Hobart

After seeing a small part of Tasmania, it was time to hit be a tourist in Hobart! I had a few items on my hitlist and wanted to have a walk around the city centre.

Of particular note was Thumbprint, a jewellery shop that was closing down. They had some gents dress rings that caught my eye, and I asked what the largest size was. C has quite large fingers and my experience here in Perth has been that the largest size they carry is an X... his ring size has been measured as Z+2 (or Z+3) so about four-five sizes up. I was stoked to find out that they had several around the Z+2 size so I snapped these two up.


I was also in search of a book or two to read, as I had finished the two I had brought from home. I wandered into the local Angus & Robertson... then wandered back out again after I found that they were selling the Popular Penguins, with RRP of $9.95 clearly on the back, for $10.99. I was much more impressed with the Hobart Bookshop at Salamanca, and added to my library there and at the ABC Shop.


Absurdistan is by ABC reporter Eric Campbell, and covers his time as a foreign correspondant for the ABC based in Moscow and in Beijing. I recommend this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think about the world.


Saturday mornings in Hobart means the Salamanca Market. I did not realise just how big and how popular it would be! The crowd was claustrophobic and quite slow. There was however an abundance of locally made timber goods, foodstuff, fresh fruit and vegetables, jewellery, clothing and more.


I was very much overwhelmed however I did manage to find a few lovely items. A cube bag by Sashiko Design.

Organic bamboo onesies by Sahara Bloom.

I also bought some locally made silver earrings as well as a biscuit assortment to take to Easter Sunday lunch!

I was all shopped out so took a detour past Arthur's Circus on my way back to the hotel to get dresed up for the wedding!

Day trips in Tasmania...

I went to Port Arthur and acted like I was a tourist for the day. I was blown away by the scale of the whole site. I am not sure what I was expecting. Something much smaller I think. Port Arthur was a full scale penal settlement with a penitentiary, barracks for the soldiers, a hospital, houses for the important folk, an impressive church, gardens, shipyard and others. Post life as a penal settlement it also functioned as a town, ceasing as the government bought up the land and properties and converted it into a tourist site rather than a place to live.

The entry fee into the site included two days of access, and I could imagine how you could spend that long just immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the place. Awesome! I recommend a visit, and prepare to spend a bit of time wandering the grounds and buildings.

The last place I visited outside of Hobart was Richmond. Here I saw the Richmond Gaol, the oldest intact gaol in Australia, Richmond Bridge, the oldest bridge in Australia still in use and Oak Lodge, a home built between 1831 and 1842, and lived in until the 1990s when it was donated to the National Trust.

Also in Richmond were some lovely shops, inclding the Peppercorn Gallery, a collective of local artists. There were so many lovely pieces in the gallery but I do not have anywhere to put them! If you like your souvenirs soft and cuddly, then Teddies on the Green is probably more your style. They had lots of lovely teddies and toys and also a room with patterns and fabrics and all the pieces you would need to make your own teddy!

I was still on the convict trail so I headed back to Hobart to the Cascades Female Factory to learn of the fate of female convicts. The site itself has only (some) walls standing, and you have to use your imagination to picture the women who were incarcerated there.

The (same) road back to Hobart!

I packed up the car and headed to Cataract Gorge for breakfast and to have a look. One thing that seems a little incongruous is the placement of a swimming pool in front of the pool. However it is a pretty awesome view for those learning to swim!


I then headed to Franklin House, built in 1838. It seemed rather grand to me, four rooms downstairs with two bedrooms and an enormous living room upstairs. There were outbuilding as well including the kitchen, stables and a room used as a classroom.

Next (brief) stop was Evandale. I had a look through the lovely Handmark Gallery, where there were many beautiful pieces by local artists. On to Clarendon, also built in 1838 but on a much larger and grander scale! It consists of three floors, on a more tradiational English style. The bottom storey is the servants wing, the middle storey is the living area and upstairs are many bedrooms and nurseries.



My last stop was Oatlands. According to The Rough Guide to Tasmania, Oatlands "boasts Australia's greatest concentration of colonial Georgian buildings: 140 in two square kilometres". How could I not stop? Unfortunately I was there a bit late; shops and attractions start to shut from 4pm. I was lucky enough to walk into Applehouse, where they make and sell delightful children's clothing as well as some adult clothing and homewares. I indulged in some baby gifts!

I did not have time to stop at Casaveen to see their wool products. Next time maybe?

On the road to Launceston

On my first full day in Tasmania I set off on a road trip to Launceston. It is around 200km away from Hobart, and on the way I stopped off to have a look around Ross, a small town roughly halfway between the two cities. Ross is rich in history of Tasmania, and here I had my first taste of the convict past. The bridge was built in 1836 by convict stonemasons, and you can stand at the site of the Ross Female Factory (shortened from Manufactory) and was a work house for female convicts.

I went into the Tasmanian Wool Museum, and learnt some of the history of Ross as well as about sheep and wool and there were also samples to touch. I bought myself a beanie that had been knitted locally. I love beanies but they just don't seem to make sense here in Perth!

I made it to Launceston before the shops shut, and after checking into the motel I went for a wander. The Design Centre was full of interesting local artwork, and I wrote down a page of artists in my notebook in order to look them up when I got home! My favourites were the different sized pegs by Brad Latham, complete with working spring!


I was getting towards closing time for the retail shops, but I still managed to find Chloe Boutique and buy a new Natasha Gan top. It has more frills than I would normally wear - I thought that I would give it a go and see if I could pull it off!


I did a lap of the Launceston main mall. Most of the shops were closed at that stage and I ended up in Myer on a quest for tights!


Image of pegs here