Carving Out A Lifestyle

East Beach Tourist Park

 I popped in yesterday to meet the owner of the East Beach Tourist Park, at Low Head, and discovered a delightful lady whose husband passed away around a year ago, leaving her to carve out a lifestyle with their developing caravan/tourist park.

East Beach Tourist Park at Low Head has a unique facade which attracts tens of thousands of visitors per year.  

The striking Macrocarpa wood carvings are the work of Eddie Freeman and was commissioned by the late Kenneth Plumstead, the previous park owner, and is the largest privately owned collection of its type in Australia.

 With these exquisite tree carvings at the front door and East Beach and the Bass Straight at the rear, this park is the ideal place to spend a day, or a month, exploring the region.

East Beach, Low Head

East Beach, looking to the east

The Western end of East Beach, overlooking the Low Head lighthouse precinct.

 

 

 

Just 40 minutes from Launceston, East Beach Tourist Park is located right on beautiful East 

Beach, at historic Low Head. It is only 5 minutes from all the facilities and attraction that George Town and Low Head offers, but far enough away to enjoy the peace and tranquillity in a natural setting - perfect for the tourist to set up base and explore the historic region and further afield, while also ideal as a weekend escape for locals


The park's website contains dozens of photos of the park and surrounding region and is packed with information to both excite and guide you on your journey.

Their Website

Get Your FREE PDF Guide to Tasmania's freedom camping sites and caravan parks HERE

Is The Dementia Really Setting In?

At 81 years of age, I have just discovered that getting older doesn't necessarily mean getting wiser.

"Catalogue Tasmania's freedom camping sites and caravan parks in a light to download, easy to use format", he said.
"There can't be that many of them - it will be fun", he said.

Ideal for use with the FREE downloadable route map, this guide (in PDF) offers information on freedom camping areas and van park locations, pet friendliness and facilities.

Each guide is loosely based on routes in the downloadable map and run sequentially (as you travel), rather than alphabetically, for greater ease of use.

 

Download Campsite and Caravan Park List 

 

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  Check out the post 'Hiring A Campervan In Tasmania - You’ll find Campervans and 4x4s from providers such as Maui, Cruisin, Tasmania Campers, Jucy, Britz, Apollo and many more.

Hobart Convict Gaol: A family connection

James: From Chartist to Supervisor of the Treadmill

Remainder of the gaol still stands

 

 

 

 

 

I recently took the opportunity to visit my brother - Keeper of the Family History - south of Hobart, spending a few inspiring days with him and his lovely wife.

We had to make the 40 km plus trip into Hobart and given that I have had little to do with much of the south of the state, was excited that we were going to visit the Old Convict Gaol where our Great, great-grandfather had been the supervisor of the treadmill.

It seems quite strange to me that, having been heavily involved as an organiser with the Chartist Movement in England - an act similar to today's terrorism that was punished by long prison terms or transportation to Australia - he was able to secure a position as Supervisor of the Treadmill in Hobart and then Launceston.

Hobart Convict Gaol Layout

Hobart Convict Gaol Layout - click to enlarge

 

 

 

The Penitentiary Chapel and Criminal Courts are situated on a Hobart site occupied for penal uses from 1821 to 1983.

The complex, containing one of the most beautiful church towers in Australia, is of national importance.

By the late 1820s increasing numbers of convicts were placing stress on Hobart's convict accommodation, and a penitentiary, 'The Tench', was built (1827 /28) in Campbell Street - remains of which still stand today, along with some of the cottages across the road.

Penitentiary Chapel: Hobart

Penitentiary Chapel can be found at the Corner of Brisbane and Campbell Streets

Overcrowding also affected Hobart's only Anglican church, St David's, and Lt-Governor Arthur directed the Colonial Architect, John Lee Archer, to design a second place of worship.

Archer designed a building to serve both convicts and free citizens, with 36 solitary confinement cells underneath as an adjunct to the penitentiary.

His design was cruciform, without a sanctuary, but with a nave, while the east and west transepts had floors tiered or sloped towards a central pulpit, visible to all three wings.

This clever arrangement allowed the free citizens to use the nave for worship, hidden from 'the uncouth gaze' of the (640) prisoners in the wings.

