Our last full day in Tasmania and a drive from Bicheno to Oatlands, heading back towards Hobart through the Midlands.
There's a market in Bicheno on Sundays, so we thought that sounded like a good breakfast spot before we head off. There was a market, but it was tiny and no breakfast stalls. A coffee van did arrive while we were there, but it still had to set up, so we decided we would grab something at the coffee van up town. He was flat out with a 30-minute wait for coffee, so the next alternative was to try the Wandering Frog, which we had seen advertised and had passed on our way into Bicheno a few days ago. It was only 10 minutes out of town on our way to Campbell Town. Guess what! Closed on Sundays. Looks like breakfast will have to wait until Campbell Town, a bit over an hour's drive west.
We're back to convict history in Campbell Town and after a pleasant brunch downtown, spent a bit of time exploring it - St Luke's Church built in 1835, Red Bridge built in 1838 and the Convict Brick Trail (much newer, initiated in 2003).
The Red Bridge crosses the Elizabeth River and is the oldest surviving brick arch bridge in Australia. The bridge contains three arch spans of 7.6 m each and holds two lanes of traffic as well as pedestrian walkways. It is said to have been designed by convict James Blackburn and was constructed of 1,250,000 handmade bricks on dry land, with the river being diverted to flow under the bridge after its completion.
The Convict Brick Trail commemorates the nearly 200,000 convicts transported to Australia, specifically highlighting those who built roads, bridges, and houses in the 1800s. Each engraved brick typically includes the convict’s name, age, ship of arrival, crime, sentence, and sometimes their fate. The trail begins near the Foxhunters Return, a historic inn, located next to the Red Bridge and continues along High Street to the CBD. It was quite sobering to see the age of some of the convicts: John Goodyer, age 16, highway robbery; Joseph Pedder, age 12, highway robbery; Thomas Scholes, age 15, Highway robbery. And reassuring to see some of them making a life for themselves - Thomas Scholes marrying Ann Mary Smith, age 20, larceny.
Also of interest in Campbell Town were the chainsaw sculptures in Blackburn Park near the Red Bridge. Three large 80-year-old macrocarpa pine trees were carved in May 2010 to represent the town's history by Eddie Freeman: a British soldier guarding a convict labourer (referencing the construction of the Red Bridge) and the bushranger Martin Cash; Dr. William Valentine with a telescope (viewing the 1874 Transit of Venus), along with representations of aviator Harold Gatty and; local wildlife found along the Elizabeth River. They do this a bit in Tasmania and it's a good way to reinvent trees that are past their prime.
And the final bit of history discovered in Campbell Town was that of Eliza Forlong. The sculpture Eliza & The Ram in Valentine Park commemorates Eliza Forlong (1784 - 1859), the founder of the super-fine wool industry in Tasmania. The Forlong family decided to establish themselves in New South Wales as producers of Saxon merino wool. Eliza undertook the task of selecting the finest merino sheep in Saxony. In all, Eliza and her sons walked across Saxony three times, leading flocks of almost 100 sheep to the port at Hamburg. In June 1829, her 16-year-old son William sailed for New South Wales with a flock of seven rams and 90 ewes. He stopped at Hobart en route, where Governor Arthur recognised the value of the flock and persuaded William to take up a large grant of land near Campbell Town. On reaching Van Diemens Land in January 1831, Eliza, her husband John and son Andrew, with a second flock, joined William at the Kenilworth property.
Ross itself is quite an amazing little town with an incredible number of well-preserved 19th-century Georgian sandstone buildings. Well worth the stop.
In Tasmania's convict history, there were five female factories - Hobart Town (1821–1828), George Town (1822–1834), Cascades (1828–1856), Launceston (1834–1855), and Ross (1848–1854). As we had been to the Cascade site, we thought we should also have a look at the Ross site.
Like the Cascade Factory, The Ross Female Factory was a penal institution for female convicts and their children, serving as a hiring depot, nursery, and hospital.
There's not a lot of the factory left on site, however, the Ross Female Factory is the most archaeologically intact female convict site in Australia. The excavations of the site have revealed that the factory was divided into three sections - the Crime Class, the demoted Solitary Cells, and the promoted Hiring Class. These were considered the three stages of reform during the incarceration of the female convicts. The only building left, the overseer's cottage, is open to public and gives a glimpse of the history of the site. Worth the visit!
Oatlands is one of Tasmania's oldest settlements and was developed initially as a military base for the control and management of convicts because of its central location between Hobart and Launceston. Convicts were assigned to nearby farms and properties and also worked on public buildings, roads and bridges. Oatlands has the largest number of colonial sandstone buildings in any town in Australia, many of which were built by convict labour. The Oatlands Court House, built in 1829 by convict labour, is generally considered the oldest building in Oatlands. This Georgian-style sandstone structure served as a combined chapel and police office, and it is the oldest supreme court house in rural Australia.
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| Oatlands Court House, built in 1829 by convict labour |
We arrived in plenty of time to do a bit of exploring of the town before we could book into the Kentish Hotel, our accommodation for the night. Oatlands is built on the shores of Lake Dulverton, so a visit there was a must. Historically, much of the sandstone for the construction of Oatland's buildings was quarried along the shores of the lake. At the moment, it's pretty dry but still offers a convenient sanctuary to many waterbird visitors, including black swans.
An obvious landmark as you drive into Oatlands is the 'windmill' at Callington Mill, and our next port of call. The mill was built in 1837 and was restored to working order during June/July 2010. Now in full working order, it is the only operating mill of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and the third oldest windmill in Australia. Very impressive.
In addition to the Sandstone buildings, the townspeople have also been having some fun with topiary. The Topiary Trail winds through the town's historic streets, continuing a local tradition started by the late Jack Cashion in the 1960s and 1970s. The current trail was designed by Tasmanian sculptor Stephen Walker and brought to life by local residents using Box Honeysuckle grown over metal frames. Quite cute!.
When we booked into the Kentish, we were looking forward to having dinner at the pub as it was open Wednesday to Sunday. Disaster - the pub is only open for lunch on Sunday, and believe it or not, there was nothing else open in Oatlands on a Sunday night. Consequently, dinner was some soup from the IGA up the street. Fortunately, the pub did have a common room and kitchen we could use. It advertises "Stay with us, we have 7 charming rooms to choose from, where you'll feel right at home." Well, the room was nicely appointed, but it was very small, the weather was warm and there was no fresh air. The windows had been painted at some stage and couldn't be opened. The room was very stuffy, even with the fan provided and didn't cool down until about 10pm. Fortunately, the bed was very comfortable, so we did get a good night's sleep eventually. The owners of the pub are certainly trying to make it a boutique establishment, but as far as accommodation goes, there is still a bit of work to do.
