The view from my "office"

[drron]

Can you keep it like that for my two week visit that begins tomorrow please!

So was it good for you tonight?

 

[RooFlyer]

Tonight’s office, historic Penghana B&B at Queenstown. A gorgeous day on the sunny west coast of Tas

 

[RooFlyer]

An earlier office today was the old Royal Hotel at Linda, outside Queenstown. Someone has opened a cafe while they restore the old hotel to its former glory





It’s the building to the left of the verandahed one. This was Linda in the gold rush days.









The cafe is fabulous.





And then there is the nearby mountain bike trail

 

[RooFlyer]

Then there was The Blow office, original mine at Mt Lyell


Lookout





And approaching

 

[Captain Halliday]

So was it good for you tonight?
View attachment 274052View attachment 274053

Yes, spectacular. At one point we were driving toward the sunset and that radiant amber horizon over the former cane fields reminded me of the old cane fires.

 

[OATEK]

Trinity College, Dublin

 

[RooFlyer]

Another beautiful day in Queenie

Empire Hotel, war memorial, Queenstown Station and Penghana off to the right



Steams up at the station!





Post Office

 

[drron]

Isn't Queenstown's sky meant to be grey? What's wrong.

 

[Daver6]

Gloomy MEL office

 

[Captain Halliday]

Isn't Queenstown's sky meant to be grey? What's wrong.

And I thought the mountains were more spectacular and there was a nice lake and ski fields?

 

[Captain Halliday]

Breakfast office visitor.


Mudjimba, Queensland

 

[RooFlyer]

Isn't Queenstown's sky meant to be grey? What's wrong.

I bring the sun with me ( and no obvious rejoinders, please)

Penghana again. View and morning tea for my history group ( I’m leading a tour over 4 days here). Historians do like a good morning tea.

 

[OZDUCK]

OK - a serious question. We drove through Queenstown in 1985 and I am sure that most of the surrounding hills were almost bare of any significant vegetation. Has there now been a lot of recovery from the mining days? Also, I remember the town itself being grimy and rundown while in these photos it look pretty nice. I am beginning to doubt my memories.

 

[drron]

Your memories are correct @OZDUCK . We went through in 1984 and it was just as you remember. Was back there last year and apart from the blue sky it looks like @RooFlyer s photos.

 

[OZDUCK]

Your memories are correct @OZDUCK . We went through in 1984 and it was just as you remember. Was back there last year and apart from the blue sky it looks like @RooFlyer s photos.

Thanks. Good to know that at least part of my mind still works.

 

[Flashback]

@OATEK we must have just missed you, we were on the 7.45am BA flight to KEF - which left on time without issue. Some views of our offices around Iceland as we meander around.

 

[Pushka]

Splendid day at Port Broughton today for the seafood festival here. So impressed with the very active community we have here. Port Broughton is a major fish and crab supplier to Adelaide and interstate, and the fishing families own the largest mansions. And seem to be all related. And then there are the farmers.





These paella dishes were massive and they emptied so quick.

 

[RooFlyer]

OK - a serious question. We drove through Queenstown in 1985 and I am sure that most of the surrounding hills were almost bare of any significant vegetation. Has there now been a lot of recovery from the mining days? Also, I remember the town itself being grimy and rundown while in these photos it look pretty nice. I am beginning to doubt my memories.

I’m not sure if the story is apocryphal or not, but until the late 1980s the regrowing vegetation on the hillsides was actively cut back to preserve the “moonscape” appearance of the hills which was which was considered a tourist attraction. And it probably was a bit of an attraction.

But of course that couldn’t continue so they just let the vegetation grow and not surprisingly it grows very quickly on the denuded hillsides a bit quicker all around the town. It’s now a rainforest where are used to be just reasonably shrubby hills 30 years ago.

A couple of us mentioned how spruce the town was looking at the moment. There’s nothing economically that’s come up over the last few years - the mine still closed on care and maintenance, but adventure tourism is increasing. I think it’s a combination of some civic pride in adversity and a very nice sunny day or two, so far.

 

[RooFlyer]

Today's office was a coupled of tours around Queenstown and region - town, mines and pines.

First the town



To Penghana again for morning tea



It was constructed in about 1912 and they leveled the top of one of the hills in the town so the first Mt Lyell mine manager , Robert Sticht could lord it over the town



Magnificent Huon pine and Blackwood joinery and panelling



Morning tea in the Penghana ballroom. Doesn't your place have ballroom? Historians like a good morning tea. scones, jam cream, tea and coffee



The original Mt Lyell offices, built by Sticht are abandoned but being maintained. This was Sticht's office and his technical library.





Some copper ore on display



A local museum. That's going straight to the pool room!!

 

[RooFlyer]

Then it was into the rainforest not that far from Queenstown to observe some Huon Pines in and amongst an old gold mining area.

Entering the forest a bit of a "picnic at hanging Rock” moment.

A trough where a waterwheel worked to wind the winch at a shaft, 120 years ago.



The log laying down in the foreground is a Huon Pine about 2000 years old when it fell. They grow in a rough rule of thumb of 1 mm diameter every year. The tree growing on top of it is also Huon Pine and on the same rule of thumb would be between 1000 and 1200 years old. So the tree that it's growing on fell over about that long ago. It hasn’t rotted because the natural oils in the wood that make it such a great boat building timber.



Then onto an old underground mine and another "Picnic at hanging Rock" moment as the group disappeared single file into the drive ahead of us.







Some oxidised copper ore - malachite.