With all the waterfront ramblings (take that which ever way you wish!) of the last few blogs, you must be wondering if Dover has any commercial heart or indeed if we saw anything else there at all.
There is more to Dover than bay, beaches and boats, but a large CBD is not one of them. We arrived here well provisioned and had no personal need to darken the doorsteps of Dover's business houses but we did wander the streets to see what was there,
beginning on Station Road where our stroll of this fine morning
took us initially past this rather innocuous looking house which had been advertised as the local whisky distillery. Needless to say this had gained my attention,
but the shingle over the door soon put paid to any chance my of savouring a new single malt or two. My beloved companion cooed words of solace.....I knew better.....she was wearing her 'Treasurer's' hat as she spoke!
The smug (or should that read relieved) look on the face of the keeper of the purse was in stark contrast to my mute mutterings of disappointment we wandered on past the local Fire Station
and one of the town's two 'servos',
before we reached the intersection of Station Road and the Huon Highway which descends into the town from the north and curves off to the right at this junction.
Looking down to the right at this point we could see the town's main 'commercial centre' where the supermarket, post office, pharmacy and so on were all located under one very large roof. Very convenient.
Another largish building occupies a site across the road from the supermarket building, the Dover Heritage Steam Museum, where I am sure fine examples of old engines await those with a passion for such things.
Looking south along the Huon Highway one can see the oddly shaped pinkish building which was another commercial disappointment. The local bakery is yet to re-open after a refurbishment, but this time it was Liz who was miffed.....no vanilla slice for you today young lady!
A well stocked Bottle-O occupies the other corner, but like the supermarket, we had no need for the services on offer here. Our under-bed storage area was still clinking admirably with yet to be opened bottles.
As we climbed the Huon Highway hill we passed the 'blink and you will miss it' Dover Police Station
and made our way up to what for me was another town highlight. Here local information boards and a public loo are set in beautiful gardens
whilst across the road a pathway lined with roses cuts a diagonal strip through the manicured lawns
to the Dover War Memorial plinth and statue.
What a delightful little oasis of greenery this is, although I was somewhat bemused by the sign which I found at the far side of the park.....???? There must be at least one aspect of Dover life about which we had remained blissfully ignorant throughout our stay to date. But if the total absence of horse droppings was a sign of civil obedience, the good folk of Dover, or at least those who have a penchant to take to the saddle, were clearly completely compliant here in this park!
Immediately beyond the memorial garden, this beautiful old church (with its rather sombre reminder of human mortality prominently featured!) held the high ground on the hill overlooking the town and the bay.
We had already noted in our limited Tasmanian travels to date that, if the number of churches and denominational diversity was anything to go by, active religious practice seemed to have been a prominent feature of the lives of many of the State's early inhabitants.
But the inner man must also be sustained, and here on the highway, somewhat strategically located opposite the tourist information point, the staff of 'Gourmet Goodies' served up fine fare (we stopped here for lunch on our return from Cockle Creek some days earlier)
whilst a little further on we came to another eating house, 'The Post Office'. Here the proprietors seemed to have covered all the bases, offering 'take away bottle sales, wood fired pizza, a cafe and a bar and grill'.
If it is actually open, that is!
From this point on the highway we could look back along the path we had just trodden
or to that we were about to traverse, down again to the foreshore of Esperance Bay,
past the old Dover school building
and the junction of Bayview Road with the ever present Adamsons Peak dominating the background view.
This time, rather than turn left to walk back towards the wharf, we headed straight on along a well maintained walking track which took us around what I can best describe as the north-west corner of Esperance Bay.
Again let me rely on Google Earth for some perspective. The path along which we were now strolling began at a point just below the 'e' of 'Dover' in this overview and continued on for about the next kilometre or so.
It took us to this covered information bay where a series of very well done displays provided details of the more important aspects of the settlement and development of Dover.
Understandably the tale of the development of the apple industry was prominent
and included tales of some fascinating incidents of early local exploration which tied in with more modern developments (we later visited the very spot on Bruny Island where Bligh planted this tree.....what a little known facet of this man's character this was!)
Immediately next to the information bay, the plaques on this large stone told of disaster and development.
The anchor on display here was recovered from the wreck of the convict transport ship 'George lll' which struck uncharted rocks in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel on the night of 12 April 1835. One hundred and thirty three of the total ship's complement of over three hundred were drowned, and this incident served as a catalyst for the development of navigational aids in this area, including the building of the Cape Bruny lighthouse.
There is also information relating to the later construction of the the Maatsuyker Island light (where the winds and waves can be very willing indeed), but enough of history for the moment.
provided information about, and sang the praises of, Dover's second important industry.......seafood.
With all this factual stuff under our belts it was time to continue with our exercise. We hoofed off
further south along the path lined with a variety of small trees and shrubs,
many of which provided yet another colourful reminder of the fact that 'spring had sprung'.
This seafront ramble eventually brought us to the second of Dover's two major fish processing plants with all its associated infrastructure and one of its fleet moored at the end of the jetty, but it was the odd, rather nondescript looking lump of grey clay next to the path which caught our eye.
And the answer...........
..........is! How often can something as seemingly insignificant represent so much of what has gone before?
The present day Dover, where lovely homes and gardens line the slopes of the embracing hillsides, continues to thrive thanks to the apple and seafood industries, with, I suspect, continuing economic assistance from folk such as us who arrive and linger.
So, before we farewell this town which so obviously took my fancy, a few final photos which, for me, are definingly Dover, beginning with the view of Adamsons Peak across the smooth waters of Esperance Bay.
And then we have the same distinctive and unmistakable outline starkly silhouetted against the back light of the setting sun.
I actually took these twilight shots whilst we were walking home from our night out at the RSL. Here, from the top of Chapman Avenue, we could see that the hillside homes of Dover on the eastern slopes above our caravan park were just being caught in the dying rays of the day,
as were the thickly wooded hills behind them. Just charming.
We did have one more local adventure whilst staying here.....a quick driving tour to a couple of delightful beaches on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel north-east of Dover, and a visit to the Huon salmon factory.....up next.
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