A prisoner looks at convict behaviour in Church

 

It is from the 'educated writings' of Linus W. Miller, a twenty-two-year-old American lawyer who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land as a state prisoner from Canada after becoming involved in the 1838 Canadian rebellion that we can gain a first-hand insight into daily life of the convicts.

The following is just a small part of his description of convict attendance at Divine Service in the Penitentiary Chapel.

‘On looking about me, I could not discover more than twelve, among twelve hundred prisoners [sic], who appeared to be taking any notice of the service. Some were spinning yarns, some playing at pitch-and-toss, some gambling with cards; several were crawling about under the benches, selling candy, tobacco, &c., and one fellow carried a bottle of rum, which he was serving out in small quantities to those who had an English sixpence to give for a small wine-glass full. Disputes occasionally arose which ended in a blow or kick; but in these cases the constables, who were present to maintain order, generally felt called upon to interfere. If any resistance was offered to their authority, the culprit was seized by the arms and collar, dragged out of the church and thrust into the cells beneath.'

The Treadmill

 

The treadmill or 'everlasting staircase' was a penal appliance introduced in 1818 by the British engineer Sir William Cubitt (1785/61) as a means of usefully employing convicts.

The device was a wide hollow cylinder, usually composed of wooden steps built around a cylindrical iron frame.

My brother informs me that 'The Launceston Treadmill'  [where James also worked]  could accommodate up to eighteen men, who trod up and down on the spot, grinding wheat for the Government store. 

On the machine, the prisoners had to keep moving.  Every sixty seconds, a bell would signal the prisoner at the end of the line to break. When the bell rang again, he would rejoin the line at the other end for a further eighteen-minute’s treading.'

Gold, gold, gold! Fossicking at Lefroy

Lefroy: The six pub town

I have always found it rather interesting that the population and wealth of Australian historic mining areas seem to be always measured by the number of pubs (hotels) it had.

Lefroy sits around 15 km south-east of the cottage and 58 km north-east of Launceston. Originally known as Nine Mile Springs it was changed to Lefroy in 1881 after the visit by the Acting Governor, Sir Henry Lefroy.

It was a bustling town, which is said to have contained 5,000 people in its peak boom period of 1890-95. It was the fourth largest town in Tasmania,.

Gold was known to exist in the hills around Lefroy in the 1840s, but exploration was discouraged because of a fear that the convicts would find out and rebel.

Though now only a sleepy rural town with no retail activity at all, Lefroy had a race track, rifle club, cricket club and brass band. There were six hotels, three churches, a state and private grammar school, a masonic lodge and mechanics institute. The town had several shops, two butchers and a cordial factory. In 1907 the headquarters of the George Town Municipality was located there, remaining there until the 1930s.

Gold Mining At Lefroy

Mining endeavours at Lefroy were a series of booms and busts. The alluvial gold lay in the creek gullies and under the basalt rock on the eastern side of the field. But most of the gold lay in scattered reefs in the quartz rock which formed the base of the area.

 In the upper levels the gold was quite rich, but it was quickly exhausted and as shafts were dug deeper, the amount of gold diminished. Extraction was expensive because of water seepage, which required pumps, and the quartz rock had to be crushed in batteries of stamping machines, and then washed in sluices to extract the gold from the crushed rock.

In all, the Lefroy mines yielded £750,000 in gold, making the gold field the second richest in Tasmania, after Beaconsfield.

 Gold Fossicking at Lefroy

A tailings dump we have been picking through

 

 

 

Once commercial mining ceased, Lefroy slowly declined, its school and last church closing in 1954. Many of the houses were removed to George Town and Beaconsfield. Even so, prospectors continue to mine and fossick for gold in and around the old mine shafts, often finding enough to make it a profitable hobby.

My sons grew up in the Lefroy area and spent many hours picking through the tailings dumps and mine sites with limited, though exciting results including a number of smallish nuggets.

So What Did We Find?

With many hectares of scrub surrounding the mine and tens of thousands of tonnes of well worked tailings, finding gold is about as easy as striking a lottery win - a few small payouts but an extremely elusive jackpot.

From a material point of view, the total find during our four-hour search consisted of an tiny sliver of gold in a fissure in a chunk of basalt. Cash value - zero.

