Tag Archives: Pigface

Taroona’s coastline as experienced on Stage 11 of my walk along the Derwent River

The last leg of this Stage was the most interesting because I made discoveries which delighted me deeply.

At 12.18pm, I left my Channel Highway resting spot and walked downhill toward the people-free Taroona High School (closed for school holidays). Close to the bottom of the hill I could see the tops of boathouses and a ‘beach’ to my right so I took a dogleg to Melinga Place on my right and continued downhill.

I didn’t know this existed. Mostly a rocky shore, a little sand, edged by a mown green lawn. Serene. Across the Derwent River, I could see Gellibrand Point at the north of the South Arm peninsula.

Walking southwards it wasn’t long before I entered the foreshore bushland on an easy-to-walk dirt track.

Later I found this had a name: the Taroona Foreshore Track. At one point the ‘track’ passed over a ‘beach’ of shells and rocks then returned to dirt and rose up over areas raised above the water.

An onshore breeze kept me moving. Every so often, steep trails descended to the rocky shore but I realised that staying on the track would be more comfortable than rock hopping the edge of the River.

When I walked through a grove of trees that were obviously different, I was delighted to read an information panel which informed me this was an “unusual and isolated stand of blackwoods. Acacia melanoxylon.” The species is also known as Sally wattle, lightwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood or black wattle. Their rough bark seemed as if it would flake off in small pieces but it was toughly attached.

At 12.46pm I looked back northward and could still see the boathouses near the High School.

A couple of minutes later I reached Crayfish Point where I noticed craypot markers bobbing in the Derwent River as evidence that fishing for crayfish/lobster was taking place. However, a sign seemed to indicate this was part of fisheries research by the University of Tasmania.

Brilliant orange lichen sprawled across some of the rocks. Huge Pied Cormorants rested on rocks with water lapping at their feet. This was one of those brilliant days when all the superlatives in the world seem inadequate.

It was near here that an information panel enlightened me about some of the native vegetation. Now I can identify not only Pigface which I love, but also Bower Spinach and Grey Saltbush. Why I didn’t take photos of the real thing while I was walking I cannot say. Daft! So I have Googled for images: If you type in Bower Spinach Tasmania Images, up comes a suite of pictures showing this fleshy leaved plant. Try something similar to find images of the softly grey coloured Grey Saltbush.

When I reached the start of Taroona Beach at 12.53pm, I looked up the hill and in the distance I could see the Shot Tower that had been built in 1870 (the Shot Tower, a major tourist attraction, is normally accessible from the Channel Highway).

The Batchelor’s Grave Historic Site, just above the foreshore of Taroona Beach, was a surprise. Wikipedia provides the information that this is “the grave of a young sailor, Joseph Batchelor, who died on the sailing ship Venus in the Derwent Estuary in 1810, and was buried ashore on 28 January 1810. It is reputed to be the oldest European grave in Tasmania”. I am amazed at this idea. I cannot imagine that many Europeans didn’t die and were buried in Van Diemens Land before 1810 – however, maybe this is the only stone grave marker left from early in the 19^th century.

Taroona Beach is backed by Taroona Park with pleasant picnicking facilities and public toilets.

I left at 1.06pm and walked along Niree Parade for a couple of minutes until the Taroona Foreshore Track restarted.

Within moments I arrived at Hinsby Beach, which was the find of the day as far as I am concerned. Isolated. Small. Tree edged. Calm. Small wave break. A few boathouses. A family beach with a few swimmers and sun bathers. Located at the end of the River edge before the steep Alum Cliffs which flow for 3 or four kilometres to Kingston.

I soaked in the atmosphere before starting uphill on a public access walkway at 1.22pm, under shady bushes with lush surrounding ground cover. The track connected to the bottom of Hinsby Road. At the top of Hinsby Road the Channel Highway flowed by. As I arrived at bus stop 30 at 1.36pm, a Metro bus came by on which I made the trip back into Hobart. Half an hour later I was in the city and ready to make the bus trip back home in Bellerive. I walked in the door at 2.40pm after an exhilarating day when my feet didn’t want to carry me, but I insisted and they persisted. This really is a wonderful part of the world.

From Sandy Bay to Lower Sandy Bay on Stage 11 of my walk along the Derwent River

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After Maning Ave Reserve I continued walking along Sandy Bay Road and used every opportunity to glimpse the Derwent River down the driveways of large houses with expensive River frontage.

