Tag Archives: Iron Pot

Iron Pot Lighthouse

My wonderful walk from the mouth to the source of the Derwent River seems long past, however from time to time a blog reader refers me to new information. Thanks Mary for these leads. If you read here and here you will learn more about the history of the Iron Pot Lighthouse.

People who have read my earlier posts will know that I judged the tip of land opposite the Iron Pot to be the ‘mouth’ of the river on the northern/eastern side. I had to walk there from South Arm before my walk along the length of the river from the mouth could start. Here is one of the photos I took of the Iron Pot that day.

The Iron Pot enters into the consciousness of many at this time of year. On Boxing Day the annual Sydney to Hobart international yacht race will get underway. After the yachts reach Tasmania and have sailed down the east coast, eventually they turn north west into Storm Bay. Not long after, the race organisers will be reporting yachts are in the vicinity of the Iron Pot. I expect the maxi yachts could start rounding the Iron Pot this Friday if they get a dream run.

If you would like to see this rocky outcrop up close without walking, take a Pennicott boat tour from Hobart (https://www.ironpotcruises.com.au/)

Erratum –correction of the name of a geographical position

4 Replies

My walk along the Derwent River started at its eastern shore mouth, at Cape Deliverance opposite the Iron Pot. I walked inland along the river’s edge, crossed the bridge at Bridgewater and walked back to the mouth on the western shore.

My blog posts referred to that mouth as Pearson’s Point. That name was an error. The location was Pierson’s Point, as was clearly apparent in one of the photos I included in the blog posts.How could I have got it so wrong! Thankfully, the error has been drawn to my attention and you can now revisit the blog posts knowing I reached Pierson’s and not Pearson’s Point. The two blog posts that contain the outstanding error are titled:

A new milestone marking the 13^th stage of my walk along the Derwent River: I reached the mouth on the western shore. Whoopee Doo!!
Finally I reached the mouth of the Derwent River on the western shore at Pearsons Point

Pierson’s Point was named after a Benedictine chaplain, Dom or Abbe Ambroise Pierson (1765–94) who assisted conscientiously in essential astronomical work. He undertook this work while travelling on board the l’Espérance, a companion vessel to explorer Bruni d’Entrecasteaux’s La Recherche vessel. In 1792 (note the first European settlement by the Derwent River edge at Risdon did not take place until 1803) these French vessels sailed through what has since been named, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. As a civilian astronomer, Pierson kept journals recording the readings from the chronometers along with astronomical calculations to determine longitude and workbooks comparing the two.

Ambroise Pierson, the 26 year old astronomer who remained after (Abbe Claude) Bertrand’s departure at the Cape (Town), was a Benedictine whose community, in which he had taught mathematics, had been dissolved during the Revolution. He joined the Esperance as a chaplain-astronomer on a salary of 2400 livres. His loyalty to the civil constitution of the clergy seems not to have affected his relations with the traditionalists aboard; he was to be one of the most widely respected amongst the savants. (Looking For La Pérouse by Frank Horner Melbourne Univ. Publishing, 18 Oct 2016)

Andrew Hughes has walked, rafted and canoed the Derwent over the past month

2 Replies

My last post introduced the Expedition Class’s latest project. The key man during the journey was Andrew Hughes and now his trek is complete.

The first newspaper coverage of this story was published in The Mercury last May.

The Mercury published another story recently ‘Warm welcome for adventurer Andrew Hughes as he paddles into GASP‘. His journey started north east of Lake St Clair in central Tasmania and now Andrew has crossed an imaginary finish line between the Iron Pot on the eastern side of the Derwent River and Tinderbox on the western side and this conclusion has been covered again in The Mercury.

If you go to the web, you can read the mini ‘Live Reports’ of the 28 sections of his journey. You can peruse a collection of photos for each section. The information in the reports is limited and no information is offered with the photographs. Unless you have travelled the edge of or on the Derwent River, it would be difficult if not impossible to identify locations.

A comparison of some of Andrew’s photos with those I took during my walk from the mouth to the source of the Derwent River, makes for interesting viewing.

Firstly I would like to compare the rush of water over the river rocks between Wayatinah and Butlers Gorge that Andrew saw compared to the low almost absent water level that I experienced on two occasions. Since I completed my walks along the Derwent earlier this year, Tasmania has been inundated with unexpected high levels of rain which have raised the water levels in the dams and the Derwent River.

