Driving Makes Climbing a Mountain So Much Easier

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Thursday April 21 and Friday April 22nd, 2011

Thursday was my last full day in Hobart and I still had the car (until later in the day) so there were a few things I decided to check out. The first was Mount Wellington.

Can't quite make out the peak because it is in the clouds.

It overlooks Hobart is is very often covered in snow.....even in the summer. Today there was no snow but the summit was totally covered in cloud. I still made the 15 minute drive up to the top only to be confronted with this when I got there.

The weather was not very nice inside that cloud but I still managed to run out of the car, grab some pictures of non-view and then headed back down.

If the clouds weren't there you would be looking at Hobart right now.

Lucky for me I didn't actually have to drive very far back down the mountain to get out of the cloud and back into some sunshine.

Much prettier down here.

Now you can see Hobart. Much nicer isn't it?

Oh look at that cute little kitty. Ok so it doesn't look so bad but this little fluff ball is no one's pet. This is a feral cat. Enemy number one of all wildlife. He was not very friendly either. I think he wanted to take a bite of me.

After driving back down the mountain (by the way you can take a 6 hour hike up but I opted for the 30 minute round trip drive) I headed out of the city a little ways to another one of Tasmania's most visited places, The Cadbury Chocolate Factory.

Yep, that's it. Not much to look at and certainly not Hersey World.

How funny is this?

You can't actually take a tour of the factory anymore and the shop is just a tiny little thing, but they do a few demonstrations and lots of tastings. The place was very busy (being just a few days before Easter). I did my share of shopping. Prices are much lower here. But I probably should have calculated in the amount it would cost me to mail it back to Darwin. Oh well. It tastes good. Plus this is the first place I've been in Australia that sells Mini-eggs at less than $9 a bag.

My next stop was at a fairly new museum in the area called MONA (Museum of Old and New Art). Now I have to say, if you don't like abstract or strange art, do NOT visit this museum. There are a lot of very interesting pieces, many of which are weird and disturbing and maybe even a little grotesque. Lots of highly sexual pieces as well. It seemed like everywhere you went there were warnings for people with children.

One of the pieces in the parking lot. Kind of gives you an idea that this is not your average art museum.

The museum does not have information cards next to any of the art work, and sometimes you maybe looking at something (like a group of benches that people are sitting on) and not realize that it is actually an exhibit at all. What they provide you with is a little device (like an I-pod) that has all the information on it. It's a smart little device too with GPS tracking so you can just ask it to show you the art in the area you are in and it will just bring up that information for you. It was quite nice. And in the end I could save my tour and have it emailed to me. Really neat. Anyway, here are a few of the things I found interesting.

In case you can't read that, it says "beat it lyrics". Basically this piece shows random Internet phrases in water droplets. It's called Bit.Fall by Julius Popp. It also showed things like "Steelers vs Jets" and "nfl playoff 2011". It wasn't that easy to get a picture. My timing had to be perfect.

This is an untitled piece by Juul Kraijer. Pretty toned down considering some of the others.

This is "Babylonia" by Montreal born artist Callum Morton. Not much on the outside. Not sure I get it.

This is the inside of "Babylonia". Yes this is an optical effect created with mirrors on both ends of a really short hallway, but so neat when you walk inside. Not at all what I expected.

From far away, she looks real but as you get close you can clearly see she is just a doll. This is Taiyo Kimura's Untitled Piece (known as Stool for Guard).

I love this little video.....for about a minute and then it gets annoying. This is "Am I a House" by Erwin Wurm. It actually goes on for 9 and a half minutes like this. I didn't watch the whole thing.

This is another Erwin Wurm piece called "Fat Car". That actually is the body of a Porsche covered by Styrofoam and fibreglass.

This is kind of how I felt in University some days. Like I was in a room full of books but there was nothing worth reading. This is "White Library" by Wilfredo Prieto.

I liked this little one. This is " You Asked Me to Come and See Your Routine, You Call This a Fucking Routine" by Winnipeg born artist Jon Pylypchuk.

