Ronnie in Lonnie.

[drron]

So drawing on the local knowledge I returned to Lonnie via Bucklands and Parratah.First is up the Prosser river gorge from Orford.Mostly a narrow winding road so only a few places you can pull over for pics.But a shot of the weir.

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On the other side of the river in quite a few places you can still see the old convict road.

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The other bit of good advice was to fill up at the Buckland road house.Fuel 20 cents a litre cheaper than anywhere else-$1.39.9 against $1.61.9 in Lonnie.

 

[drron]

Heading from Bucklands to Parratah and Oatlands I passed a forestry area that obviously had a controlled burn recently.I stopped and had a walk as this sort of area is often good for orchids.The height of the blackened area is a sign this was a controlled burn.

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There were leaves of an orchid but a species that would have flowered 1-2 months ago.Also the native violet had returned.

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Should be a good area next October/November.
Once again human activity of the bad kind.Seems to be prevalent here despite the Greens.

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And a natural death most probably.

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A little down the road it looks like the fire escaped.The burn signs go much higher up the tree.

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[drron]

Next through a little village Woodsdale with a little school.

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Then various farm buildings in disrepair.

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And the churches of Parattah.

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And the interesting General Store.

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In the short distance from there to Oatlands a display which looks nice-

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but in fact is a noxious weed Scotch broom.

 

[drron]

Into Oatlands and the amazing collection of old buildings.Said to be the most sandstone Georgian buildings of any town in Australia.First a church and the Manse.

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Next Holyrood house.It is for sale and comes with 5 hectares of land.

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Next door one of the outbuildings which is separately owned.

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And a nice house and garden as it's neighbour.

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[drron]

Not all the buildings are grand mansion.I loved this one with it's garden.

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Many of the buildings have a historical plaque.

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And one of the lodging houses.

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[drron]

An interestin building.The rough part at the back was first used by the Military,then an Inn,A hospital then a Post Office.The new part in front was the new hotel.

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A quirky bit of Topiary.

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But there are a couple of unloved places.

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[OATEK]

Did you explore the antiques/junk shop at the Callington Mill end of High St? We have found a few items to buy hidden amongst the dust & junk.

 

[drron]

I don't frequent antique/junk shops.I worry they may keep me as an antique.But now up that end of town.

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The old shop which was closed.

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A magnificent old Inn.

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A DA notice on the side saying they want to turn this into a distillery.

 

[drron]

Then I visited Callington Mill.The third oldest windmill in Australia and the only operating mill of it's type in the Southern Hemisphere.

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The mill owner's house.

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A children's playground out the back and the caravan park next to that.

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[drron]

Beside the lane into the Callington Mill property are a couple of old stone houses .One I believe is for rent.Beautiful maze and fruit trees.

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Then headed north.A quick stop at Ross for a scallop pie at the Ross bakery.Just north of there was this crop.

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Right beside the highway you can find opium poppies.

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[drron]

I then stopped in Campbell town mainly to visit this small memorial.

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Harold Gatty born in Campbell Town.His father a school teacher so educated in Zeehan.Joined the Navy at age 14 and became interested in navigation.In 1927 he moved to the USA and eventually worked for the Pioneer Instrument company making aircraft compasses.He then set up a navigation school.Then with P V H Weems developed an airspeed and drift indicator.This led to the wife of Charles Lindbergh who he taught navigation.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh | Time and Navigation

In 1931 with Wiley Post as pilot he was on a flight that took the record for around the world flight-Around the World in 8 days.
Harold Gatty | Time and Navigation

He refused US citizenship so by an Act of Congress was allowed to become the Chief Navigation Engineer with the US Army Air Corps.
Then joined Pan Am planning their US-AKL route.
Served with the US and Aussie Air Forces in WW2.
In 1947 he moved to Fiji.In 1951 he started Fiji Airways.He died in 1957 and in 1958 qantas bought the airline.
Biography - Harold Charles Gatty - Australian Dictionary of Biography

So the memorial.

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[drron]

In the main shopping precinct of Campbell Town is a row of bricks.They tell the story of Tasmania's convicts.Life sentence for housebreaking.Did anyone deserve to die on Norfolk Island for theft?

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And life for stealing 2 shawls.but never mix with bad company.

