Well I know you have all been waiting with bated breath to see if we made it to the Apple Isle I’m sure you have all listened to the news to see if any ferries had gone down. Well I can assure you we made the crossing, it was a bit bumpy most of the way but we managed to get some sleep.
We arrived in Davenport at 6.00 am and tasted the best Tassie has to offer at the that time of the day at the Dockside Café, all you could eat of overdone eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes and beans. The caravan park was only 500m from the ferry but it didn’t open till sometime after 9:00 am so we camped in the local car park until the locals surfaced and we were able to check in. The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, laundry and a nanna nap to get over last night.
The last time I was in Tassie I attempted to locate the burial place of my great great grandfather William Blackstock who came to Australia from Scotland in 1857 and died of typhoid fever in 1868. That time I did bring any information only that he died in Port Sorell Tas. This time I was going to bring my Family History folder but guess what someome forgot to put in it the van. I did remember this time that he was buried in the Old Don Cemetery close to the A2 highway which I passed several times on my last visit. What to do to find the plot. We started by visiting the Devonport Library where I was given the Mersey Valley Family History Group in Latrobe. So a quick dash over to Latrobe to find the office had closed only minutes earlier. I did manage to contact the President who was willing to open up the following morning (Saturday). I did manage to get Melissa who is house sitting for us to look at my notes and find the plot number.
That was Friday taken care of so Saturday we set out for a run along the North West coast but first stop was the Don Cemetery and have a wander, unfortunately there were no indicators of plot numbers but I was satisfied that I had visited his burial place.
Then we headed west and went up some hills that overlooked the Forth Valley. This is a very rich food growing area. The view was great and every where was green.
Forth Valley
On we went through Ulverstone and followed the coast to Penguin. Here we had a coffee and cake overlooking the water. The coffee was one of the best I’ve ever had. Next door was a Uniting Church. This was weatherboard in “an exotic variant of the Federation Carpenter Gothic style”. There is something you can Google. A parishioner was going to do the flowers so allowed us in to see inside. The timber work inside was fantastic.
Penguin Uniting Church
On we continued to Wynyard, the town has tulips in bloom lining the streets and out of the town were fields of tulips.
Tulips near Wynyard
Stanley was our next point of call. Stanley is set at the base to “The Nut” a volcanic plug in the sea connected to the land by a small isthmus.
The Nut and Stanley from Highfield House
Stanley was the biggest port on the North West Coast. Here we found a seafood café for a late lunch “seafood chowder” Yummy. We also visited Highfield House with it spectacular views to sea and “The Nut”
As we travelled home to Devonport I was intrigued by the buildings and jetty at Port Latta. This looked like some sort of factory but I couldn’t make out how what ever they were doing got to or from the land side. Later I found out they mine iron ore and turn it into a sludge and pipe it 90 kms to the port were the factory pelletize it and load it on to ships. What a great day out and the scenery Fan bloody tasic
Steve Blackstock 