The real payout, however, comes with the health giving beauty of the silent embrace of the surrounding forest. Real Value -  priceless.

Be assured that the gold is there, and taking the time to have a look is well worth many hours of your time.

 The Rehabilitation of Abandoned Mining Lands

The capping on one of over fifty shafts in the region

 

The Rehabilitation of Abandoned Mining Lands Trust Fund commenced a
remediation program in the 2005/2006 budget period to address public safety risks posed by abandoned mine workings on Crown Land at Lefroy, north-east Tasmania.

Over fifty open shafts and two adits were either capped or fenced during
this time for an approximate cost of $140,000.

 The Chinese In Lefroy

Chinese miners first arrived at Lefroy in 1870, originally brought in to work the mines at Back Creek. 

At Lefroy they panned for alluvial gold, and later picked over the tailings from the crushing batteries. They also made money from the other diggers through their market gardens and gambling dens, where fan tan was the main game. 

They were slower but steadier workers and were tolerated by the other diggers. In 1877 they opened a Joss House in Little China Town, which was in Powell Street. It remained there until 1904, when it was dismantled and removed to an unknown location.

You may also be interested in two items I have published in my site, Dear Grandpa Pencil, including:

'MV Parsifal' visits the Tamar River

Giant delivers Tasrail's new locomotives

'MV Parsifal' the largest car carrier in the world and the largest ship ever to call into Bell Bay, today navigated the winding Tamar River delivering Tassie's new Locomotives.

The 265-metre long 'MV Parsifal' spans nine decks with a cargo deck area the size of eight soccer fields with a draught of nearly 9 metres.

Just 35 metres shorter than the Eiffel Tower, with a ramp that can handle the weight of 100 elephants she has an anchor that weighs 9.2 tonnes and  an engine which has the horsepower of 180 cars.

Despite her gigantic size, the Parsifal will actually use 15 to 20% less fuel per transported unit compared to her predecessors due to her optimised hull shape and other energy saving features like the streamlined rudder design and duck tail which make her one of the most environmentally friendly ships in operation today. In addition, electricity will be produced from the exhaust heat on board thanks to an advanced turbo generator which has been installed in the engine room.

'MV Parsifal

One of TasRail’s 17 new TR class locomotives

Unloading at Bell Bay

Replica Of The 25 Ton Colonial Sloop Norfolk

Bass and Flinders prove Tasmania is an island

  

The Replica of the Norfolk in George Town

 

The 25 ton Colonial sloop Norfolk was built on Norfolk Island in 1798 and was constructed from Norfolk Island Pine.

Flinders had been doing some exploring on his own and believed that he could prove that Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was an island.

Bass and Flinders convinced Governor Hunter that another expedition should be set up with a bigger boat and more men.

The Circumnavigation

Governor Hunter quickly put the Norfolk under the command of Matthew Flinders to be used
as a survey vessel.

From the Bass and Flinders Centre

In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), proving that it was an island.
 
They sailed with a crew of 8  right into the Tamar River and anchored off what is now George Town.

This was to be their last voyage together as Bass disappeared mysteriously in the Pacific Ocean.

Flinders also took the Norfolk north to chart Cook’s Morton’s Bay (now Moreton Bay) and Hervey’s Bay (Hervey Bay).

The Norfolk was then used to supply produce from the Windsor Area to Port Jackson, until 1800 when she was seized by convicts, at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River.

Intending to sail her to the Mollucas (A group of islands of eastern Indonesia between Sulawesi and New Guinea), the convicts ran her aground at Stockton on the northern side of the mouth to the Hunter River.

History on show

The Bass and Flinders Centre

 

In 1998-99 Bern Cuthbertson from Sandy Bay, Tasmania, re-enacted all of the Norfolk's journeys in a replica of the Norfolk, constructed of Tasmanian Huon and Celery Top pines.

The magnificent replica Norfolk is now on display at The Bass and Flinders Centre in George Town.

The Bass and Flinders Centre is at 8 Elizabeth Street, George Town TAS 7253 

http://www.bassandflinders.org.au

Some Tasmanian Tree Sculptures

Is There Life After Death?

