Day 113 - Ross and Penguin, Tasmania, Australia

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.Tuesday 11th March 2014. Ross and Penguin, Tasmania, Australia

We left Hobart and headed towards the north coast. On the way we stopped at a town called Ross. We had been there before in 2008 but as it is an historic town we decided to take another look around. Ross is in the Midlands of the state of Tasmania. On the Macquarie River, it is located 78 km south of Launceston and 117 km north of Hobart. The town is listed on the Register of the National Estate and is noted for its historic bridge, original sandstone buildings and convict history.

The first European to explore the district was surveyor Charles Grimes who passed through the area while mapping Tasmania's central area including parts of what later became known as the Macquarie River. On an expedition in 1821, Governor Lachlan Macquarie passed through the area himself and, as he recorded in his journal, "I named our last Night's Station "Ross", in honor of H. M. Buchanan Esquire. – that being the name of his Seat on Loch-Lomond in Scotland; this part of Argyle Plains on the Right Bank of the Macquarie River being very beautiful and commanding a noble view."

Later that year, a timber bridge was built over the river and subsequently Ross became an important stopover on road journeys between Launceston and Hobart. It was about half way for us too. It developed as a base for the local garrison and became a centre for trade for the surrounding district. Between 1848 and 1854 approximately 12,000 female convicts passed through the Female Factory.

Ross Post Office opened on 1 June 1832. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, the permanent population had grown to 311 and the wider area had become known as a fine wool growing district. At this time Ross had four churches, a post and telegraph office, a savings bank, one hotel, and a town hall and library. It was a proper little place.

The town is centered on the crossroads of Church and Bridge Streets with a field gun from the Boer War and a war memorial as a central part of the intersection. The crossroads area is humorously referred to as the "Four Corners of Ross" with each corner having a label as follows; Temptation (The Man O' Ross Hotel), Recreation (The Town Hall), Salvation (The Roman Catholic Church) and Damnation (The Jail which is now a private residence).

As well as the town itself, many of the town’s historic buildings, many built from sandstone, are listed on the Register of the National Estate in their own right. These include the Former military and police buildings including the former Army Orderly Room which is a stone Colonial building which was the first army headquarters in Ross. Nearby is the Royal Ordnance Corps Store, which was erected in 1836 and has the corps crest carved above the door. This building now houses the Ross Memorial Library and Recreation Room. The Council Clerk's cottage, situated on the south-west corner of Church and High Streets is a single storey Georgian building. The western wing of this building incorporates the former police buildings. A jail also stood on this site. Near the Ross Bridge stands the former military barracks, a single-storey Colonial building which has been recently restored.

The listed Convict site dates back to the 1840s. Usually referred to as the Female Factory, it was one of only a few female convict compounds in Australia. There is one remaining building on the site, the Assistant Superintendent's Quarters, which currently houses a display relating to the site.

Ross has three listed churches, all located on elm-lined Church Street. The Uniting Church, situated prominently on the hilltop, was built in 1885 and is noted for its blackwood pews and carved baptismal font. The Roman Catholic Church building was originally a store and was converted in the 1920s in Gothic revival style. St John's Anglican Church, on the corner of Badajos Street, was built in 1868 and contains a 100-year-old pipe organ, an oak lectern and a stone pulpit.

Also listed are The Man O' Ross Hotel was built in 1831 by William Sadler. It was originally a two-storey Georgian building, but was later converted to a Victorian Style. Two former inns, The Scotch Thistle Inn (licenced 1840) and the Sherwood Castle Inn, no longer function as hotels, the former is now a private residence and the latter has been renamed and operates as the Ross Bakery Inn.

Other notable listed sites include the main cemetery, located to the south-east of the town centre, is divided into two sections - a Roman Catholic section and a Church of England section which is enclosed by a stone wall. The old military burial ground is located on a nearby hilltop. The Town Hall is a neo-classical style late-Victorian building. The adjoining Council Chambers is a timber building with a stone facade. The Post Office was completed in 1889 and has a verandah with twin cast-iron columns. The schoolhouse is a Victorian Rustic Gothic building with random rubble sandstone walls. Within the central township area, there are a number of other buildings including private residences and two former Sunday Schools that are also listed on the register. In addition, a number of listed indigenous and other sites are located in nearby areas.

Last but by no means list is the listed Ross Bridge which is a well-known sandstone bridge that was constructed by convict labour in 1836, and is the third oldest bridge still in use in Australia. Commissioned by Lieutenant-Governor Arthur, the bridge was designed by architect John Lee Archer, with the convict work team including two stonemasons, James Colbeck and Daniel Herbert, the latter being credited with the intricate carvings along both sides of the bridge. We strolled around in the sunshine taking photos of some of the notable buildings. It was a pleasant interlude on the long drive north.