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Does a 17 year old deserve to die after 4 years as a convict for receiving stolen goods?Also imagine spending 25 years apart from your family.

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Seven months in chains for stealing a handkerchief or a life sentence for the same crime.

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But some became outlaws.Then another example of inconsistent sentencing.

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[drron]

The last of Campbell Town.An old school building.

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Some lovely gardens.

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Finally an Ex church.

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[drron]

Back to Lonnie and a walk on Brisbane street east.

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Certainly are a lot of buildings with character in Lonnie.

 

[drron]

On the last 2 Friday nights I have eaten at the Launceston Night Market in Civic Square.A very short walk from the Quest.This is down as on once a month in Spring/Summer but as I said I have been on consecutive friday nights.
Launceston Night Market
The first night.

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I had a seafood paella.The seafood was mussels and small pieces of salmon.looked good but I was disappointed.

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So I had the pulled pork and fries from the Sailor food van.Good comfort food.

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This Friday there were a completely different lot of food outlets.This is where I got a seafood basket-a couple of rings of calamari and pieces of fish.A small serve was $10.It was cooked perfectly.

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I was still hungry.The BBQ at this place looked good.

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And it tasted better.Good Carolina style BBQ.I had the pigs can fly box-pulled pork,spicy wings,beans and slaw.

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As I was eating a tourist from Carolina bought some-he gave it the thumbs up as well.
It was also good meeting people.I had a good chat with the gent from South Carolina and the crew at the BBQ.
On the first night I sat at a communal table and a Chinese woman started up a conversation.Just a little younger than me,educated in the US so good English.Obviously well connected back in China.

The other good thing is that they have 4-5 musical acts each night.I do love a good bagpipe tune so listened in to the Tasmanian Police Pipe band.Though It's A Small world was a little different with the bagpipes.

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So if it's on I recommend a visit.

 

[drron]

A couple of buildings on Wellington street when i shopped at the Coles there.

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Today we went to Beauty Point for lunch.This ship is always moored there.

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Turns out it is the last pilot cutter vessel of her type in the world and the last seagoing rivetted ship in Australia.Not only that it is tied up with some of Australia's prominent shysters err businessmen.It was used as a support boat in the 1987 defence of the America's Cup in PERth.More recently part owned by Clive Palmer.
From Hollywood stars to the threat of the scrap heap: The battle to save Wyuna

Another vessel-the Seabourn Sojourn.A lovely summer's day with frequent showers some quite heavy.

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A long tender ride.

 

[drron]

A bit of a lullwith mrsdrron here.We are mainly eating rather than exploring.But I thought you might like this film on Launceston in 1966.Begins with the the arrival into LST by TAA and the TAA coach into town.Also some footage of the 1965 Australian Grand Prix on the Longford circuit from approx 12.30 mark.

 

[drron]

We returned to Beauty Point on the second weekend mrsdrron washere.This is the area around the Riviera Hotel.There were a couple of galahs there that day.

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And industry across the Tamar.

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And birds having a rest.

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And an amazing rose across the road from the hotel.

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[OZDUCK]

A bit of a lullwith mrsdrron here.We are mainly eating rather than exploring.But I thought you might like this film on Launceston in 1966.Begins with the the arrival into LST by TAA and the TAA coach into town.Also some footage of the 1965 Australian Grand Prix on the Longford circuit from approx 12.30 mark.

That is a nice find drron. I always enjoy looking at these records of the fairly recent, to me at least, past. The central streets of Launceston looked far busier than I thought they would. It was a bit sad to see some of the industries that have disappeared over the years. I remember walking past the closed down woolen mill when I visited there in about 2004. I could just about smell the sawdust,as well as picture the missing appendages in the sawmill. I hope the hospital has changed a bit.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

That is a nice find drron. I always enjoy looking at these records of the fairly recent, to me at least, past. The central streets of Launceston looked far busier than I thought they would. It was a bit sad to see some of the industries that have disappeared over the years. I remember walking past the closed down woolen mill when I visited there in about 2004. I could just about smell the sawdust,as well as picture the missing appendages in the sawmill. I hope the hospital has changed a bit.

We first came to Tassie in 1977 - so much has changed since then !! Not all for the good. I remember several woollen mills - we bought blankets then and they are still in use during winter at home !