Tree sculpture at East Beach

 

 

If the George Town/Low Head area is anything to go by, there certainly is.

This is my second Australia Day back in Northern Tasmania and as I enjoyed the experience at the Low Head Pilot Station last year, I decided to do it again.

Sadly, despite the weather being near perfect, the event fell far short of last year's, in almost every respect. I did one quick circuit of the precinct and left - the problem was probably the result of the present depressed nature of the region.

Discovering East Beach

East  Beach overlooking the Low Head Lighthouse

 

Rather than waste an outing, even though it is only a few kilometre drive, I took a left turn on the way home to look at a beach.

I can be a bit slack and although it is only a longish walk from the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, I had not seen it.

The beach sweeps east, from the point that houses the Low Head Lighthouse, in a 1.5 km crescent fronting the Bass Straight.

The quite attractive beach is backed by a narrow strip of scrub, then the road and is served by a reasonable toilet block.

In 1869 a submarine telegraph cable ran from Low Head, Tasmania to Western Port, Victoria and the foundations of its wooden test house lies beside the short track from the road to the beach.

New life for these dead trees

The café and sculpture

 

Driving a little further, I came across this amazing sight in front of a café.

Six old pine trees had been beautifully converted to this tree sculptured, nautical scene.

Sailors join a whale, dolphin, sword-fish, a surfer, a lighthouse and birds in a seriously attention grabbing display.

I really should pop back and try out their coffee and fish & chips soon.

More life from death

The Eddie Freeman sculpture in George Town

 

As I was looking at the sculpture, I remembered that I had not checked on the progress of the work in George Town lately, so I headed off to have a look.

With a chainsaw and chisel, Tasmanian sculptor, Eddie Freeman, has breathed new life into an ageing Macrocarpa Pine Tree on the site of the old Cable House for the Tasmania to Victoria telegraph link.

The sculpture features a mother whale and her baby, five penguins and cable men pulling in the telegraph cable.

The telegraph cable

The artist's credit

 

A telegraph line connecting Hobart and Launceston was completed in 1857 in 1869 a submarine telegraph cable ran from Low Head, Tasmania to Western Port, Victoria.

The key to future growth in trade and commerce was a connection to the other state capitals.

There were 117 miles of cable at a final contract cost of £53,000 laid and made operational. Unfortunately the cable was constantly out of service due to faults undersea and by January 1861 it was abandoned.

An enduring cable link was established between Cape Otway on the Victorian mid-south coast, through to King Island and, ultimately, Launceston, Tasmania, the £70000 cost paid fully by the Tasmanian Government and it was opened in 1869.

Australia Day at Low Head

Australia Day 2013 at the Low Head Pilot Station

 An impressive day in a most impressive location

Low Head Pilot Station is the oldest existing group of Pilot Station buildings in Australia with its ongoing Pilot Service dating from 1805.
What better venue, then, in which to celebrate Australia Day?
The weather was balmy, the music wonderful, the food plentiful and the crowd, when not taking part in the many events, were in a relaxed and happy mood.
.

This large, functional and historic precinct was the venue for this year's Australia Day celebrations and for a municipality of around 6,500 people the turnout was excellent.
I write and produce a website for our Community Radio Station and went along to the event to grab some photos for its Photo Album section.
Just a short drive, or a longish walk, from the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, the precinct boasts, along with its ongoing Pilot Service which guides ships through the dangerous entry and journey down the Tamar River to Launceston and Bell Bay, a maritime museum and a great restaurant among other bits and pieces.
Low Head Pilot Station is the oldest group of pilot buildings in Australia and is the second oldest pilot service (after Sydney) and was the first pilot station to operate in Australia.
The pilot service dates from 1805, with the appointment of William House as Harbour Master at Port Dalrymple, and the first building on the site was probably built in 1806, some 76 years before 'The Cottage.'
The pilot service still operates from this site today.

Cars, Caterers, Boats and Bands Abound

Oh yes! And a beautiful dog
When this magnificent, polite dog came up and asked me to include it in the site I found it impossible to refuse.
Sadly, I was so touched that I forgot to ask its name.