The photo below was taken by me in October 2015.

The next photo was taken by me in January 2016

The photo below is by Andrew as shown in his Live Report 18.

My photo below shows the water level of the huge 15 kilometre Lake King William was so much lower in October 2015.

My photo taken only 2 ½ months later at the beginning of January this year, showed the water level had dropped dramatically so that the Tasmanian government was considerably worried about our electricity generation options.

In Live Report 15 Andrew shows the Lake King William water backed up to Clark Dam at Butlers Gorge. Tasmania is no longer worrying about our water storage facilities and power generation. Again we have enough water to create clean electricity.

These photos are wonderful reminders of the unpredictability and power of nature. Andrew’s reports and photos are an excellent example of people getting out into our Tasmanian wilderness and experiencing it’s challenges and wonders. I hope his trek inspires others not necessarily to cover the same territory, but to find new country to discover and enjoy. To be refreshed by the purity of the bush.

Has the river of blogs dried up? Is my write up of the walks along the Derwent River over?

6 Replies

This wonderful image of ‘Hobart from Mt Wellington’ is the work of Tourism Tasmania and Garry Moore. This free photo has unrestricted copyright.

Has the river of blogs dried up? Is my write up of the walks along the Derwent River over? The answer to both questions is no.

For a long time, blog followers have received a daily post covering my experiences after I have walked sections of the terrain from the mouth to the source of Tasmania’s Derwent River, plus my additional writings about various aspects of the social and natural history of the Derwent River. Yesterday and this morning were a rude shock for some Australians – no blog post to absorb over the breakfast cuppas– and for my overseas followers spread across many countries, their regular daily dose arrived at many different times depending on the time zone in which they live.

Have I run out of stories to tell, descriptions to give and photos to show? The answer is a resounding no. I have much more to expose. Please be assured that you have not seen the sights of all the kilometres of the Derwent River, nor heard about all its challenges, in my blog yet. So why the absence of new posts?

I have committed to another major project which cannot wait any longer for my sustained action. I like huge projects.

Last year I discovered that the first Tyzack in my line (3 different lines came to Australia from England in the 19^th century) arrived at Port Melbourne 150 years ago this coming December. Impulsively I decided (without research or planning just as I conceived the idea to walk the length of the Derwent River) to organise a family gathering later this year for all my great great grandfather’s descendants spread across Australia. Two family members agreed to support me –thankfully one has prepared a family tree. The Tyzack 150th anniversary organisation is now my priority, because there is a book to be put together and published, field trip guides to be developed, and much more – I still haven’t received responses to my introductory letters from most of the over 100 living descendants (almost all whom I have never heard of leave alone know) so I have a big job ahead tracking them down and getting them onside and involved.

This family event is scheduled early in October – so, if not before then, from mid-October onwards I expect to continue writing up the Derwent River walking blog stories. Probably I won’t be able to restrain myself so that, from time to time, a post may appear.

The photo below taken by Michelle shows the eastern shore mouth of the Derwent River, Cape Direction (on the right) and the Iron Pot islet sits out within Storm Bay.

Brilliant bird’s eye view

12 Replies

Thankyou blog follower Ju. Recently Ju connected me with a woman with a husband who has a Private Pilot’s Licence. Once I made contact, Michelle and Dave were delighted to fly me in their four seater plane, a Cirrus SR20 which Michelle referred to as the BMW of the skies.

Today we flew. Not a cloud in the sky. Clean blue sky. Hardly a breeze. The landscape rich and varied. The Derwent River sparkled from start to finish.

The experience was stunningly magnificent. I love words but I find it difficult to express my excitement, my pleasure, and the sheer joy of the flight in the depth which I felt. There below me was the river I have come to love and know a little more. There below me were the tracks, paths, roads and landscape over which I have walked – and I laughed occasionally remembering certain experiences during my walks. There below me were logging tracks, dam roads, and fading vehicular pathways. And then we were flying over impenetrable sections which may not be walkable.

We left Hobart airport and flew to Storm Bay by rounding the Iron Pot, then we followed the river upstream to the source. Dave flew on until we reached the northern most point of Lake St Clair. The return journey was equally as beautiful and engaging. The light had changed presenting us with a ‘new’ landscape.

Of the hundreds of photos taken by Michelle, friend Chantale and myself, I include a tiny selection here.

The photo above taken by Michelle caught me totally preoccupied by the view.