The "old" art if you are wondering was interspersed throughout all the new art and from what I could find was usually Egyptian. Certainly the most different to any other Art Museum I have been to and quite enjoyable.

After that I headed back to the city, dropped off my car and it was time to do some packing. I headed back to Melbourne on Friday......Good Friday. Very interesting to note that in Hobart pretty much the only thing open on Good Friday is one or 2 bakeries, the airport and the church. Pretty much everything else is closed and the city kind of felt like a ghost town. Really eerie. Even the Asian food stores and restaurants were closed and they're usually always open.

Anyway, my flight left later in the day so I spent most of the day hanging around the backpackers I was staying in. I arrived in Melbourne expecting to find the same type of thing....a dead city. But I was wrong. The city was very alive well into the night. All the pubs were closed......but all the bottle shops were open....strange.

I have a few days left in Melbourne and then it will be off to Adelaide.

Julie

Port Arthur...Take Two

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

As promised I made a return visit to Port Arthur. This time I had the whole day and could move about at my own pace and check the place out. They have a really neat deal here. Basically once you pay for your entry to the place (cheapest options is about $22) for an additional $6 you can purchase a "Ticket of Leave" which gives you unlimited access to the site for 2 years. I purchased my Ticket of Leave before I left my first visit so certainly got my money's worth. This time around I also purchased an audio tour and a ride out to the Isle of the Dead. It was a very full day.

I will warn you this post may include some repeat information of my previous post but I feel it is necessary.

Anyway, I had picked up my rental car the day before so I was able to head out pretty early. It's about a 90 minute drive from Hobart to Port Arthur (if you take the direct route). I took the direct route as I knew my day would be filled with all things Port Arthur.

Yes this is my little rental car. It was pretty good except for the fact that it is a standard so I had to learn to shift with my left hand. It was hard. I could not find 3rd gear to save my life but it's not my gear box so I was not so worried about all the grinding.

I arrived at sunny (yes sunny!!!!) Port Arthur just shortly after it opened, picked up my audio tour and map and headed back out to the site. It was so nice to be able to move around at my own leisurely pace and see what I wanted.

The Pydairrerme people were the traditional owners of the land. Many cultural sites from thousands of years of occupation can still be found in the area. The Port Arthur penal station was first opened in 1830 as a timber-getting camp using convict labour to produce logs for government projects. Starting in 1833 repeat offenders were sent here and it was often said that if you were sent to Port Arthur, you had officially hit rock bottom. Although it sits on am amazingly beautiful piece of landscape, it was the site of some true human suffering. The focus at Port Arthur was punishment but it was also about rehabilitation. Convicts would learn a trade and learn to read and write so the could earn their ticket of leave and return as productive members of society.

Overall about 20% of convicts were sent to Tasmania. While many were described as major offenders or repeat offenders, some were actually sent here because they had a useful trade.

This main building was originally a flour mill. It was eventually convert into the main dormitory for convicts.

A look inside the dormitory. It would have been at least 3 stories. The remains of many of the "illegal" actions that took place here are still evident. Gaming tokens and other items have been found. Any convict found in possession of these items would have had extra time added to their sentences. Soldiers were often known to take part in things like gambling with convicts. Soldiers found to be participating would face hefty punishments.

Another look at the main dormitory. Interesting to note that Port Arthur was a very industrious place. It paid it's own way by means of of iron works, baking, blacksmith work, carpentry (etc, etc). If fact the place actually produced enough of some products that they could be exported at a very competitive price........slave labour comes cheap.

A look at the main guard tower that remains. Life for the soldiers assigned here to guard prisoners was very hard. They had minimal resources and the class system was in full effect. They were often punished with hard labour or solitary within the prison. They could also be subjected to similar punishments (lashes etc.) as the prisoners. It is well known that there was a thriving black market between guards and prisoners. Interesting to note that for every 100 soldiers at Port Arthur, 12 wives were also allowed to come. Life for them would have been extremely difficult. It was usually the officers' wives who would come over (often with children) and they would be expected to perform the "wifely duties" for all the men in their husbands regiments. The soldiers and their families were actually allotted less living space than the convicts had.

