It was a clear and fine day, on Wednesday 18th February 1874. Steamer Little Nell departed George Town for Launceston, as she did thrice weekly. But the journey on this day was to be catastrophic.
Continue reading “Shocking Catastrophe! The Explosion of the Little Nell”Mole Hill Fantasy, Tasmania
Mainland Australia has big stuff. The big banana; the big merino; the big prawn. You get the picture. Tasmania though, well, we have little stuff. Miniature villages from Tasmazia to models of early colonial towns such as Hobart and York Town.
Continue reading “Mole Hill Fantasy, Tasmania”Looking Back, Queen Elizabeth II’s 1954 Tour of Tasmania
Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch to visit Tasmania. The Examiner editorialised after the Queen’s departure
…now that the Queen has gone it can be said emphatically that the basis of allocation of time between Hobart and the rest of the state was most unjust to the majority of the people of Tasmania.
The Examiner, 25 February 1954
Did Northern Tasmania get the raw end of the deal or was this Tasmania’s infamous parochialism raising its head?
Continue reading “Looking Back, Queen Elizabeth II’s 1954 Tour of Tasmania”Now & Then – Church of the Apostles, Launceston
NOW & THEN – The Church of the Apostles in Margaret Street, Launceston.
The foundation stone for the church was laid in September 1864. The nave and two aisles had been built by October 1866 and the church was opened the following month. Construction of the transept, sanctuary and sacristies occurred some years later. The bell tower and spire that we see today weren’t installed until 1989.
Continue reading “Now & Then – Church of the Apostles, Launceston”From the Archives – Scottsdale, Tasmania January 1922
Looking back at the Tamar Valley and Northern Tasmania as it was in January 1922, via photos published in The Weekly Courier.
This week, looking at the construction of the ‘Sideling’ between Scottsdale and Launceston. Of particular interest to me was to see images of women amongst the construction workers.
Continue reading “From the Archives – Scottsdale, Tasmania January 1922”A start has been made on this deviation on the North-Eastern Road, by which the worst grades on the “Sideling” on the Scottsdale side will be avoided.
The Weekly Courier, 26 January 1922
Tamar Valley Tales 