MIchelle’s photo above shows the Derwent River snaking around the Claremont Golf course with Cadbury’s Chocolate Manufacturing buildings in white to the left.

The photo above shows a straight section of the Derwent River before the township of New Norfolk on the upper left.

The photo above shows the Derwent River circling part of Reid’s cherry orchards.

Chantale’s photo of the Pumphouse Point accommodation projecting into Lake St Clair, also shows the dam across the Derwent Basin where the water enters St Clair Lagoon. The source of the Derwent River starts to the right of the photo.

Michelle’s photo above shows part of sprawling Hobart set against the Derwent Harbour.

Those photos taken while flying over the river westwards of Gretna will be incorporated into the stories of my walks from Gretna onwards, in future posts. From now on, you can expect both ground-based and aerial photos to enrich the stories.
I feel like the luckiest person in the world for the opportunity to travel in a smooth flying small plane, to see the Derwent River winding through the landscape in glorious blueness, and to be reminded Tasmania is a superb place. A truly wonderful and memorable day. Thankyou to all concerned.

Nature is cheaper than therapy

5 Replies

A Californian fiction writer M.P. Zarrella offered the opinion ‘nature is cheaper than therapy’. Since then, her point of view has spawned posters, cushion covers, and T shirts such as:

and

The use of this comment spread until people couldn’t help themselves …

and

Thinking about whether nature is cheaper (with the inference of ‘better’ than therapy), I have been inspired to trawl through my walking-the-derwent photos.

Here are a few favourite natural scenes clicked during Stages 1-6 of my walks along the eastern shore of the Derwent River. Most of these images spent time as my computer screen background where they lifted my spirits daily.

Iron Pot off the southern end of South Arm peninsula

Driftwood beach shack on Pot Bay Beach, South Arm peninsula

Mount Wellington across the Derwent River from South Arm Beach

Looking northwards into the gigantic Derwent Harbour from Gellibrand Point at the northern end of the South Arm peninsula.

Looking uphill from Trywork Point

Lichen on rocks at Tranmere Point

Little Howrah Beach

Looking southwards along Bellerive Beach

The suburb of Sandy Bay across the Derwent River through the casuarina trees from Rosny Point

Tranquil Geilston Bay looking toward Mount Wellington

Bedlam Walls Point

Shag Bay

Native flowers in the East Risdon State Reserve

Tommys Bight

Whenever the weather is deteriorating outside my window, by looking at these photographs from the first 6 of 14 walking stages, I ‘revisit’ the various locations and feel most uplifted. No therapy needed here.

Mount Nelson Signal Station

2 Replies

Overlooking the centre of the city of Hobart and with a view sweeping across to the eastern shore of the Derwent River, Mount Nelson is host to a significant historical site, the Mount Nelson Signal Station.

Wikipedia provides the information that originally this rise in the landscape was named ‘Nelson’s Hill’ after botanist David Nelson, who sailed on the ship ‘Bounty’ which visited Van Diemens Land on its way to Tahiti (the ship that was involved in the infamous Mutiny on the Bounty). In geological form, Mount Nelson amounts to not much more than a low foothill, however its name gives an indication that something grand awaits you if you venture to the top.

And such a visit is easy in a vehicle, or if you want to take an uphill walk from Hobart’s suburb of Sandy Bay. In addition, the Mount Nelson via Dynnyrne and Tolmans Hill Metro bus service can deliver you to your destination. If you like walking, you might choose to catch a bus to the top and then follow any one of a number of clearly marked tracks downhill. Yesterday I made a visit thanks to blog follower Je’s transport, accompanied by another follower Be who is visiting from Cairns.

From different vantage points, the spectacle of the Derwent River spread out below, made us breathless with delight. When I am walking at ground level along the Derwent River, the grand panoramas extending into the distance are denied me. But yesterday it was exciting to see the bays and hills further afield.

The photo above looks toward the mouth of the Derwent River on the eastern shore. South Arm peninsula can be seen extending along the water. As I stood on Mount Nelson I could clearly identify the Iron Pot, Fort Direction Hill, South Arm Beach, Opossum Bay and its beach, and Gellibrand Point all of which I walked on during Stage 1 and 2 of my walk along the Derwent River.

