Tasmania
(Pronounced "Tazmania")
The Land Further Down Under

"I want to share something with you - the three sentences that will get you through life. Number one, 'Cover for me.' Number two, 'Oh, good idea, boss.' Number three, 'It was like that when I got here.'"
-Homer Simpson

© SS
Near Launceston with Scott and Camille Crawford, my Bain Australia buds.

From the Freycinet Peninsula to the Nut to the wilds of Southwest National Park, Tasmania is a place of unsurpassable natural beauty. The island is a hiker's dream. For time-travelers, convict lore from the state's early days as a penal colony is a stinging contrast to the well-preserved old towns where the rest of us would have lived. But the greatest call comes from the great outdoors - Tasmania is rich with coastal and inland parks both known and loved, and wilderness still unexplored.
About the size of Scotland, and with a population less than half a million, the island of Tasmania is an unspoiled reminder of a simpler, slower lifestyle. It has been called the England of the south, as it, too, is richly cloaked in mists and rain, and an evening chill is not uncommon even in summer. Where the English tradition of a Christmas roast may strike one as strange during a steamy Sydney summer, such rites appear natural amid Tasmania's lush quilt of lowland farms and vollages. Even towns look English, with their profusion of Georgian cottages and buildings, the preservation of which testifies to Tasmanians' attachment to their past.
...Was a landbridge some 23,000 years ago - Aborigines crossed it... Europeans discovered it in 1642, when Abel Tasman arrived at its southwest coast, but not until 1798 was Tasmania (then called Van Diemen's Land) thought to be an island....
Last convict shipped to Port Arthur more than 140 years ago... Tasmania is still wild and untamed. It is one of the most mountainous islands in the world. Parts of the southwest wilderness have never been explored, with access barred by impenetrable rain forests. Of all the states, Tasmania has set aside the greatest percentage of land as national parks...
Tasmania is one of Australia's six states comprised entirely of the island south of the Mainland. It's one of the launching destinations for many Antarctic expeditions, which we simply didn't have time for.

Launceston (April 4, 1998)
Nestled in a fertile agricultural basin where the South and North Esk rivers join to form Tamar... Launceston is far from bustling...
Pleasant parks, turn-of-the-century homes...
*Cataract Gorge (1,000 ft chair-lift: the longest single chair-lift span in the world.)

Cataract Gorge and First Basin from the Chairlift
Tasmania was once ruptured by earthquakes as violent as the earth has ever seen, when the surrounding hills were torn and fractured.  The South Esk River followed the depression formed at the time, widening and deepening the gorge as, over the centuries, it eroded the shattered rocks.  When William Collins, of the brig Lady Nelson, first observed the area in 1804 he wrote that 'the beauty of the scene is probably not srupassed in the world.  The chairlift spans some 457 meters with terminal buildings at the Basin end and an idling station at the Cliff Grounds site.  The central span of 308 meters is believed to be the greatest single span of any chairlift in the world.

Cable Hang Gliding: 650ft flight off 60ft cliff
Trevallyn Dam Quarry
"Experience the sensation of hang gliding in complete safety as you soar over an eighteen meter cliff to your landing point two hundred meters from the take-off platform." (018-132-788)

Old Bakery Inn (Colonial Complex - former bakers cottage) - "An Inn for the Discerning Traveller"
"Generations of the Crosby family plied their baking trade here.  They called the corner the 'Jubilee Bakery,' reminding the good folk of Launceston that they were official caterers to the City in 1897 for the Queen's Jubilee.  Linger in our foyer and inspect the original oven.  It's not hard to imagine the horses waiting restlessly in the courtyard before setting out with fragrant cartloads of freshly-baked golden loaves.
Times have changed but at the Old Bakery Inn a tradition of hospitality remains.  With careful and loving restoration, great care has been taken to maintain the architectural features and at the same time create an 'inn for the discerning traveller' with all the comfort of the 20th century yet still portraying the atmosphere of the Victorian era."

Trowunna Wildlife Park (Mole Creek, Tasmania; 03-6363-6162)
About half-way between Launceston and Cradle Mountain
"Spend an hour, or a full day, and enjoy the unique experience of seeing and interacting with the many animals and birds in their natural environment.  As winner of a major tourist award the park is committed to the philosophy of recreational education in wildlife conservation and resources.  See hand fed Tasmanian devils, pet a koala, hold a baby wombat while the knowledgeable guides offer an informative and personalized commentary on Tasmania's and Australia's fascinating wildlife."

Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park CMLSC contains Port Arthur:
(102k/63mi SE of Hobart)

Cradle Mountain Lodge - Sheffield, Tasmania (004-921-303)
"Cradle Mountain Lodge nestles on the edge of the World Heritage listed Lake St. Clair/Cradle Mountain National Park, in the wild heart of Tasmania.  A timeless place set apart by a rare wealth of natural beauty.
Winner of numerous tourism awards for "Best Resort" and "Environmental Tourism," Cradle Mountain Lodge is renowned throughout the world as Tasmania's premier holiday experience.
At Cradle Mountain Lodge you'll find a traditional approach to hospitality.  Like the roaring log fires and deep leather chairs of the Weindorfer Lounge.  Warm, friendly meeting places like the Tavern bar.  Magnificent meals, prepared with only the freshest local produce.  A private timber cabin.  The scent of pine..."

Cradle Mountain National Park
Walked around Dove Lake on the Dove Lake Loop Track
Passes through the "tranquil Ballroom Forest."
"Cradle Mountain, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, epitomizes the feel of a wild landscape.  Icy streams cascading out of rugged mountains, stands of ancient pines mirrored in the still waters of glacial lakes and a wealth of wildlife ensure there is always something to captivate you."

