A summer in Tasmania

[drron]

I went to the upper falls first.Not too much of an extra climb.
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[drron]

Then the lower falls.
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When we were here previously I was able to cross the river hopping from rock to rock for different views.My balance now doesn't allow me to do that.

 

[drron]

Time to head down.I do like the tall straight trees you often see in Tasmania.
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As I was ahead of time I decided to do another walk here.
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[drron]

So this reserve is part of the Bush Heritage Foundation.It is the original property and bought by Bob brown and donated it to start things of.He then donated his Oura Oura property on the Foundation's 10th Anniversary.
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[drron]

Not as nice a walk as the falls walk but some nice spots.After crossing this creek you statr ascending after a while.The path is straight and wide and probably was the route of an old tramway.There was one in the area and used for logging.
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Coming down the hill was a lot steeper and more slippery than the easy uphill climb.I doubt I would have coped going up this side.
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Now just the creek to cross to get back to the car park.
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The roads around here are gravel.As I was on the home trip a rosella flew in front of the car and just sat on the edge of the road.A sudden stop.The pic a bit hazy as the dust caught up with the car.
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Rather tired and the legs a bit stiff so back to the house and a nice long soak in a hot bath.

 

[drron]

Saturday was a totally different day.basically rained all day.So after another sleep in it was time to visit a couple of museums.First was the Bass Strait Museum in Devonport.Not ony the history of Bass strait but also of Devonport.Of interest to anyone who likes their history.Between the 1890s and the early 1900s Devonport was the busiest port in Tasmania and a centre of ship building.

Around 1900 A ship from the USA visited-the first from the US to visit Devonport.The Captain felt right at home and said of Devonport-
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Next some of Devonport's history.The country was first opened up by the Van Dieman's Land Company.
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But the stimulus to further growth was coal.
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And some interesting wring from one of the prominent early settlers.
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But he did introduce a weed.
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But to illustrate that there is nothing new this is what he wrote about the younger generation in 1891.

 

[drron]

Devonport got another boost during WW2 from companies wanting to be further from the action though U boats were active in Bass strait.
The Wander company -producers of Ovaltine -set up in Quoiba.
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Heinz moved in next door.
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As well it is very possible that the first steam cars in the world were built in Devonport being produced here in 1901 a year before the stanley Steamer.
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And a little bit of trivia.The shortest land border between states/territories is between Victoria and Tasmania.The wrong coordinates were used for the border so it goes through Boundary islet in Bass Strait.
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[drron]

Across the road from the Museum are some nice old houses.
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And overhead flew lots of black coughatoos.
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[drron]

So back to my house and a quick lunch then off to Wynyard to see the "Wonders of Wynyard".Several locals did say it was worth seeing.In fact it really was.It is actually several things in one.It is the local information office,a gift shop,an art or craft gallery and best of all for me the home of the Ransley Veteran car collection.

Ransley Veteran Car Collection — Wonders of Wynyard

For a nostalgic journey through time, visit the Wonders of Wynyard. Home to a world-class Veteran Car Collection, including the equal oldest Ford in the world – the collection has been lovingly restored and is an outstanding showcase of Australian motoring history.

www.wondersofwynyard.com

So an admission to the Veteran Car collection,the rest is free.So here we go.
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And the equal oldest Model A ford still existing.This one was number 31 off the production line.Number 30 still exists but they were sold on the same day..
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[RooFlyer]

And a sad sight.A honey shop and museum which we visited in early February when they were still getting bus tours.Now a Covid casualty.

Not a COVID casualty, but a casualty of the courts, tax man and religion! For years the owners refused to pay income tax, arguing it was against God’s will.

They lost.

Family that argued paying taxes 'against God's will' closes business because authorities defy 'Almighty God' - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

 

[drron]

A 1905 model F ford.
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And some old motor cycles.
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A 1906 model N Ford.
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And a rare Model K Ford.
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[drron]

A car some parts of which have been in the movies -the film Genevieve.Some of the parts of that car were used in the restoration.
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Other Darracqs.
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[drron]

A 1908 Model S ford and a 1911 modelT with a history.
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And one of the latest cars here a 1928 Model A.
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And this one's heritage stands out.
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[drron]

And the Cadillacs.
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[drron]

And was this Oldsmobile one of the inspirations for the ute.
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And a few old bicycles including this military version.
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[drron]

Just a little about the owner of this collection.He was the owner of a TV and radio business that also did repairs.He was very active in Wynyard society and served on the local council.
His hobbies included flying and sailing.He won several Tasmanian dinghy championships but then turned his attention to power boat racing and was successful at that.
He was the first Tasmanian and the 4th australian to travel over 200kph on water.In fact he still holds an Australian water speed record established in 1983.it won't be broken now as they changed the class from the under 7.5L engine to the under 6L engine a few years ago.
I found vision of his record setting on You Tube.

The record was set on the Tamar river near Rosevears.In the video you can see the historic St.Mathias church on the opposite bank of the Tamar at Windermere.

At age 42 he had heart problems and lost his flying and boat licences.That is when he turned his hand to restoring cars.He is still going strong and the cars are exhibited at shows.He also took his 1903 Model A Ford to the RACV's Centenary hill climb event in 2004.

1903 Ford Model A to take part in historic hill climbing event

Motorsport Debut for Oldest Ford Car in Australia 12 May, 2004 The 1903 Model A was just the 31st car to leave Henry Ford's first factory in Detroit and spent the next 86 years within a few hundred miles of where it was built. In 1989 it was purchased by its current owner, Mr Francis...

www.ultimatecarpage.com

 

[drron]

Now to the rest of the Wonders of Wynyard.There is a display of Indigenous history.
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And old photos.This of the Bass highway.
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But the thing that I regarded as the equal of the car collection was a collection of Japanese Art.The collection was given to the local Rotary Club in 1980 by the parents of an Exchange student they hosted.These are just a few of the pieces.
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[drron]

A few interesting homes and a church on the road to BWT.
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So back to dinner.I had a few Dutch Cream potatoes to use up before Mrsdrron's arrival on Sunday so cooked up ginger and miso marinated roast potatoes.Enough left over for lunch on the Sunday.Really good.
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[drron]

Sunday arrives and so will mrsdrron in the afternoon via JQ into LST.I drive over after lunch and wait outside the airport until her plane arrives.
I do catch something that has been rare recently- a VA plane taking off and flying.
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We have some time to kill before our dinner booking at Geronimo which had become our favourite restaurant pre covid.So we went and looked around near the Peppers Silo hotel.The council has been busy landscaping the area and there is a good play area next to the hotel.
They are also constructing an addition to their walkways going along the eastern shore of the Tamar.It has opened up an old wharf area.
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[drron]

Now for dinner with the delightful mrsdrron.They have changed things since covid.Now the options are share 5 small dishes plus a dessert each for $50 a head.For 5 small dishes + a classic main $70 and for 5 dishes + a signature main $85 and both are extra for a dessert.We went for option 1.It certainly was enough for us.
The menu.Apologies for blurring.
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The small dishes we had were Waygu beef carpaccio,fried cauliflower,sumac octopus skewers,sourdough flatbread with salmon rillette and beef cheek ravioli.The carpaccio and cauliflower were excellent.the octopus was tough and disappointing.
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For dessert mrsdrron had the lime coconut parfait and I had the star anise creme caramel.
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