The photo above shows the eastern shore of the Derwent River with Gellibrand Point to the right on the northern tip of the South Arm peninsula. Then the great gaping space of Ralph’s Bay appeared straight ahead. To the left of the image, Trywork Point is in view; this was the starting point for Stage 3 of my walk (after I had walked there from the suburb of Tranmere).

The photo above shows Ralphs Bay to the right, Trywork Point and then the suburb of Tranmere to the left – on the eastern shore of the Derwent River.

The photo above shows the eastern shore from Tranmere on the right, through the suburbs of Howrah to Bellerive on the left – the River edges which I walked during Stages 4 and 5.

Across the parkland at the Mount Nelson Signal Station, native Wrens flitted around feeling safe as they hunted for insect meals on the ground.

I enjoyed looking at information panels on the site and learning more about how the place operated. In addition, one panel showed the location of walking tracks.

So … what is the history? Not long after Hobart was settled in the early 1800s, locals needed speedy and efficient communication between the convict settlement at Port Arthur and Hobart. In addition, Hobart residents wanted foreknowledge of sailing ships approaching from the ocean through Storm Bay and on their way to the Derwent River in case any provided a threat to trade or security. To gather this information, in 1811 the Mount Nelson Signal Station was established and designed to use semaphore. The method of communication was flags waving across the hills. Details about the semaphore flag signalling system can be read at http://www.anbg.gov.au/flags/semaphore.html. The site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_line provides further information. At the Mount Nelson Signal Station, flags were run up a pole – this seems a very cumbersome process compared to a person waving flags. I hope that someday the signal station will offer a demonstration to the public so I can understand the process. Give me a re-enactment please.

This semaphore communication service continued in use until a more reliable system was available (what happened at the Signal Station on windy days, in wet weather and when clouds obscured the view?). It was not until 1880 that a telephone line connected Hobart and Mount Nelson.

Walking around the area is free of charge. Some pathways are provided. The site has various public amenities including picnic tables, public toilets, carpark, barbecues and a restaurant.

For further information about eating in the heritage building pictured above, go to http://www.signalstation.com.au. I recommend that you phone in advance if you are depending on eating there. Yesterday, despite permanent signs indicating the Brasserie was open, another sign on the building indicated it was closed.

During my visit, clouds loomed powerfully over the city and river. The day light was so bright and strong that when I turned northwards and photographed the land and riverscapes, the sky glowed white. So I clicked a few images pointed at the sky and this silhouetted the landscape. Using my simple mobile phone as camera, I was never able to control the light of the images.

Although these looked like rain clouds, it did not rain. These large puffs were just passing through.

Finally I reached the mouth of the Derwent River on the western shore at Pearsons Point

4 Replies

The goal of walking along the western shore of the Derwent River was to reach the mouth and during Stage 13 I reached this destination marked by Pearsons Point.

Before then at 10.44am I walked past a turn off: Mt Louis Road. There was a lump up in the sky on my right. Maybe another time it might be pleasant to see what is up there and to look at the view – which is probably a spectacular 360 degree outlook along the Derwent River, the D’entrecasteaux Channel and Bruny Island.

As I panted up the final hill, I heard the thwack of balls and realised the fencing I could see in the distance amounted to a tennis court. A tennis court! Ye gods! Out here in the bush and miles from anywhere? Yes it was. Two women were slamming the balls up and down the court. Their two cars were the only vehicles in sight.

10.52am: I reached the Pearsons Point Reserve and was feeling rather chuffed.

I wandered around the site which included a disused gun emplacement and a couple of large historic cannons. Guess Pearsons Point would have been the first line of defence against any Russian threat (which seemed to be the main thought through the 19^th century).

Note: the bump behind the gun emplacement and tennis court is Mt Louis. A large white edifice on the end of the Point (on the other side of the cannon) appeared to be a marine navigation beacon.

In front of me to the right hand side of the Point, the D’entrecasteaux Channel separated the mainland of Tasmania from Bruny Island (famous for its fresh produce such as cheeses, smoked fish and meats, berries, premium wines, and local oysters).

I was very surprised how close Bruny Island (Dennes Point) was to this part of Tasmania’s mainland. So close. So accessible. And its green hills and the white sandy Jetty Beach were most attractive.

On the other side of Pearsons Point to my left, the Derwent River flowed out to Storm Bay and then onto the ocean. I could see the Iron Pot and Cape Direction at the southern tip of the South Arm peninsula on the eastern shore of the River.