Inside the Commandant's House. Yes this is what it would have looked like. A stark contrast to the rest of the colony. The Commandant's family would have lived here with him and they would have had a pretty middle class existence. They would have been expected to entertain all kinds of visiting dignitaries. Convicts would have served as his servants. Think I would rather have been assigned house duty than some of the other stuff.

Looking down the hallway of the Commandant's House. It really was a cute little place. Much nicer than most other places on site.

A picture from just below the guard tower. It really is a beautiful spot when the sun is out.

The guard tower and the main convict dormitory. Soldiers would have been housed somewhere up in this area.

That's the Military Hospital. It sits up on the hill where all the fresh and healthy air is. Or at least the patients would have a good view.

A look at some of the beds. Of course in the past there would have been a floor. Medical supplies were very hard to come by out here but even so a convict at Port Arthur was more likely to get good and timely medical care than a free person in Hobart. The hospital had a special ward just for eye injuries and the hospital would have treated high incidences of dysentery, respiratory ailments and industrial accidents.

This lower building was part of the Port Arthur welfare system. This is the Pauper's Depot. It was only built in 1864. When convict transfer to Port Arthur stopped in 1853 it was found that there were a whole lot of old used up convicts, who had been worked too hard over the years so could no longer work, but got into a lot of trouble when they were set free by the government. The Paupers' Depot was set up to house them. They weren't considered convicts so they were allowed some small joys of life including newspapers and concerts.

This is the asylum. It was built in 1868 with the idea that the mentally ill could be held here and under the right conditions they could be made better. It was about care not punishment, a novel change in idea for Port Arthur. It was officially closed in 1876 and was turned into a school followed by a few other things. Currently it houses a museum.

Some of the items you will find in the museum. The clothes worn by convicts here at Port Arthur. Not a great fashion statement and they wouldn't have been comfortable either. They would have been wet most of the time. A fun thing in the museum is you can track the names of the convicts who were sent here all those years ago. Of the 6135 convicts sent here, only one bore the name Bodden (John Bodden by the way). There were however 9 Chapmans.

The Separate Prison is right next door to the Asylum. Based on Quaker ideas, the philosophy of this prison formed the basis of the current prison system........they are based on the notion that bad men would embrace goodness if shown how. This prison was designed to produce an orderly and calm space. Convicts were kept in complete isolation and all identifying marks removed. They wore hoods when out of their cells, they were identified by numbers only and they were not permitted to speak or make noise. They were rarely spoken to. Convicts could stay here in isolation for months at a time. The most rebellious convicts were sent to have their spirits crushed. Like at Eastern State Penitentiary, and many other similar concept prisons around the world, for some it worked. For many others, it probably drove them mad.

A little video I made of the punishment cells at the Separate Prison. They were designed to deprive the convict of all senses. I lasted about 10 seconds in here and then had to walk out. Far too dark.

When I left the Separate Prison and began to make my way to the boat for my trip out to the Isle of the Dead, I wandered passed some of the houses that the other half of Port Arthur's residents lived in.

Look how nice this yard looks. These guys were even allowed to grow vegetables and things like that. Life at Port Arthur wouldn't have been great but for those who lived here it would have been a lot better.

This was the Junior Medical Officers House although through the years it was also lived in by the Commissariat Officer and his family and eventually the school teacher. It then attempted to survive as a hotel for a couple years. Now it is just a museum.

Looking out over Port Arthur from the "good" side of the colony. Through the trees you can make out the Military Hospital and the little cottage above it is Smith O'Brien's Cottage. This cottage was built to house one of Port Arthur's most famous political prisoners. Irish Protestant Parliamentarian, William Smith O'Brien was transported to Australia for life and was sent to Port Arthur after an attempted escape from Maria Island. Trust me, if you were sent to Port Arthur you would have begged to have been a political prisoner. This cute little cottage was pretty nice.