 Boats Restored by the Wooden Boat Shed

A display of boats by The Wooden Boat Shed, a part of the Bass and Flinders Centre.
The Bass and Flinders Centre, in George Town, houses a superb replica of the  25 ton Colonial sloop Norfolk.

 In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Tasmania, proving that it was an island.

Some of the  Wonderful Classic Cars on show

 As you probably know I am getting on a tad so, to me, these machines are quite modern.
They were certainly a delight to view regardless.

Food, Food, Food.

 I couldn't believe the fact that there were so many outlets offering a wide variety of food and refreshments with most operated by organisations such as Lions and Rotary.

Obviously, it being Australia and Australia Day, the burger and the sausage sanga, along with the odd beer, prevailed.

  All the Fun of the Fair

There were Jumping Castles, rides and a bucket load of contests for young and old.
This is the junior Egg and Spoon race and, sadly, I missed the shot where the slightly embarrased Mayor dropped his egg just before the half way mark.There was an Australia Day dress Competition, Children's Amusements, Damper Making, Food Stalls and other fun activities  and a  5km Fun Run from the Pilot Station, running to the Lighthouse and back.

 And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Weary with toil the crowd moved toward the band relaxing on the expansive lawn.
All in all a briliant day and its organisers are to be congratulated for its smooth, efficient running.

Tasmanian Devils: A Northern NSW/Tasmanian Connection

 Tasmanian Devil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a meat eating mammal.

It is also a marsupial, which means they have a small pouch to carry their babies.
It is the largest meat eating marsupial in the world.

They are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and are awake during the night.
They now live only in Tasmania, an island state of Australia.

The devil is the same size as a small dog with a wide head and a short tail.
Male devils can weigh 12 kg and be 30 cm tall.

It has black fur and makes a loud and very scary screeching noise.

It will hunt other animals and also feed on dead animals.

The devil has strong teeth and jaws and will eat all its prey even bones and fur.

Extinction

The Tasmanian Devil became extinct on the Australian mainland about 400 years before European settlement in 1788.

They were hunted in Tasmania; in the 1930's the Van Dieman's Land Company offered 25 cents for each male and 35 cents for each female killed.

In 1941 they became officially protected.

In 1996 the devils began to get very sick and then die with large tumours on their faces.
Devil facial tumour disease has greatly reduced the number of devils and now threatens their survival. In some areas 85% of devils have been found with the disease.

In the places where the tumours were seen first, devil numbers have dropped by 95%.
The tumour is spread by biting.

Because the devils are all closely related (not enough genetic diversity), the tumour cells are not seen as new; so the devil's immune system does not fight it.

In May 2008 the Tasmanian Devil was listed as endangered.

Programs are being tried by the Tasmanian government to reduce the impact of the disease.
About 60 devils without the disease have been captured and are to be kept as a tumour free group for rebreeding.

Scientists have been looking at ways to give the devils immunity but so far this has not worked.

So the race is on to breed large numbers of Tasmanian devils away from the disease-front.
It is critical that the devils being relocated are genetically diverse and are raised in a way to ensure they can be released into Tasmania once DFTD has run its destructive course.

 Devil Ark

This is where Devil Ark plays a vital role.

High in the hills of Barrington Tops in NSW is Devil Ark – a conservation breeding program for the Tasmanian devil.

Devil Ark is the largest conservation breeding program for the Tasmanian devil on mainland Australia.

At an altitude of 1,350 metres, Devil Ark provides the perfect breeding environment for devils.

The Tasmanian-like vegetation and cool, wet and snowy conditions means the devils feel right at home!

Devil Ark is very different to a zoo where small enclosures mean loss of natural behaviour.
Devils at Devil Ark are kept in a natural environment to maintain their wild behaviour and keepers intervene as little as possible.

This means a cost-effective and devil-friendly approach.

Supply River Flour Mill

Supply River Flour Mill

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Just down the Tamar from Low Head, but on the western shore, is the Supply River where my great great Grandfather, James and his brother John rented and operated a water driven flour mill.

James and his wife Margaret, children John and George and his brother John arrived in Hobart in around 1844 on the transportation ship ‘The London’.

James was initially employed in Launceston as the superintendent of the treadmill.

 Supply River Mill Reserve

Off Deviot Road, Deviot, West Tamar.