I found a pleasant picnic table and at 11am ate half my lunch under a small cluster of gum trees hoping no branches would be shed on my head. Feeling on top of the world. The sun was out and the tiniest of breezes moved through the area. Past the trees I could see motoring boats leaving white streams behind them as they sliced through the River. I looked back northwards to the Alum Cliffs between Taroona and Kingston.

With a little sadness I left Pearsons Point at 11.25am.

By 12.40pm I was passing the Hidden Cove turnoff, at 1.05pm I reached the Fossil Cove Drive junction, at 1.25pm I walked across the intersection with Treatment Plant Road, and at 1.30 I stopped for a moment at Suncoast Drive. I looked at the one bus stop (there wasn’t a pair one either side of the road) and it did not have a timetable attached to the post, so I continued walking to Wells Parade. I had been told this was a long road, and now I know it is.

I stopped and waited for a bus which didn’t come (the first in my entire travels) and left and walked up and down and up and downhill until eventually I was back parallel to the Blackmans Bay Beach. I sat for a while at the beach soaking in the atmosphere, smelling the salt, and relishing the fact my feet were having a rest. When the time came (according to my bus timetable), I walked to the bus stop where I had alighted hours earlier in the morning, and before long Metro bus number 85 arrived. After passing via the Suncoast Drive bus stop that I had looked at earlier in the afternoon on arrival back in Blackmans Bay, Maranoa Heights, other suburbs, and Kingston, I was back in Hobart city by 4pm feeling elated. Stage 13 was over.

Starting out from Blackmans Bay on Stage 13

7 Replies

Once I was off the bus at Blackmans Bay, the Kookaburras started laughing at me (again like at the beginning of Stage 12). Ha. Ha. Ha. H.H.H. Ha. Ha. Haa. Was this an omen that I was about to do something foolish? My goal for Stage 13 was to walk to Fossil Cove, and then walk another day for a final stage to the mouth of the Derwent River at Pearson’s Point. If you have already read my posting on the 25 February then you know I reached Pearson’s Point. Future postings will give more details about this change of mind and destination.

As I turned left from Wells Parade into Hazell St towards the Blackmans Bay Beach, a screech of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos circled overhead. I was on the beach at 7.45am. The water was calm and I looked over the Derwent River towards South Arm beach on the eastern shore. The Iron Pot lighthouse on the rocky outcrop just offshore from Cape Direction, on the southern tip of the South Arm peninsula, seemed to stand up from the water like a fat thumb. Back at Blackmans Bay Beach, the fresh sunny morning was complete with power walkers and dogs leading their owners on a walk. Public toilets are located half way along the Blackmans Bay Beach. These are the last public toilets for anyone walking further south.

How fortunate Tasmanians are to have morning views along beaches such as that at Blackmans Bay.

I turned southwards and at 7.51am had reached a tiny yellow sign on a post indicating the Suncoast Headlands Walking Track was ahead. A few minutes later I reached the main sign.

This sign was accompanied by another nearby.

I followed the good wide dirt track and initially thought how easy it would be for Mums with prams or people in wheelchairs to follow this path. But not so. Not much further along, I needed to climb rough dirt and log stairs and I encountered such interruptions to a smooth walk a number of times. There were occasional splits in the track without signage, so it is possible to walk a little way off the main track before you realise what is happening.

How gorgeous the morning was. For example, the photo below is looking back to Blackmans Bay Beach.

In the photo below, the rocky outcrop at the far end of the beach is where the Blackmans Bay Blowhole is located (my Stage 12 walk there was described in Nudging my way into Blackmans Bay on Stage 12 of my walk along the Derwent River).

22 Aug 2014 Arriving in South Arm and starting the walk – Posting 3 of 8

Walking the Derwent River

The ribbon that separates the eastern and western shores of Hobart, Tasmania's capital city

Tag Archives: Iron Pot

Iron Pot Lighthouse

Erratum –correction of the name of a geographical position

Andrew Hughes has walked, rafted and canoed the Derwent over the past month

Has the river of blogs dried up? Is my write up of the walks along the Derwent River over?

Brilliant bird’s eye view

Nature is cheaper than therapy

Mount Nelson Signal Station

Finally I reached the mouth of the Derwent River on the western shore at Pearsons Point

Starting out from Blackmans Bay on Stage 13

22 Aug 2014 Arriving in South Arm and starting the walk – Posting 3 of 8

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: