out by the guide) how the 19th Century order of society and symbols of power were reflected in the complex. The convict building at the bottom of the hill, with the soldiers' accommodation behind, the Commandant's house above on the hill, and then beyond, the Church spire.

The cruise also took us past Point Puer, on the other side of the port. This is where juvenile prisoners were held, to keep them separate from the adult prisoners. The youngest of these boys was 9 years old. Most were between 14 and 17.
There is also an island in the Port, known as the "Isle of the Dead", which is where military & civil personnel, their wives and children and convicts were buried. Even in death, convicts were kept separate from the rest of the population, and buried in lower ground.

We had the audio kits for the self guided audio tour, and went around the site with them. These are a great device for tourist sites, allowing you to go at your own pace and walk around in the order of your own choosing. Many of the buildings were destroyed by bushfires in the late 19th century, but several remain.

In front of the Penitentiary building, there is a large flat area of ground. This was originally a part of the bay, but the authorities wanted a flat parade area, and so it was reclaimed to create the area that remains today.

There are gardens around the commandant's house, and on the other side of the community, around the "Government Cottage" which housed important visitors. These were recreations of English gardens. Looking across from the Commandant's house, there are two beautiful old gum trees in the foreground. I was struck by the juxtaposition of these on the english style landscape beyond.

A full and interesting day.

The family history trail

Today we went south - as far as we could, to the southernmost part of Tasmania, the South East Cape. Gavan's grandparents came from Ida Bay, and there were a number of towns in the Huon Valley with which his family has connections. We spent quite a bit of time wandering the old cemeteries along the way. The research work has already been done - we have a history of Gavan's grandfather's side of the family which a relative of his published some years ago. So for us, it was just the interest of seeing the area for ourselves.

Our tour took us via Huonville, with stops as Franklin, Geeveston, Dover and of course, Ida Bay. Having come this far, we travelled the additional 20kms or so south to Cockle Creek and the South East Cape.

This was some of the loveliest country that I have seen. The area is completely unspoiled, and the tranquility of the various little bays that we passed along the way was a delight. At Ida Bay, the historic railway was operating. This is a narrow gauge railway which used to transport limestone from quarries to the wharf at Ida Bay. Today, a diesel engine is used to run the train as a tourist attraction.