Stepping Out In Tasmania

January 13, 2002-Devils
(photos:David & emu who loved him,
Tasmanian Devils,
Pea in a Pod Cottage)

David is conducting a survey of beer in Tasmania. There’s a rivalry between Cascade Brewery in Hobart & John Boags in Launceston (pronounced Lawn-sess-ton). He will not commit when ordering, but I think his preference is Boags.

I experimented with writing to you as we were driving. It was a failure. Even the main highways are two lane affairs & the paving is less than smooth. There are twists & turns galore. We had a lot of fun going over Mt. Elephant. The speed limit was 15mph. At each bend there was a sign that said, “Large Vehicles Sound Horn.” We’re small but mighty so David joyfully blasted the horn at each curve.

Before I leave the subject of the prison at Port Arthur, there’s another story of an escape that I found humorous. Several prisoners stole the commandant’s boat & sailed it 800 miles to Sydney. They were captured in Sydney & returned to Port Arthur. The commandant had to pay 10 pounds to have his boat returned to him.

It was a very satisfying sign day. On the way to Ross, I was blessed with the opportunity to take a photo of a “shepp poo” sign. I assume they meant “sheep.” Ross was the town that had one of several Female Factories. Only the warden’s home is left of the large complex of dormitories & workshops. The women at this factory had a better than average diet that varied according to their work. Pregnant woman ate best of all. The infants were taken from their mothers when weaned & spent three years in the nursery at the factory. They were then transferred to an orphanage for eleven years after which time they were apprenticed. Prisoners who became pregnant had an additional three months added to their sentences for immoral behavior. Lesbian behavior was not uncommon. When discovered, they were given separate sleeping quarters. The town itself has stunning examples of Georgian stone architecture. The four corners of the main street in town symbolize the mindset of the day. There’s the church (salvation), the town hall (recreation), the inn (temptation), & the goal (damnation). We found a tearoom serving lunch & had delicious chicken vegetable soup & bread. Why did I expect a nice crusty roll? It’s typical here to be served buttered white bread & that’s what we got. We started a conversation with the couple near us & it was very informative. They’re native Tasmanians. He told us that Battery Point in Hobart & many forts dating from the late 1800’s were built to fend off the Russians. Of course, the fear was only in the minds of the Australians. Russia never made an attempt or gave it a thought. We asked him about the fields of mauve flowers we’d passed. He said those were legal opium poppies grown for export to the U.S. The discussion went from mauves to pink as he told us about the large diamond mining industry here. Western Australia mines 25% of the world’s gem quality pink & yellow diamonds. I’ve been looking at opals. Maybe I’ll change direction. When we told him we were from Ohio, he said he’d been there & really liked the Quad Cities. We didn’t correct him. It is confusing.

We left Ross & took a slight detour to see Lake Leake. It’s mentioned on all the tours. All I can say is that it’s blue & wet. The best thing about it is its name. We proceeded to a wildlife preserve & did a mitzvah (good deed). The facility rehabilitates wild birds & animals & returns them to the wild. It just changed hands & the new owners are really fixing it up. I thought I could hold a baby Tasmanian Devil, but they only had adults & don’t permit handling of any of the animals. It was worth the stop to see an emu fall in love with David & follow him around. Maybe it was only the bag of food David had, but it looked like true love to me. We also got to see the devils being fed kangaroo road kill. Need I say more?
Diemons

We decided to stop at Longford instead of going into the big city of Launceston. We chose to stay at the Brickendon Estate & Convict Farm. Our replica of a farm worker’s cottage is called Pea in a Pod Cottage. It is too cute. The raw wood exterior made us nervous, but the interior is cozy & furnished with antiques. We even have our own corrugated metal cistern. We were surprised to learn that the cottages are only four years old. Our porch is covered with flowering vines & our sitting room overlooks sprawling fields & mountains. This property has been in the Archer family since 1824. The book, The Archers of Von Diemons Land, is sitting in our room. Von Diemons Land is the original name for Tasmania. This is now a working farm as well as a model 1830’s farm open to the public. We walked the grounds with our escort, a calico cat, who sleeps on our porch. One area has the original village & buildings the convicts built. We petted some sheep, dodged some geese, & tried to coax some horses over for a nibble. There’s even trout fishing in the Macquairie River for those who are inclined. The main house was designed by the first of the Arthurs who was an architect. It’s surrounded by exquisite gardens & forested paths. What amazed me were the hydrangeas. They varied from white to every shade of pink, purple, & blue. Each bush was enormous as were the flowers.

The perfect end to the day was dinner at the Queens Arms Hotel. Wine & beer came to $A 4.05 total. That is about $U.S. 2. There’s a custom here I really like. I was unsure of which wine to order. They poured me a taste so I could decide. We had to select our meals from the specials listed on a blackboard, knock on the Dutch door to the kitchen, & place our order with the cook. I wanted the vegetables with my dinner instead of a salad & fries. I didn’t realize I was getting all of the vegetables of the day. I had a plate with an entire chicken breast, cabbage, cauliflower in a lovely corn sauce, green beans, roast potato, & broccoli for $U.S. 6. David had a very large T-bone for $U.S. 7.50.

Oh, I forgot the best part. Our cottage includes breakfast. There’s a hutch in the room that has canisters of cereal. The owner brought us bread & butter. There’s juice & milk in the mini refrigerator & we have tea & coffee fixings along with a toaster & microwave. This will set us back $A 90 ($U.S. 45).

Toby