29 September 2005 (Day 24 – Hobart to Eaglehawk Neck)
This morning we packed all our gear up again to head east – to Eaglehawk Neck down near Port Arthur. We checked out of the hotel and then headed off to Service Street again to get some pictures during the day.
After that we headed back to the A3 which is the road to cross the Tasman Bridge. We diverted left into the Royal Botanical Gardens for a quick run through tour. As we walked the front gates we were blessed with a view of a bed of bright orange tulips. This weekend they’re having their tulip festival so all the tulips were out and looked fantastic. We quickly raced around the gardens in an hour, included a run past Pete’s Vege Patch – which really is small for anyone who watched the ABC show Gardening Australia.
We left the gardens and then headed to Cornelian Bay where the Hobart cemetery has been located since the 1870s. At the Archive office yesterday we found that at least one of Daniel’s relatives had been buried there. We pulled into the office at the cemetery and asked the woman if she could help with possibly finding other relatives and tell as where to find them.
She looked up on their database and found that Matthew and Annie Maud Higgins (great great grandparents), Margaret Dickens (nee Foley, nee Cusack) [great great great grandmother] and Patrick Foley and John Dickens (great great uncles), Matthew Tasman Higgins, Rupert Collistus Higgins, Sidney Rowland Higgins, Oscar Herbert Higgins, William Herbert Higgins (great uncles), Winnifred Annie Higgins, Minnie Grace Higgins and Gladys Higgins (great aunts). There was also a Stephen Dickens and Mary Anne Dickens, but whether he is the widow of Margaret Dickens remains to be seen.
We then headed off to find their grave sites, which shed a bit of light onto each and confirmed that they were right spots. For example, the Margaret Dickens grave also contains Patrick Foley and John Dickens (her sons) and Sid was buried with his sister Winnifred Annie and nephew Edward Matthew Hugo Scholtz.
We were also able to get some addresses for people from the database, so after the cemetery we drove around to New Town, North Hobart and Hobart to have a look at the houses that they lived in. All still existed except for one which is now a shopping centre carpark.
We grabbed a quick lunch at New Town and then headed up Mt Wellington. Mt Wellington stands 1270 metres above sea level. William Herbert Higgins climbed Mt Wellington when he was 19 in 1906. He subsequently caught pneumonia and died.
We did it a lot easier by driving up and on the way we stopped off at a large patch of snow. This trip we’ve gone from the snow white sand on Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, the red sand of Exmouth and the snow capped Mt Wellington.
Up the top it was blowing a gale, consistently, and the wind was bitingly cold but the view was great. We spent about an hour up there, reading the information plaques and taking photos.
We headed back down and then proceeded to Eaglehawk Neck, arriving at around six o’clock. We looked around the dive digs – a communal building with a double bed in the loft (with ensuite) and two rooms of six bunks with ensuites and showers. Again, no mobile reception for Daniel on Optus and there is no phone either. Even worse – no television! They do have a VCR and some videos.
We headed down to Port Arthur to try and find some dinner. We ended up driving all the way to Nubeena, dodging potoroos along the side of the road. At Nubeena we tried the Tavern, advertised on the local tourist radio. We got there at 7:15pm, but their kitchen had already closed so it was off down the road to the Ex-Servicemans Club where we were signed in and Daniel had another steak and Helen had the lasagne. A friendly bunch there, they had a brief chat with us as we were leaving.
On the trip back a wallaby jumped out in front of the car (a Budget hired Nissan Pulsar). Daniel hit the brakes and discovered that they weren’t that good. Fortunately for the wallaby though, they were just good enough and it was able to finish crossing the road with only a metre to spare.
We came back to the dive digs and then watched ‘There’s Something about Mary’ before heading for bed. Whilst watching the movie Daniel took a photo of the stars which hopefully will be interesting.
After that we headed back to the A3 which is the road to cross the Tasman Bridge. We diverted left into the Royal Botanical Gardens for a quick run through tour. As we walked the front gates we were blessed with a view of a bed of bright orange tulips. This weekend they’re having their tulip festival so all the tulips were out and looked fantastic. We quickly raced around the gardens in an hour, included a run past Pete’s Vege Patch – which really is small for anyone who watched the ABC show Gardening Australia.
We left the gardens and then headed to Cornelian Bay where the Hobart cemetery has been located since the 1870s. At the Archive office yesterday we found that at least one of Daniel’s relatives had been buried there. We pulled into the office at the cemetery and asked the woman if she could help with possibly finding other relatives and tell as where to find them.
She looked up on their database and found that Matthew and Annie Maud Higgins (great great grandparents), Margaret Dickens (nee Foley, nee Cusack) [great great great grandmother] and Patrick Foley and John Dickens (great great uncles), Matthew Tasman Higgins, Rupert Collistus Higgins, Sidney Rowland Higgins, Oscar Herbert Higgins, William Herbert Higgins (great uncles), Winnifred Annie Higgins, Minnie Grace Higgins and Gladys Higgins (great aunts). There was also a Stephen Dickens and Mary Anne Dickens, but whether he is the widow of Margaret Dickens remains to be seen.
We then headed off to find their grave sites, which shed a bit of light onto each and confirmed that they were right spots. For example, the Margaret Dickens grave also contains Patrick Foley and John Dickens (her sons) and Sid was buried with his sister Winnifred Annie and nephew Edward Matthew Hugo Scholtz.
We were also able to get some addresses for people from the database, so after the cemetery we drove around to New Town, North Hobart and Hobart to have a look at the houses that they lived in. All still existed except for one which is now a shopping centre carpark.
We grabbed a quick lunch at New Town and then headed up Mt Wellington. Mt Wellington stands 1270 metres above sea level. William Herbert Higgins climbed Mt Wellington when he was 19 in 1906. He subsequently caught pneumonia and died.
We did it a lot easier by driving up and on the way we stopped off at a large patch of snow. This trip we’ve gone from the snow white sand on Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays, the red sand of Exmouth and the snow capped Mt Wellington.
Up the top it was blowing a gale, consistently, and the wind was bitingly cold but the view was great. We spent about an hour up there, reading the information plaques and taking photos.
We headed back down and then proceeded to Eaglehawk Neck, arriving at around six o’clock. We looked around the dive digs – a communal building with a double bed in the loft (with ensuite) and two rooms of six bunks with ensuites and showers. Again, no mobile reception for Daniel on Optus and there is no phone either. Even worse – no television! They do have a VCR and some videos.
We headed down to Port Arthur to try and find some dinner. We ended up driving all the way to Nubeena, dodging potoroos along the side of the road. At Nubeena we tried the Tavern, advertised on the local tourist radio. We got there at 7:15pm, but their kitchen had already closed so it was off down the road to the Ex-Servicemans Club where we were signed in and Daniel had another steak and Helen had the lasagne. A friendly bunch there, they had a brief chat with us as we were leaving.
On the trip back a wallaby jumped out in front of the car (a Budget hired Nissan Pulsar). Daniel hit the brakes and discovered that they weren’t that good. Fortunately for the wallaby though, they were just good enough and it was able to finish crossing the road with only a metre to spare.
We came back to the dive digs and then watched ‘There’s Something about Mary’ before heading for bed. Whilst watching the movie Daniel took a photo of the stars which hopefully will be interesting.
posted by Daniel & Helen at
8:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home