Hobart – silverfox175
The old and the new – Golden Princess can be seen with a sailing ship along side. We berthed close to the town, which allowed for a short walk to many places of interest.
A touch of yesteryear where ever we looked.
Many of the streets and homes reminded me of New Zealand, quiet and civilised.
We did a hop on hop off bus tour to get a feel of the place – with a population of just under 250,000, most streets were quiet. To be fair it was a Sunday.
We were still in Hobart . . . not bad for a capital city of a State.
A blast from the past at the traffic lights.
You couldn’t fault the locals – they began brewing beer in 1824 and the same brewery is still brewing beer – Cascade Brewery, a well known drop that I drink in Sydney.
Back to the waterfront area – Flying Angel – Mission to Seafarers. When I was at sea in the 60’s it was called Mission to Seamen, but even the Mission has to be correct in today’s PC world.
All our yesterday’s
Plenty of memorials around the harbour area.
This plaque was just a taste of what we would experience the following day at Port Arthur. (see my previous blog).
Statues near the ‘Footsteps’ plaque.
Statue of Louis Charles Bernacchi 1876 – 1942.
Louis Charles Bernacchi taking a self portrait with one of his dogs before leaving for the Antarctic. I cropped the picture from a photograph that I took, because it had a young boy in the picture, and I didn’t know him, and I could tell that he wasn’t going to move.
The above is from a Hobart travel site, which is the full picture that I wanted.
Louis Bernacchi with one of his dogs. I Found the picture on the internet.
He was Belgium by birth, and arrived in Australia when he was seven, and grew up in Australia.
Robert Scott was Bernacchi’s best man at his wedding, and Scott invited Bernacchi to join his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole – Bernacchi turned him down.
A few feet away from a great explorer we had a steam crane, built in 1899. Notice the boiler at the rear, which supplied the steam to drive the crane.
Sir Douglas Mawson
Check him out via the above link, particularly if you come from Yorkshire . . .
We missed the markets in Salamanca because they are held on Saturday.
What we saw
What we’d hoped to see, but we were a day late. Picture off Tasmanian tourist site.
The small bars and restaurants were doing a good trade.
The best time to go shopping – when most places are closed – think of the saving.
At the rear of the area when Maureen is standing.
Close up thanks to V.I
Another blast from the past.
Wrapping your trees in a woollen jacket must be a Tasmanian thing . . . thanks V.I
On a positive note the Tasmanians have not forgotten their roots – note the Dutch flag for Abel Tasman. Picture from V.I.
Abel Tasman who started it all. (picture off the internet)
Golden Princess
Seven of us are off on a short cruise next week to Tasmania, a place that neither Maureen or I have visited. The cruise is just a week, and for us it is a taste of the Apple Isle, which might convince us to return later for a driving holiday.
Tasmania’s coat of arms, and the meaning of the moto being, Fertility and Faithfulness.
You must have heard of the Tasmanian Devil according to Bugs Bunny’s Devil
And now for a real Devil.
The first European to visit the island was Abel Tasman in 1642. The French arrived in 1772, and the first Englishman to set foot on the island was Tobias Furneaux in 1773. Captain Cook arrived in 1777. It was a popular place.
In 1803 a small detachment was sent from Sydney to the island, because French explorers were investigating the southern coast of Australia, during the time when Great Britain was at war with Napoleon. The British, in Sydney, wanted to make sure that the French did not lay claim to the island. At that time the island was considered as part of New South Wales.
In 1642 the island was been named Van Diemen’s Land by Abel Tasman. This naming was in honour of Anthony Van Diemen who was the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, who had sent Tasman on his voyage of discovery. The island did not become Tasmania until 1856, after petitioning Queen Victoria for the name to be changed.
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Golden Princess was built in Italy and was launched in 2001, she is 108,865 gt and has accommodation for 2,600 passengers. She is registered in London, UK. Her last refurbishment was in May 2015, so the smell of paint should no longer be around.
I have read that it is planned for the Golden Princess to be transferred to P & O Australia in 2020. One has the feeling that it is my fault that ships, in which Maureen & I sail, don’t stay long after our cruise before Princess Cruises move them over to P & O.
Dawn Princess, in which we sailed last February is now Pacific Explorer under the P & O Australia house flag, and now I read that Golden Princess will follow.