Once on Sandy Bay Road I turned left and continued walking southwards.When past the University of Tasmania grounds, over the road on my right was a Catholic co-educational secondary school operating in the Josephite tradition. This Mt Carmel College site includes an attractive 19th century sandstone building.
In a small park, a family of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos feasted on insects in the grass along with ducks and Silver Gulls.
The day was very peaceful.
At 8.40am I reached the entrance to Wrest Point Hotel (http://www.wrestpoint.com.au) which, in the 1970s, established the first legal casino in Australia.
Apart from its poker machines and gambling rooms, this Hotel offers many bars and different restaurants. In addition, it runs a continuous program of concerts, guest artists and other entertainment events so that thousands of people pass through its doors weekly. With exploratory meandering I think it may be possible to walk through different parts of this Hotel and find a route close to the water’s edge. I didn’t feel confident that I would find my way around without finding myself in ‘no go’ areas. Instead I continued walking along Sandy Bay Road.
The business Network Gaming lives in what used to be a well-known and much loved pub, Travellers Rest: one which I knew well in my student days.
The Wrest Point Hotel land wraps around the old Travellers Rest hotel so, it wasn’t until I continued to walk along Sandy Bay Road that I discovered an original entrance to the Wrest Point property area.
I reached the Derwent Water Beach Reserve at 8.50am.
From there I could see two private jetties jutting out into the water.
When I walked closer, it was clear that dozens of dinghies hung under protection waiting for their owners to come and row them out to yachts moored on the Derwent River. In fact, as I watched, one fellow set off rowing.
The time of day and the quality of the sunlight made this vista exceptionally beautiful; seagulls perched on the jetties, the water sparkled, a mild breeze dappled the surface of the River, happy dogs walked along attached to owners, and I was able to blot out the sound of noisy traffic streaming past behind and beside me. The water was crystal clear.
By 9.05am I was reading the information panel at the Maning Ave Reserve. This Reserve seemed to mark the change from the suburb of Sandy Bay to the suburb of Lower Sandy Bay. I learnt Fred Maning arrived in 1824 and his family farmed in the area (however I understand he spent most of his life in New Zealand, and it is not clear why he is remembered with his name on this park and on streets etc in the Lower Sandy Bay area). Information boards such as these help me to understand how Hobart developed.
Walking the Derwent River 