By 9.10am I reached the Red Chapel Reserve. Red Chapel Ave is one of Hobart’s well-known streets extending up the hill and connecting to other main streets but I had never known, until this walk, where the name came from. I wonder how many Hobartians know the source. Of course the source turned out to be so obvious once I knew and used my eyes. It was named after the red coloured chapel of the 20^thcentury St Stephens Anglican church that was built on the River side of the Road next to the Reserve and opposite the uphill Avenue. What can be said about the impoverishment of imagination? Refer to https://stainedglassaustralia.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/1914-st-stephens-anglican-church-lower-sandy-bay-tasmania/ for some glorious images. The photo below is courtesy ofhttp://www.anglicantas.org.au/parishes/?item=37

A minute or so further down the road and on the right was the highly esteemed Lipscombe Larder on the corner of … Lipscombe Ave. Where else would it be?

In addition to all its tasty delicatessen products and wines, this food paradise also sells exquisite cakes: refer to http://lipscombelarder.com.au/ for images.

At some stage during my walk in this suburb, I realised that no one was walking a mongrel dog. At the end of leads were expensive pedigreed dogs. Certainly their owners seemed happy.

Before long, a set of steep stairs attracted my attention on the left. These were for public access to Nutgrove Beach. As I approached the Beach I was staggered by the size of an old pear tree on the dune edge, and loved the pigface plant which carpeted the area either side of the pathway. I was on the beach at 9.20am and turned right to walk southwards.

Behind low sand dunes on my right, the roofs and second storeys of beach front houses were visible. At 9.23am, I passed public toilets almost hidden under a large pine tree, and by 9.30 I reached a corner of the beach with the Sandy Bay Sailing Club located up in the dunes.

Moments later I turned the corner and was no longer able to look back at Wrest Point and Battery Point in the distance.

I continued on a pathway over the shore and over the dunes some of which would be impassable at high tide without getting wet feet. Some of the rocks were unstable underfoot presenting the risk of a turned ankle or knee. Nutgrove Beach had been a simple delight, and before long I was on an easy, vegetated, and shaded walking track to Long Beach at Lower Sandy Bay. Then I arrived.

Back out into the open by 9.35am, I could see public toilets nearby, and by looking across the Derwent River to the eastern shore, the yellow strips of Bellerive and Howrah Beaches (on which I walked in an early stage of my walk) were visible.

I had been walking for over two hours so sat for a while in the gorgeous sun, watched the tiny waves rippling fluidly and regularly, stared at two fishing boats motoring out of the Derwent Harbour, listened to kids’ riotous laughter in a kids’ playground nearby, and then stood up and got going again at 9.50am.

I was delighted to discover Stephen Walker’s huge many part bronze sculpture, Tidal Pools, with its inbuilt water feature at Long Beach in Lower Sandy Bay.

The remarkable 86 year old Tasmanian artist died only about 7 months ago leaving a great many large scale works around Tasmania and other parts of Australia, such as his Tank Stream Fountain (1981), near Circular Quay in Sydney. In the 1950s, Stephen Walker studied under the celebrated sculptor Englishman Henry Moore. Apparently Walker continued his bronze casting work well into his 70s using his foundry underneath the house.

Five minutes of walking the developed walkways of Long Beach brought me to a cul-de-sac with its carpark full of vehicles. Further along that loop off Beach Road were bakeries, cafes, restaurants, etc.

The Paredarerme people – the original indigenous owners of the land along the Derwent River

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Prior to European settlement the district around Bridgewater and Herdsmans Cove was inhabited by the Paredarerme Aborigines, the largest indigenous tribe in Tasmania. Geographical locations associated with this group include the Derwent estuary, Jordan River and New Norfolk and much further afield along the east coast and into central Tasmania. ‘Oyster Bay Tasmanian’ or ‘Paritarami’ is the aboriginal language of these people.

From http://www.heritage.tas.gov.au/media/pdf/September%202011.pdf , “the history of the Paredarerme (Oyster Bay) tribe, estimated to be the largest Tasmanian tribe at the time of European settlement with 10 bands totalling 700 to 800 people. Theirs was a nomadic, but complex society, with strong cultural traditions. The Paredarerme people constructed uniquely Tasmanian reed and bark boats. It is believed these vessels date back at least 4,000 years and were used to access offshore islands and traversing inland waterways.” The site, http://www.museumsaustralia.org.au/admin/email_templates_archive_message.php?id=428 continues with additional information: “Collecting the plant materials would have involved the whole tribe, with men collecting large pieces of bark and being responsible for the canoe’s construction. It would take considerable strength to lash the plant materials to form a strong and robust vessel. These would have been used to collect shellfish, crayfish, and to hunt seals along the coast. They were also used to cross the stretch of water now known as Mercury Passage to Toarra-Marra-Monah (Maria Island), choosing good weather to cross from Rheban to Lachlan Island, then across to Maria Island.”

Paredarerme Tasmanian Aboriginals are now collectively referred to as Pungenna Culture. On http://pungennaart.wikifoundry.com/page/bush+tucker, I found photographs of traditional foods. I should not have been surprised to see pigface as one of the foods – in earlier postings I have included photos of this gorgeous pink flowering plant which grew by the Derwent River.