An easy 15-minute walk along the banks of the Supply River are the ruins of Tasmania's earliest water-driven flour mill.

The Supply River Mill is both peaceful and historically interesting.

During its early years, the Mill was attacked on several occasions by bands of Bushrangers.

Two 'Supply' workers along with numerous bushrangers were killed and the place, in local circles, has since retained an aspect of the 'supernatural', believed to be haunted by the spirit of a lone Bushranger.

 

The Mill

Supply River Mill was built in 1825 by a Mr. Charlton and leased to George Cathcart. On the Arrowsmith Map of 1832 it was noted as Beverage's Mill. Some twenty-five kilometres north of Launceston, on the western side of the Tamar River, the mill was located in an isolated spot. In the early days it was subject to attacks by aborigines and bushrangers. Two workers are said to have been killed in such attacks.

By 1842 the mill was owned by Guillan and Syme. They employed two apprentices, James (Philosopher) Smith and Thomas Monds. Smith then sixteen years old, went on to become a dogged mineral fossicker. Besides finding various mineral deposits around the North West, discovered the Mount Bishoff tin deposits.

Monds stayed with milling, purchasing the Carrick Mill with the assistance of John Cartledge, and founding the company that was to become the present Monds and Affleck.

The Supply Mill, as with others of the day, was highly labour-intensive. Grain and flour had to be lifted with block and tackle or manhandled within the mill and to and from the ships servicing the mill. There were two pair of four foot six inch (135cm) millstones, and the usual dressing and cleaning equipment. The small building, besides housing the machinery and grain, accommodated up to six people. (Port Dalrymple Story, Bethell)

While there was not sufficient water to operate the mill for four months of the year, working night and day the mill could grind up to forty tons of flour a week. In 1844 the schooner ‘Dusty Miller’, carrying 120 tons of flour worth ₤70 per ton, was wrecked in Portland Bay. The ship and cargo were not insured, and Guillam and Syme became bankrupt.

SALE BY AUCTION

An advertisement appeared in the Cornwall Chronicle throughout February 1848:

    SALE BY AUCTION
    ELIGIBLE INVESTMENT FOR CAPITALISTS
    Where an industrious man of such means may speedily acquire an independent fortune.
    MESSRS. UNDERWOOD AND EDDIE,
    Are instructed by Mr. Yates to sell by auction, at their rooms
    in Charles Street, on Wednesday, the 1st March next.
    All those powerful WATER CORN MILLS,
    Known as
    THE SUPPLY MILLS
    Situate in the improving
    TOWNSHIP OF EXTER,
    ON THE WEST BANK OF THE TAMAR.
    Eighteen Miles from Launceston.

    On this valuable property there is a never-failing supply of water, rendering the mill capable of grinding and dressing 56,000 bushels of wheat per annum, and might, with a trifling outlay, be made capable of manufacturing double the quantity.
    The mill consists of a large three-story wooden building thereto attacked, containing three pairs of the very best 4ft6in. French stones, two very superior 6gt, dressing machines, and one very excellent smutting machine, with going gear, sack tackle & etc., & etc., complete.

    There is a weather-boarded residence close to the Mill, containing six rooms, and also a miller’s cottage near the same.
    There are ten acres, substantially fenced in, out of which a splendid garden of two acres is enclosed, in which the gardener’s home of two rooms is erected, and the garden is stocked with the choicest fruit tress, in full bearing.
    On this splendid property there is ample space for two or three Mills or Manufactories in addition to the Mill now erected thereon, and as the water in the Supply River is secured by Grant Deed to the exclusive use of the proprietor, intending purchasers may render the site one of the first importance in point of revenue investment, as the quality of the water is so pure as to be admirably adapted for all the purposes of paper manufactory.
    The river Tamar is navigable to the Mill Door, alongside of which vessels of fifty tons may discharge their cargos.
    Title- a Grant from the Crown.
    Terms – Twenty per cent deposit on the day of sale: £700 may secure the property at 8 per cent: for the residue, bills at 4, 6, 9, and 12 months, bearing bank interest,.
    The Mills at present are let to respectable tenants, at £200 per annum.
    For further particulars, apply to Messrs. Jennings and Grubb,
    Solicitors, Launceston; or to Mr. Yates, Cataract Mill, Launceston. Supply River Mill

 Check out the post 'Hiring A Campervan In Tasmania - You’ll find Campervans and 4x4s from providers such as Maui, Cruisin, Tasmania Campers, Jucy, Britz, Apollo and many more.