When Governor Arthur was looking for a site to dump his worst convict offenders in 1830, the Tasman Peninsula was a natural choice. Joined to the rest of Tasmania only by the narrow Eaglehawk Neck, the spit was easy to isolate and guard. And so Port Arthur was born, a penal colony whose name became a byword for vicious horror and cruelty. Between 1830 and 1877, nearly 13,000 convicts served sentences in Britain's equivalent of Devil's Island, and nearly 2,000 of them died here.
Site of Sunday, April 28th, 1996 massacre: 35 people killed by a lone gunman, Australia's worst.
Port Arthur Penal Settlement (next to Carnarvon Bay)
http://www.portarthur.org.au/
Most buildings damaged by bush fires in 1877, shortly after settlement abandoned.

"Port Arthur is the most recognized sybmol of Australia's 19th century convict system.  Visitors have been drawn to the site of this former penal colony ever since the cell doors closed for the last time in 1877.  The remains of the remote settlement serve as a sometimes chilling reminder of a rich and colorful chapter in this country's colonial past.  Out of the convict system emerged many attitudes which are considered to be characteristically Australian, such as our views on mateship, freedom and authority.
Beginnings
Located on the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania's far Southeast, Port Arthur was established in 1830 as a "sawing station" to produce timber for government projects.  The settlement was intended to provide severe punishment for repeat offender and some political prisoners.  Its population grew rapidly and Port Arthur soon became the British Empire's best known convict outpost.  In the mid-1830's a separate settlement was established across the bay at Point Puer to house boy conivcts.
Industry
During the 1840's, with its captive resource of male convict labor, Prt Arthur became a sufficient industrail center and also began to export convict-made goods.  An official report dated 30 June 1846, states that on that day there were 47 officers and overseers, 68 constables and signal men, and a military contingent of 119 men based at Prot Arthur.  A total of 1220 prisoners were at work in gangs and individually, producing ships, sawn timber, clothing, boots and shoes, bricks, furniture, vegetables and other goods.
Escapes
Attempts to escape from Port Arthur were common during the convict period, although only a few prisoners were successful.  The best known of these were Cash, Kavanagh and Jones, who became bushrangers and ramined at large for several months.  Martin Cash is remembered as one of Australia's most notorious bushrangers.  The most audacious escape attempt was made in 1839 when eight convicts made off in the Commandant's whale boat, which was moored at the jetty.  They evaded capture for four months.  The most spectacular escape failure was that of Billy Hunt, who reportedly disguised himself in a kangaroo skin and tried to hop past one of the guard stations.
Isle of the Dead
The tiny island in the Port Arthur harbor was the burial site for the penal settlement.  Hundreds of convicts, military personnel, paupers and civilians are buried there.  In death, as in life, the convicts were separated from the free; it is believed that civilians and military personnel were interred on the highest section of the island, while convicts were buried in unmarked graves on the lower side.
Closure
In 1853 Britain stopped transporting covicts to Van Diemans Land.  The numbers of new, able-bodied convicts arriving at Port Arthur declined and the settlement maily became a mental asylum and a geriatric home for ex-convict paupers.  The settlement closed in 1877.  From 1830-1877, an estimated 12,00 male convicts passed through the Port Aurther penal setllement.  Although vandalism, official demolition and bushfires cused irrevocable damge in the 20 years following closure, a bustling rural township known as 'Carnarvon' grew on the site of the old penal colony."

Ghost Tour
"By day, a walk amongst the ruins can evoke images of this bygone era.  By night, you can really get a feel for the spirit of the place.  And now our skilled guides take smaller, more intimate groups on candle lit journeys into the heart of the most haunted buildings in Australia."

 

 

 

Hobart:
*nearby town of Richmond (preserved 19th century streetscape. The Richmond Bridge: a picturesque counterpoint to the town's church-spired skyline, is Australia's oldest bridge, a convict-built stone structure dating from 1823. Also home to oldest church in Australia.)
*Salamanca Place (old whaling ships used to dock at SP. Today many of the warehouses along the street that were once used by whalers have been converted into excellent crafts shops, art galleries, and restaurants. Keep an eye open for items made from Tasmanian timber.)
"Straddling the Derwent River at the foot of Mount Wellington's forested slopes, Hobart may rival Sydney as Austalia's most beautiful state capital. It was founded as a penal settlement in 1803 and it is the second oldest city in the country after Sydney, even though it feels like the oldest. Many of the colonial brick and sandstone buildings that convicts built have been restored and now define the atmosphere of this small city of 185,000.
As with Sydney, life revolves around the harbor. The Derwent is one of the deepest harbors in the world...

©SS

©SS
©SS
Chillin' with my homies.

Making friends down under.

© SS
Joey!

1
Cradle Mountain.
Cradle Mountain Lodge

© SS
They take their crime seriously in central Tasmania! ;)

Central Tasmania looking over Great Lake.

© SS
The Tasman Peninsula as seen from nearby Eaglehawk Neck.

© SS
The Penitentiary at Historic Port Arthur (Australia's most infamous penal colony) at dusk.

The Cadbury Chocolate Factory tour outside Hobart. Yummy!
"Taste chocolate samples as you follow the guided tour of our famous chocolate making factory - established at Claremont since 1921."

Enjoying live Irish Music at a bar in Launceston in northern Tasmania with Scott and Camille.

Under construction

**All photographs (unless otherwise noted) are the property of Stenning Schueppert and may not be distributed or circulated for any purposes (personal or commercial) without his express written consent. Questions or comments regarding selected photographs are, of course, welcome.
Some data and information courtesy of Fodors '98.
Last updated May 23, 2001.

Home Sydney Photo Gallery Enigma Travels Archives Links