Hobart, Tasmania

It was a grey and cool day in Hobart, and it matched my mood.  I thought I was going on a really interesting excursion with Michael, who was the escort to Port Arthur Historic Site and Bonorong Wildlife Park.  We went to the excursion desk the night before and Michael got his assignment and I didn’t get one; I was told a ticket had been sent to my room.  OK, cool.  This morning, Michael happened to check our onboard account and found a charge for $159.  There was no mention of this last night.  I could have gone on the excursion, but wasn’t willing to pay the money.  So I decided not to go and instead was given a panoramic tour of the city.

My guide gave us no useful information at all.  I take notes on tour, but came back empty handed.  “Here’s the brewery that makes the best beer in all of Australia,” and “my grandfather lived in this house.”  That was the type of information we received on my tour.  I sat in the rear of the bus (only seats available) and it was noisy, and rumbled and vibrated.  We stopped at the botanical gardens (sigh, pretty but not another one!) and was given a very short time to see what was there.  Then we went to an overlook and stayed there for 40 minutes with nothing to do.  We drove to another lookout and stayed there, too.  Then mercifully we came back to the ship.  I spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry.

Michael’s turn:

As is becoming all too common, it appears that Beverly and I had very different experiences.  I told Beverly that when she publishes her blog for the trip she should rename it “A Tale of Two Cruises.”  Anyway, I escorted a small group of 24 to the Bonorong Wildlife Park and then on to the infamous penal colony at Port Arthur. Both stops were great, but the tour was poorly organized and the guide and driver were terrible.  And, it was a long, long drive.  For three hours of touring we had to drive four, and listen to the guide and driver who bantered the entire time.  I think they fancied themselves as Regis and Kathy Lee.

First a little about Tasmania and Hobart.  They are small, with only 209,000 people in the city and 508,000 on the entire island.  Guess who their number one citizen is?  None other than the old swashbuckler himself, Errol Flynn, who was born and raised here in Hobart.  They have quite a lot of culture for such a small place including a new museum which that is devoted entirely to sex and death.  By way of contract, as I was passing the Civic Auditorium, I saw a sign advertising “The Wiggles,” a kiddies group, who will be here next week. I bet you didn’t know that Tasmania supplies 40% of the world’s medical opium, or that 67% of the population of Tazmania can trace their ancestry back to a convict sent over to the penal colony.  Nearly 100 percent of the homes here have colored metal roofs. 

Our first stop, the Bonorong Wildlife Park, is home to rescued kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, Koala bears, and some other unique animals.  The kangaroos roamed free and would come up to you to be petted and fed.  You had to watch out for the Tasmanian Devils as they would bite the hand that feeds them given the chance.  It was then off to Port Arthur with a stop along the way at the Fox & Hounds for lunch.  Lunch was boring but the Sticky Date Pudding was to die for!

The Port Arthur penal station was fascinating; a real piece of history.  It was established in 1830 as a “timber-getting” camp.  From 1833 it was used as a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the Australian colonies.  It grew quickly and by 1840 more than 2,000 convicts, soldiers and staff lived at Port Arthur.  The colony finally closed in 1877 after having been home to over 10,000 convicts.  It was a brutal place.  The living conditions for the prisoners were barbaric, with beatings common.  Some 200 prisoners attempted escapes over the years and none succeeded.  Just a stone’s throw from the prison is a little island where the boy prisoners were kept, and where 37 of them are still buried.

When you were sent here from Great Britain it was for 7 years, 14 years or life.  If you survived you got out but they didn’t send you home; you simply made a new home in Tasmania and that is why so many of today’s residents can trace their ancestors right back to Port Arthur.  Among the former convicts were the individuals who founded Tasmania’s first botanical garden, its first newspaper and its first vineyard.  It is interesting that from the day the prison closed it has been a tourist attraction.  Today it is a major attraction in this country and you can easily spend a full day here.  One other sad note about Port Arthur is that in April 1996 a crazed gunman took the lives of 35 people and physically wounded 19 others in and around the Port Arthur Historic Site.