Tag Archives: Bush Inn

The Derwent River in 1958

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Recently a friend sent me a link to an extraordinary 9 minute film that was made in 1958. The film is based around New Norfolk, a town located approximately 35 kms west of Hobart. The Derwent River bends around the edges of the rural town that is now built up on both sides of the river.

Enjoy watching the film ‘Valley of the Derwent’, produced by the Tasmanian government, here. Please bear with the excruciating sound of the music so you can listen to the 1950s style narration. The images start at Granton about 18 kilometres west of Hobart. The voice-over explains the original virgin bush ‘had never known the axe or the plough’ indicating a firm belief in the 1950s that taming the wilderness (a euphemism for ‘removing the bush’) was what humans should do. Regrettably there are still too many people (including governments) who feel similarly in 2020.

Early on you see the black swans on the river. David Walsh owner of MONA has just released a diary entry where he refers to the black swan as the unknown unknowns. Makes for interesting reading – here.

I was fascinated that a composer William Wallace, according to the film,  wrote the opera “The Spirit of the Valley” while he stayed at the historic Bush Inn in New Norfolk. It led me on a merry chase through archives and online resources. However recent academic research indicates this is a myth generated over the years, and that even the writing of one song for an opera while he visited New Norfolk is unlikely.

For long term blog followers, the filmed section on the oast houses may bring back to memory my fascination with those at Bushy Park when I ‘discovered’ the texts on the buildings as I walked west from New Norfolk. Refer here.

It made me think how many years have passed and what a world of difference there is since the film was made. For example, I was six years old when the film was produced yet I noted the clothes being worn have the familiar shapes of those of my life through the 1960s.

‘But it’s the river that captivates the eye, twisting and turning along the valley’, so says the narrator. I would say this was true for the entire 213 or so kilometres of the length of the Derwent River.

 

Starting out last Thursday

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Blog followers know I have waited almost impatiently for Spring weather to arrive; I had been so eager for my walk from New Norfolk to Gretna to be pleasantly memorable.  At home the early morning sun shone and Hobart sparkled.  At 8am the Derwent Valley Link bus departed from the city. I was the only passenger until well into the Northern Suburbs when school kids jumped on and took over – as kids do.  By the time the driver dropped me at New Norfolk central the sky was grey and a stiff cold wind blew. The day seemed as dull as the car park (note the bus shelter in the centre).

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Determined not to be distracted by the weather, I headed off towards the bridge over the Derwent River, past the historic Bush Inn.

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I was ready to follow signs.

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I needed to follow the road which led to the Salmon Ponds (although I expected to bypass this location during my walk), however I deviated to the right so I could stare at the Derwent River from the bridge.  At first I looked down onto the mown lawn where I finished Stage 14 of the walk.

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Then I swung around to look at the river from the inland/western side.

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After retracing my steps I was ready to embark on the next adventure. After turning into Glenora Road (designated as B62) on the southern/western side of the Derwent River, I proceeded past St Brigids Catholic School.

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Between the few suburban houses I caught glimpses of the river and then, within minutes, I was leaving New Norfolk.

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For many kilometres, my view of the river was rationed. Occasionally I spotted the beautiful river through an inaccessible profusion of weeds. Mentally I stripped away the vegetation and loved the changing surfaces of the river and the speed with which it flowed.

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Everywhere I looked was lushly green or silvery blue. I was thankful that the overcast sky allowed the colours to reverberate and seem so much richer.

The last leg to the New Norfolk Bridge on Stage 14

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A couple of minutes after passing below the Bush Inn, I enjoyed walking underneath the grandeur of an elderly spreading oak tree.  And then moments later, ahead of me I could see small portion of a massive horizontal girder belonging to the New Norfolk bridge over the Derwent River.

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Information panels provided details about earlier bridges across the Derwent, and historic buildings located nearby.

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The grand and stately houses pictured above, are located near the bridge.

But back to my path to the bridge. In front of me was a gated fence with a sign informing me the gate was locked overnight.  I pushed it open and walked across an impeccably kept mowed lawn. A private sanctuary. Green and lush. The sparkle on the river to my right.  A strongly built bridge ahead.  I reached my destination for Stage 14 at 2.58 pm.

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Instead of charging off up and into the New Norfolk township, and finding a bus to return me to Hobart, I lay down on that green carpet and, soaking in the sun, I felt incredibly fortunate.

My stage 14 day had started with a  5.30 am rise (in the dark) and a Metro bus departure from central Hobart at 7.17 am. The bus left New Norfolk at 4.20 pm and returned me to Hobart. I walked in my front door at 6 pm (as the sun set) feeling quite chuffed because I had seen and experienced many beautiful natural features, the sun had lit up the landscape and the river, and I had talked with interesting people. A wonderful day!