Low Head - Oldest Pilot and Signal Station in Australia

  Low Head

The latest weather for low head

 

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Low Head, a suburb of George Town, is a unique and historical precinct on a peninsula on the eastern shore of the mouth of the Tamar River

The area also has a lighthouse, beaches and a colony of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), a population of 572 (at the 2016 census) and is just a 40 minutes drive from Launceston.

Dating back to 1805, the Low Head Conservation Area is the oldest Pilot and Signal Station in Australia and has run continuously since 1833.

Offering a diverse range of 19th century buildings overlooking Bass Strait, this charming precinct is a haven of tranquillity and serenity surrounded by pristine beaches.

 

 

 

 East Beach Tourist Park
40 Gunn Pde, Low Head, Tasmania
(03) 6382-1000
infoeastbeachtouristpark@gmail.com
Visit Website

Low Head Tourist Park
136 Low Head Rd, Low Head TAS
(03) 6382 1573
Visit Website

Low Head Pilot Station

 

Low Head Pilot Station is the oldest group of pilot buildings in Australia. It is the second-oldest pilot service (after Sydney).

 The pilot service dates from 1805, with the appointment of William House as Harbour Master at Port Dalrymple, and the first building on the site was probably in 1806.

 The pilot service still operates from this site today.

The first European settlers to arrive in the Tamar Valley came with Lieutenant Colonel William Paterson in November 1804.

 They landed and set up camp at Outer Cove (now George Town), established their settlement at York Town on the West Tamar, and in 1806 moved to Launceston.

The Tamar River is a dangerous estuary with a complicated navigation channel, which has always required the help of pilots.

The oldest building on the site is Pilots’ Row.

 It was a terrace of four apartments, each with four rooms, to house the pilots and their families.

 It dates from 1835 and was designed by John Lee Archer, the colonial Architect. It replaced earlier wooden pilot buildings.

As the station grew, other buildings were added. These include the Coxwain’s Cottage (1847), Boat Crew Cottages (1859, 1860, 1861, 1962), the School House (1866), Pilot’s Cottage (1917), Church, Octagonal Chart Room, Workshop and Boat Shed.

 

 Low Head Lighthouse
496 Low Head Road, Low Head, Tasmania
This free point of interest offers nice scenery, wildlife viewing and walking tracks. Dogs are not permitted. No camping or overnight parking allowed.

Low Head Penguin Tours
}485 Low Head Road, George Town,
Phone: 0418 361 860
Email: penguins@lowhead.com.au
Website

This paid point of interest offers wildlife viewing. Dogs are not permitted. No camping or overnight parking allowed. You must book in advance.

 Low Head Penguin Tours offers a unique nature experience to get up close and personal with Little Blue Penguins as they return from the pristine waters of Bass Strait to nest in their burrows.

George Town Visitor Information Centre
92-96 Main Road, George Town
Tel: 03 6382 1700.
Email: info@georgetown.net.au
OPENING HOURS: Monday to Sunday : 9.00am to 4.00pm

Dump Point
George Town Visitor Information Centre
92-96 Main Road, George Town

Toilet Facilities
Lagoon Beach: East Tamar Highway, Low Head
East Beach: East Beach Road, Low Head

Police Station
80/82 Macquarie St, George Town TAS 7253 - non-emergency Ph. 131 444

Doctor/Medical Centre
George Town Medical Centre
49 Anne St, George Town
(03) 6382 4333

George Town District Hospital and Community Health Centre
47 Anne St, George Town TAS 7253
(03) 6702 6020

Laundromat
Cnr Sorell & Macquarie Sts, George Town

Service Tasmania and Library
12 Elizabeth St, George Town

 

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Check out the post 'Hiring A Campervan In Tasmania - You’ll find Campervans and 4x4s from providers such as Maui, Cruisin, Tasmania Campers, Jucy, Britz, Apollo and many more.