I then hopped back on the boat and made my way out to the Isle of the Dead. Once again I was expecting it to be really creepy but it wasn't at all but has a good story to tell. If you haven't guessed or if I haven't mentioned, the Isle of the Dead is the small island just off Port Arthur where everyone who died at Port Arthur were buried. The Island was manned at all times by one convict whose job it was to bury everyone who was brought out. He would live there day and night with no guards or any other convicts. It was used as a form of solitary confinement. They could be out there for a couple years at a time. Once a week food and supplies would be brought out to him.

There are 900 or so convicts buried at Port Arthur. Only 9 of those convicts have headstones. The rest are buried in unmarked graves. The free residents and officers who are buried here all have headstones and are buried on the highest part of the Island. The convicts are buried on the lower part of the island.

An example of the headstones you will find here. They of course were all carved by convicts. On many headstones you will find names spelt wrong (due to heavy accents) and very poor grammar. Many of these convicts would still be learning to read and write. Many of these carvers became experts at their craft.

I posted a picture of this headstone in my last post. This is the one that you can see as you float by on the boat. I told you I would find out who it belongs to. It belongs to a convict named George Britton. A few curious things about this headstone. First, it shouldn't exist. Convicts rarely got headstones so it is odd that this man would get one. Second, it shouldn't exist so close to where free residents were buried. And third it shouldn't be looking out to sea. Those kind of honours were usually reserved for high ranking officers or other officials. George had some of the longest records as a convict that cover 28 years. He spent 18 of those years here at Port Arthur.

A look at a few of the headstones belonging to free residents. Not a surprise to know that there are many children buried out here as well.

Another convict who also got a headstone was James Forbes. He was one of many convicts killed in the centipede gangs but the only one who got a headstone. The centipede gangs were lines of convicts who were chained together while in the timber camp. Often they would be carrying very large trees as a gang. And if one convict fell, they would all go down and one or many of them would be crushed by the log.

Once we left the Isle of the Dead we floated back by Point Puer, which was the boys prison. The youngest inmate out there was about 9 years old but in most cases they were 15 to 17 years of age. It was thought that the boys were too immature to do the work expected of adult convicts so Point Puer became a trade school. It was thought that they could learn a trade and then become useful members of society. It failed miserably. One of the reasons for that might have been that the overseaers of Point Puer boys were other convicts and I doubt they were the best influence.

Once back on land I checked out a few last pieces of Port Arthur.

I found another one of these cute little blue birds. I actuallly believe they are wrens. Took me forever to get a picture. They move around so fast and hardly sit still.

This is Canadian Cottage named so because it was made of pre-fabricated materials that came from Canada. Cute little house and now marked as a private residence. No, I don't know who lives there.

This is the Port Arthur Memorial Garden. It was created as a place of remembrance and reflection after 35 people were killed and 21 people wounded on April 28th, 1996 during what is called the Port Arthur Massacre. The gunman, Martin Bryant was handed 35 life sentences for the crime.

I eventually left Port Arthur and started to make my way back to Hobart (5 hours at the site was about enough). I made a quick stop at the Remarkable Caves......just a short little walk.

Apparently people ride the surf through this passageway and out to sea. Not sure I'd volunteer for that. It still looks very pretty though.

The sun eventually disappeared but I got a great day out of it before it did. Rough water but a very pretty spot.

From there I made my way back to Hobart. I think my second day at Port Arthur was a complete success. More of Tasmania to see tomorrow.

Julie

Meanwhile, Back In Hobart

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

With a bit of a Tasmania tour hangover, I set out today to check out a little bit of Hobart. I decided to stay a few extra days to check out the area and lucky for me I found some more good weather. I started my day by taking a historical walking tour (I know, so out of character for me) of downtown Hobart.

My tour started here at Franklin Square. That's Sir John Franklin in the fountain. Sir Franklin was a rear admiral and an arctic explorer. He also happened to be a Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (that was the original name for Tasmania). Tasmania was "discovered" by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who was sent on this expedition by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony van Diemen. This was way back in 1642.

Next you go past the GPO (General Post Office). Every town or city in Australia has one of these. You can often find it by looking for the clock tower.....unless the clock tower is on the old Town Hall. This clock tower was built in 1906.

I then wandered past Town Hall (across from the GPO) on my way to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. A cute little place, that is free to visit, it combines Tasmanian History and Tasmanian art. I couldn't take any pictures inside but it gave some really good history, in particular aboriginal history. The traditional owners of the land are the Mouheneenner People and they called this country (as in Tasmania) Nibberloonne. They were expert canoe makers. Archeological evidence shows that aboriginals have been in Tasmania for around 35,000 years. In Tasmania, aboriginal women and children were used as slave labour and wives. They valued the skills the aboriginal women had to live and survive off the harsh land but most were not respected as people.

The aboriginal society in Tasmania was said to be almost single handily decimated by the Van Dieman's Land Company when in 1825 there were granted 250,000 acres of land. Marital law was declared that saw bounties placed on aboriginals. 5 pounds per adult, 2 pounds per child. In 1833 you saw the establishment of several aboriginal reserves. Most of those transferred to these reserves in the early years died. The conditions were horrible. Some the reserves were old penal colonies that had been abandoned for health reasons. Although in 1912 an act was passed that acknowledged aboriginal society, another act was established in 1951 that assimilation policies were the focus and aboriginals became non-aboriginals again.

Since then Tasmania has done some good things including a 1984 act that looked to repatriate Ancestral remains held in Tasmanian Museums as well as a 2006 Parliamentary law that provided monetary compensation for aboriginals forcibly removed from their land and homes. Tasmania was the first Australian government to do this. Today Tasmania's aboriginal society is healthy and growing. There are many people who are still discovering their aboriginal heritage.

There was also a large display about the thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger). Believe it or not it was a marsupial and it's closet living relative is probably the Tasmanian devil. The last living Tasmanian Tiger died in September 1936 in the zoo in Hobart. There is plenty of concern that due to increased activities such as mining, dam building and tree harvesting more Tasmanian animals will go the way of the tiger. Conservationists in Tasmanian are very active and working hard to protect more and more areas in the State.

Eventually I made my way out of the museum to see a few more things along the way.

Outside the museum. Of course with Tasmania being an Island, the sea plays a very important role in its past, present and future.

Not sure what this was originally but it is now part of the museum. Lots of old buildings like this are around the city. I just think they have so much more character than most of the new and modern buildings.

My walking tour led me to Parliament House (I know, another surprise).

The main entrance to Parliament House. Not a very big building but let's face it, Tasmania is not a very big or very populated state. It was originally used as a Customs House and was built from 1832 to 1840.

Down in the basement. Now setup as a little museum with many old photos, including the photos of all those who have ever held a seat in the upper or lower house of Tasmanian Parliament.

The Speaker's chair in the House of Assembly (The Lower House). This chair was made by convicts. Once it was completed, the convicts who built it were granted pardons.

A look at the very modern House of Assembly. There are 25 sitting members in the House. They sit about 50 days out of the year.

This is the Legislative Council Chamber (The Upper House), it looks today very much the way in would have years ago. It was originally known as the "Gentlemens' Class" due to the fact that women were not allowed in the room. In 1903 Tasmanian women were granted the right to vote so they soon had to change the name as women were also able to sit on the council.

The side entrance to Parliament House. I do believe this is the Legislative Council side. It is a lot grander than the front side.

One more stop on my walking tour took me through St. David's Park, which was the site of Hobart Town's original cemetery. There are still some of the colonial gravestones around, but mostly the place is a nice little park to hang out in. I'm not sure everyone realizes that not so long ago the place would have been covered with gravestones.

I also found this in St. David's Park. I love giant chess boards. If only I knew how to play chess.

Once my walking tour was complete I headed back towards my accommodation. Well, first I picked up my rental car that I would tour around in over the next couple of days.....and I went shopping.. My big purchase was a new day pack.

This is not the new one.....this is the old one. Steve and Heather bought this for me back in 2005 and it was been all over the place with me. However, it has finally fallen a part to the point that it needed to be replaced. All the water proofing layer was peeling off and the zipper doesn't always work and I ripped a big hole in it. It has served me well. I put a lot of miles into it.

Tomorrow I have a big day planned.....Port Arthur.....Take Two.

Julie