Then and Now
Here are a few old and new snaps from searches that didn’t make it into our blogs. Maynes/Orient Tin Mine – Heemskirk Trial Harbour to Zeehan Wurragarra Creek, Mount Pillinger in the background – Mole Creek Track … Read moreThen and Now
West Coast
The Hughes diversion, or when the major moved Savage River
In May 1900 Major Frederic Hughes (1858–1944) might have been fighting the South African War. Only a month earlier the Waratah detachment of the Wellington Rifles had drilled in the main street ahead of camp in New Town, Hobart, where four of their number were selected for the Imperial Bushman Contingent.1 But it is possible … Read moreThe Hughes diversion, or when the major moved Savage River
Digging up Mrs Williams, or the phantom of the Heemskirk tin boom
On 28 May 1882 a woman died on Tasmania’s West Coast and was laid to rest nearby. No doctor attended her, no police constable, magistrate or registrar was notified.1 No priest officiated at her funeral. None of these positions existed on the Heemskirk Tin Field. There was nothing but a scattered population of mostly Cornish … Read moreDigging up Mrs Williams, or the phantom of the Heemskirk tin boom
A Camp on the Mole Creek to Zeehan Railway Survey 1891
In 1891, three separate surveys were cut through the mountainous centre of Tasmania towards Zeehan. Engineers, local guides, axemen and packers worked to find a route for a railway from Ouse, Mole Creek or Waratah. It was part of a series of crazy parochial conflicts later called the ‘railway wars’.1 This blog is about our … Read moreA Camp on the Mole Creek to Zeehan Railway Survey 1891
The Mystery of the Missing Publican – Part 2 – The Search
Thomas Connolly left his Rosebery Hotel on Tuesday 19th March 1901 to meet prospectors James Swallow and Thomas Cook at their camp near Barn Bluff. He walked to Mount Farrell (now called Tullah), stayed overnight and then followed the Mole Creek Track towards Barn Bluff. Two days later, cold weather hit. It battered and soaked … Read moreThe Mystery of the Missing Publican – Part 2 – The Search
The Mystery of the Missing Publican – Part 1 – TJ Connolly
Weather in the Tasmanian high country is unpredictable. The roaring 40s crash into the West Coast and spend themselves on the high mountains and plains. Rain, wind, storms and snow can come quickly at any time of the year. It catches the unprepared or unlucky. Sometimes it leaves death as its legacy. Each tragedy scars … Read moreThe Mystery of the Missing Publican – Part 1 – TJ Connolly
An Old Track on the February Plains
Every year hundreds of walkers follow the Arm River Track to the Pelion Plains. Most do not know the long history of the track that they use. They do not see the other old tracks that weave through the landscape and cross the modern walking route. Some may look up the valley at Wurragarra Creek … Read moreAn Old Track on the February Plains