We visit Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve

It was a beautiful Autumn afternoon ... sunny, warm and a cloudless, blue sky. We decided to have a late afternoon walk and visit the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve. It is an important wetland area located about 10 minutes drive from Launceston on the West Tamar. It provides habitat for a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, fish and invertebrates, as well as being an important historic landmark in the early non aboriginal settlement of Launceston. It is part of the Tamar Conservation Area which protects the Tamar river's remnant wetlands and estuarine environment.

There is a boardwalk from the carpark, with an excellent Interpretation Centre some 200 metres from the entrance gate. The boardwalk extends for 1.5km to Tamar island.

The 1890s saw a growth in iterest in Tamar island as a picnic spot. To give the island a more park- like atmosphere, the hill on the island was planted with a variety of exotic species including fir, pine, spruce and oak.

From the early 1900s until the 1950s, the island was offered as a farming lease.

Zachary is 32

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACHARY!!!

The 12 th of March is our son Zachary's birthday. This year he is 32. Zachary lives in Sydney so it is not possible for us to be with him on his special day. I include a photo taken when he visited us in December as well as a much older photo taken with Noel and a young Tahirih (now 34).

Ross Bridge

We made a detour and visited the beautiful village of Ross. We stopped to have a look at the famous stone bridge. Quite rightly the pride of the village of Ross this beautiful stone bridge was constructed by convicts in 1836. It is the third oldest bridge still standing in Australia and is recognised as the most important convict-built bridge in the country. It was constructed on the orders of Governor Arthur and designed by John Lee Archer. Built by convicts its beautiful stonework is the result of two convict stonemasons - Daniel Herbert and James Colbeck. They were paid one shilling a day. Herbert, who had been transported for highway robbery in 1827, was freed after the bridge was completed and is buried in the Old Cemetery. He is credited with the beautiful carvings on the side of the bridge. Experts have described the carvings as 'possibly the richest achievement of the earlier colonial period if not the most significant sculpture on any edifice in the Commonwealth.

Callington Mill at Oatlands

Callington Mill was constructed by John Vincent and flour was first ground there on October 15 1837. By 1840 it was producing 30 bushels of flour an hour. During a violent windstorm in 1909, the sails were torn from the ogee(dome) of the windmill and deposited in nearby Lake Dulverton. The interior of the mill was gutted by fire in 1912. Since 1978, conservation and restoration of the complex has been on going, as finance has permitted.

St Mark's Church at Pontville

My g.g. grandfather and grandmother, Joseph and Ellen Crothers are both interred in the cemetery of this beautiful church. They also lived at Pontville. Joseph was a policeman but he died tragically at 50 when he accidentally fell from his horse. Their son John Crothers married Julia Hally, daughter of the blacksmith James.

Pontville

Pontville is a picturesque village. It is significant for me as James Hally, my g.g.grandfather was a blacksmith who established his workshop on the side of the main road at Pontville. The remnants of his workshop still stands so I took a photo of the current building.

We drive back to Launceston

We left Hobart in the early afternoon to return to Launceston. We decided to stop at some of the towns on our way to visit some antique and collectables stores that we have not stopped at previously. We also wanted to look at some of the historical structures in some of the towns. As we drove across the causeway at Bridgewater I snapped an image of the Derwent River. It was such a lovely day for travelling and the reflections in the river looked particularly beautiful.

Dorian with Noel, Trish and Nicole

Edie reading and playing

Fuschias

Time with Toby, Nicole and Edie

A bonus for us going to Hobart to see the production of Jesus Christ Superstar was that we stayed with our children and grandchildren at New Town. It was wonderful to have a chance to interact with our youngest grandchild, Edie. She has a wonderful imagination and loves having story books read to her. We enjoyed looking at the developments in the garden too and admired a particularly large sunflower as well as some beautiful roses and some different fuschias. Toby and Nicole have some chooks in their back yard too. They produce nice fresh free range eggs for the kitchen. Trish and Steve came by to take Dorian out for a coffee so we went to have a look at the offerings available at some second hand /antique shops,(Wayne Devine's Furniture and Louise's) before going to a very nice playground nearby where Edie had some fun on the slide and swing while we consumed coffee and special cakes purchased from Jean-Pascal Patisserie. Delicious!

Jesus Christ Superstar

Today we travelled to Hobart, the main purpose being to attend a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar . One of our grandsons, Dorian was playing trumpet in the orchestra. The production was the culmination of the 2007 Hobart Summer Theatre School. Well, it was an excellent production and the performances were outstanding. we enjoyed the show very much.

Trish and Steve two of Dorian's other grandparents also attended. They had also travelled down from Launceston so it was a great evening for Dorian.

Edie is 90 today

My great aunt Edie Crothers celebrated her 90th birthday today. Noel and I went to visit her this morning to have a chat and to help her celebrate this special birthday. She was in good spirits and talked a lot about Gladstone (here in N E Tasmania) where her brother used to live.

Dawn from our kitchen window

I noticed the beautiful sky at dawn this morning so I snapped this view through the trees from our kitchen window.

Tamar River and Gorge, Launceston

Royal Park, Launceston 1935

Launceston from Mulgrave Street 1935

Looking towards Launceston from Trevallyn Road 1935

I enjoy spending time exploring antique shops and market stalls with collectibles. One of my interests is collecting old postcards and photos of Tasmania. Recently, in a box of bits and pieces at a market, discovered a few old photos taken by a visitor to Launceston in 1935. I also found a small tourist photo of the Gorge taken looking across the Tamar from Royal Park before the new bridge was constructed that now takes the traffic to and from the West Tamar into the city.