We reached Launceston (pronounced LAUN-SES-TON) but kept on the bypass avoiding the city. When we reached Devonport we did the same. Then we arrived at Penguin. We found somewhere to park and went to look for a restaurant that had been recommended by one of Will's mates. We found it but it was closed - for good. The business had moved to Devonport. We made our way to the Tourist Information Office where a nice lady gave us a map and directions to Geoff's as well pointing out a local bakers come cafe where we could grab a bite to eat. While we were waiting the was a lot of excitement as a local celebrity cyclist from the Australian Olympic Team cycled past. The lady explained that there had been a reception for her at the town hall. The young cyclist apparently hailed from Penguin. After we had grabbed a bite to eat we went to explore the town.

Penguin is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania It is in the Central Coast Council local government area and on the Bass Highway, between Burnie and Ulverstone. It has a population of around 4,000. Penguin was first settled in 1861 as a timber town, and proclaimed on 25 October 1875. The area's dense bushland and easy access to the sea led to Penguin becoming a significant port town, with large quantities of timber shipped across Bass Strait to Victoria, where the 1850s gold rushes were taking place. The town was named by the botanist Ronald Campbell Gunn for the Little Penguin rookeries that are common along the less populated areas of the coast.

Penguin was one of the last districts settled along the North West coast of Tasmania, possibly because of an absence of a river, for safe anchorage. Nearly all travel in those days was by boat as bush made the land almost impenetrable. Many of the settlers probably emigrated from Liverpool via landing in Launceston then sailing west along the coast. Trade began when the wharf was built in 1870, allowing timber and potatoes to be exported. Penguin Silver Mine, along the foreshore slightly to the east of the town opened in 1870 but failed a year later. Neptune Mine, a tad further along, likewise failed. The rail from Ulverstone arrived in 1901, after which trade by sea declined. Passing of the Local Government Act in 1906 saw Tasmania divided into 48 Municipalities. Penguin’s first Council was elected in 1907.

Aboriginal bands, limited to just a few hundred people and collectively known as the North Tribe, consisted primarily of the Punnilerpanner people from Port Sorell, the Pallittorre from Quamby Bluff, the Noeteeler at the Hampshire Hills, and, most pertinent to Penguin, the Plairhekehillerplue at Emu Bluff. Occupation of the inland plains is understood to have been seasonal due to the severity of winter conditions during which months these bands migrated to the coastline. The absence of Aboriginal sites around Penguin is likely to be explained by disturbances due to agricultural activity and residential development.

The most notable episode, this century, in Penguin’s ongoing evolution was the attempt by property developers, from 2005 to 2008, to purchase properties along the CBD beachfront on Main St with the aim of transforming them into four-storey commercial/ residential opportunities. Support for development was mixed, which resulted, eventually, in the developers foregoing all interest in the seaside town. One manoeuvre to circumvent development involved heritage-listing as much of the CBD as possible. Currently, Penguin has 26 heritage-listed sites.

Penguin is home to the Big Penguin, and all street refuse bins are decorated with ornamental cement Fairy Penguins. Mount Montgomery is also in the Penguin area. The Big Penguin, made of ferro cement by the Goliath Cement Co of Railton and later coated with fibreglass, is located in the town’s centre opposite the Post Office, and is the town’s most photographed icon. Unveiled on 25 October 1975, it was erected to commemorate the centenary of the naming of the town. Concerns were raised in 2008 as to the possibility of asbestos contamination, but the Big Penguin was given the all clear. Penguin General Cemetery, with its stunning sunrise views over Bass Strait, is located a kilometer west of the Post Office. Opened in the 1860s, it closed in 1977 and was heritage-listed in 2007.

We made our way back to the car and headed for Geoff and Elizabeth's as per the instructions from the Tourist Information Lady. Their place is a small hamlet called Riana which is about 20 km out of Penguin. We had a bit of trouble actually finding their street. After several trips up and down the road and an enquiry in the local shop we found them. Neither Geoff nor Elizabeth had been well for the past few days (tummy bug) but Elizabeth managed to cook us a delicious meal of Thai Curry using veggies from her garden served with fluffy white rice. We had a look around their fabulous garden. There were thousands of tiny tree frogs living in their bushes. They were really cute. We spent the evening talking about the family tree and David and Geoff reminisced about growing up in Stockport while M and Elizabeth looked through some old photo albums and learnt about Elizabeth's childhood in Germany. It was a lovely evening and we both felt very comfortable in Geoff and Elizabeth's company even though neither of us had met Elizabeth before and D hadn't seen Geoff since he was a boy.

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