Heratige Highway
Daffodils bloom in cottage gardens. Beneath stone bridges, trout swirl in quiet pools. There’s a scatter of sheep in paddocks of tawny gold. On a hilltop horizon is the shadowy outline of a coach and team of horses – or is merely it a trick of the light?
Men in chains made the roads that link the villages – their chisels cut sandstone blocks to build the houses. Their doorsteps are worn to hollows from years of country welcomes – today’s visitors feel the same warmth.
Northward and into the Midlands from Hobart, you’re following the route of Tasmania’s first main road. At highway speed, it’s just a ribbon of grey. To discover the real stories, you need to travel at a 19th century pace – take some detours and pause in the villages; wander in the shade of oaks, elms and poplars; stay in a colonial cottage or two; meet the people who live along the Heritage Highway.
Men in chains made the roads that link the villages – their chisels cut sandstone blocks to build the houses. Their doorsteps are worn to hollows from years of country welcomes – today’s visitors feel the same warmth.
Northward and into the Midlands from Hobart, you’re following the route of Tasmania’s first main road. At highway speed, it’s just a ribbon of grey. To discover the real stories, you need to travel at a 19th century pace – take some detours and pause in the villages; wander in the shade of oaks, elms and poplars; stay in a colonial cottage or two; meet the people who live along the Heritage Highway.
Highway of History
Beyond the Bridgewater Bridge, the village of Pontville gives the first
clear glimpses into the rich history of the Midlands. Here, the layers
of close-grained Triassic sandstone bordering the Jordan River are still
quarried today. In the 1800s, they called it freestone, because it was
so easy to split. Cut by convicts in work gangs, rock first deposited as
sandy sediments 230 million years ago was chiselled into golden cubes
that were the building blocks of Van Diemen’s land.
Pontville’s historic bridge, barracks, church, gracious homes and workers’ cottages reflect aspects of the island’s colonial heritage.North to Kempton, and the pace of life is quiet in this little Midlands village, where well-preserved 19th century buildings recall more stately days. Can you find First Fleeter Elizabeth Flexmore’s gravestone in the grounds of St Mary’s Church? In the Wilmot Arms Inn, you’ll enjoy the hospitality of an original colonial coaching inn.
Pontville’s historic bridge, barracks, church, gracious homes and workers’ cottages reflect aspects of the island’s colonial heritage.North to Kempton, and the pace of life is quiet in this little Midlands village, where well-preserved 19th century buildings recall more stately days. Can you find First Fleeter Elizabeth Flexmore’s gravestone in the grounds of St Mary’s Church? In the Wilmot Arms Inn, you’ll enjoy the hospitality of an original colonial coaching inn.
On Country Roads
Branch
eastward from the highway at Brighton to reach the wineries and
vineyard restaurants of the Coal River; then continue on country roads
through Tea Tree and Campania to reach the rural village of Buckland,
where you can find out how a magnificent 14th century stained-glass
window found its way into a church built in 1846!
Branch westward at Melton Mowbray and follow the route of Scottish pioneer graziers who settled Bothwell, on the edge of the Central Plateau. you’ll feel the presence of the past when you stay in The Priory Country lodge, a country mansion in the grand style. Nearby, cast for a wild brown trout and taste The Nant Single Malt, distilled on one of the original settler’s estates.
Branch westward at Melton Mowbray and follow the route of Scottish pioneer graziers who settled Bothwell, on the edge of the Central Plateau. you’ll feel the presence of the past when you stay in The Priory Country lodge, a country mansion in the grand style. Nearby, cast for a wild brown trout and taste The Nant Single Malt, distilled on one of the original settler’s estates.
Silhouettes of the Past
You’re travelling on the route of an old coaching road ... and look
there on the crest of a hill – a coach pulled by a team of galloping
horses, heading north! Not far away, there’s a surveyor and his mate,
with staff and theodolite; then a bushranger, holding up a rider at
pistol-point; and a pair of Tasmania’s endemic and now extinct giant
emus, grazing on a hilltop. They’re part of the trail of metal
silhouettes by Mangalore sculptors Folko Kooper and Maureen Craig, each
sculpture a freeze-frame of a moment of time.
Making Stone Flat
In 1836, the Colonial Times newspaper reported that ‘At Bridgewater in
Van Diemen’s land it has been attempted to make stones swim in water so
as to form a road. Some sixty to seventy thousand pounds of British
money has been needlessly wasted in the foolish undertaking of trying to
fill up a bottomless mud hole.’ Convicts housed at the Bridgewater Road
Station toiled for six years to quarry rock for the causeway across the
River Derwent. Before the last gap was bridged, travellers crossed on a
paddle-wheel punt. Today, the Bridgewater Bridge with its lifting span
is your gateway to the colonial heritage of Tasmania’s Midlands.
Where The Grain Grew
Hub of the southern Midlands, Oatlands has perhaps the finest intact
group of colonial-era buildings anywhere in Australia. A stroll along
the main street is a walk into colonial days – highlights include the
1829 Courthouse, the nation’s oldest; and the splendid Callington Mill, a
reminder of the days when Oatlands earned its name as a grain-producer for the colony.
This is the place to begin playing the fascinating interactive game of Skulduggery, as you walk in the footsteps of convict field policeman John James, and investigate some unsolved crimes of the Heritage Highway.
The Oatlands area is a good base for more explorations. Nearby at lemont is ‘Fonthill’, an elegant rural homestead, B&B and working grazing property – it’s a place to feel the true life of the Midlands.
This is the place to begin playing the fascinating interactive game of Skulduggery, as you walk in the footsteps of convict field policeman John James, and investigate some unsolved crimes of the Heritage Highway.
The Oatlands area is a good base for more explorations. Nearby at lemont is ‘Fonthill’, an elegant rural homestead, B&B and working grazing property – it’s a place to feel the true life of the Midlands.
Information with thanks from www.discovertasmania.com and google from google images
