Tassie - Heritage Hwy

Woolmer's Estate near Longford.

Driving along Tasmania's Heritage Hwy from Launceston to Hobart, is like a drive through an Australian history book. The highway is one old convict building after another. Some remain as magnificent private residences, others as working farms, some have become cafes or bakeries or gift shops, some of the grand homes are now tourist attractions allowing us to share their history, whilst others are just ruins from a time long past.
We started our history lesson at Longford, a short drive from Launceston, and 200 years ago. It is a lovely heritage town, full of history and old convict built buildings. The Longford Riverside Caravan Park, is beautifully positioned on the banks of the Macquarie River, and very well run. It is also only a short walk into town, and the fantastic JJ's Bakery, which got a few of our dollars! Fantastic wood fired bread!

Clarendon House near Evandale.

Entally House near Carrick

To understand the heritage of the area we first had to get an understanding of the major role played by convicts in the history of Tasmania, and Australia. We soon realised just how dumb we were, when it came to our own history, so excuse us while we indulge ourselves on new found knowledge. Of the 160,000 convicts transported to the colonies, over 70,000 came to Tasmania. Most were petty criminals, forced into crime in the UK, usually as a matter of survival. Sure there were hardened criminals, but they were in the minority. Most of the convicts were sent out to work with the free settlers, again most of whom were not originally wealthy or titled, but opportunistic and smart. They used the free labour to become wealthy very quickly. The convicts were here with short sentences, usually around seven years, and were quickly released, many with grants of land, so Tasmania prospered, as they tried to turn it into England in the southern hemisphere. Non English things were wiped out, with bounties on aboriginals and Tasmanian tigers, and English things introduced, such as plants and animals. Imagine the ecological consequences. They were very successful at what they set out to do. The huge stands of conifers, the thousands of rabbits, and the fact that the fox now has a bounty on it, are the results of that plan. Unfortunately, the extinction of the Tasmanian aboriginal and the Tasmanian devil also happened very quickly.

The National Rose Garden at
Woolmer's Estate.

The three homes shown in the pictures tell the stories of three such families, who became wealthy farmers and landowners, who held high office in Tasmania, even becoming Premier of the state. At Woolmer's Estate, and its neighbouring property called Brikkendon, World Heritage Listing has been bestowed, along with nine other sites in Australia, recognising the contribution, of forced convict migration on the development of the modern world. These are UNESCO sites, similar in standing to those we marvelled at in Europe, yet didn't even know existed in our own country.
In addition, at Woolmer's Estate, the National Rose Garden has been established, and what a magnificent site it must be in full bloom. We missed it by about 2 months, but what we saw was still a great sight. The Queen has also taken tea at Woolmers Estate.

Begonia at Entally House.

Entally Estate is worthy of mention for the fact that it was built by the Rieby family. Most of you will be equally as ignorant as us, in not knowing that the chubby cheeked lady in the bonnet, on our $20 note, is Mary Rieby, ex convict cum early entrepreneur. Well, her son came to Tasmania on one of the family trading vessels, managed to get some free land, and the rest was history. One of his descendants became Premier of Tasmania. This property has one of the earliest glass hot houses in Australia, and houses one of the best begonia exhibits we've ever seen, as well as having one of Australia's earliest cricket ovals, still there today.
It doesn't matter where you drive around this district, you will find historic properties to stop at, and ponder the past.

Morning tea at the Red Bridge Cafe

Leaving Longford, we drove a short distance down the highway to another Historic Town, Campbell Town. Along the way you just see one old convict home after another. In Campbell Town there is another one of those amazing convict built road bridges, still in use today on the main highway. Next to the bridge is the Red Bridge Cafe & Providore. Carol had a cutout from a newspaper, so I knew we would be calling in for a "Tub of Love". Of all things imaginable, this is actually a ready made dip, and it lives up to its name. This is not the only thing we purchase! The weather has turned really cold, with snow down to 600 metres. We need a break. They make all their own cakes, beautiful coffee, and they have an open fire.The rest is history! The vanilla slice comes freshly baked from heaven daily, and the carrot cake takes over the mantle as best yet!

On the convict bridge at Ross.

Suitably warmed, we head on to another quaint historic village, called Ross. It is gorgeous, with its magnificent tree lined streets, and scores of sandstone buildings, and yes it has a convict built sandstone bridge! By now, cold has turned into freezing, with the rain showers falling as small hail, and a strong breeze adding to the torture, as we walk the historic streets, resembling Mr and Mrs Michelin man. The thermometer says 4 degrees, but it is a known liar! Ross was home to one of the few Women's Prisons in Tasmania. Their history, really makes for some sad reading. Boy did they have a tough life.
pussys, has him purring like a baby, dreaming about those poor women prisoners, and the poor bloody bikies in their one man tents, just across the way. Their skin was so blue you could hardly make out the tattoos!
Morning has broken, and at least the sun has come up. Unfortunately, the temperature has not. Thankfully, we had stayed hooked up for the one night stay. The Ross Caravan Park is right in town beside the river, and next to that bridge, so we can walk the village. This means that getting going is quick and easy.

The mill at Oatlands.

First stop down the road is Oatlands, home to the only working flour mill in Australia, driven by a windmill. It is a very impressive structure. You can buy milled flour at shops in town. The rest of the town is another collection of wonderful old convict buildings, probably the biggest collection we've seen, and mostly B&B's, cafes and gift shops. It is a lovely little town, and we take morning tea at a delightful little crepe & pancake cafe, that is beautifully decked out as old English, and is complete with fine china cups and plates. Cosy & warm with its gas fire, it is hard to drag ourselves back out into the cold, but we do, and set course for Hobart, just a short drive away. More heritage homes along the way. It is a trip we have really enjoyed. If you wanted to explore the history of this drive in detail, you could spend weeks, but alas we do not have the time, as we are on our way to the Huon Trail, south of Hobart, as we enter the final part of our Tasmanian visit.