ONE OF SEVERAL HISTORIC TASSIE TOWNS - CAMPBELL TOWN - PART 2 (A HIGH STREET STROLL) (28 DECEMBER 2017)

I can do little better than to begin this offering with a direct quote from the excellent website 'aussietowns':

"There are five destinations between Hobart and Launceston which are recognised as being outstanding examples of well-preserved Georgian towns: Richmond, Ross, Oatlands, Evandale and Campbell Town [we have already seen Evandale, and will visit the remainder in due course]. 

Unlike the other towns, Campbell Town is notable for its wide main street, its elegant English village green in front of The Grange, its handsome convict-built Red Bridge and the impressive coaching inn, The Foxhunters Return. 

It is a town best experienced by simply spending time and just mooching - up and down the main street, around the Village Green and beside the Elizabeth River."

A good 'mooch'....what a good idea this was I thought, not only up and down the main street but from one end of the town to the other. 

Unlike Evandale and Ross in particular, the homes and buildings of interest in Campbell Town are widespread. Armed with my little 'places of interest' brochure I set out. Five hours (goodness knows how many kilometres....I suspect about eight plus) and over 45 historical buildings and places of interest later, I staggered back to camp. The 'mooch' morphed and the camera was shrieking in protest!

But, as I promised earlier, I shall be more than selective in these missives (well I'll try).....after all, one can tolerate just so much history!

As 'aussiestowns' has suggested, I began beside the Elizabeth River, which was, after all, within sight of our caravan (that's us right in centre shot).

Just beyond the footbridge over the river, in a park right next to one of the Red Bridge walls, strange sculptures thrust skywards. At first glance they looked oddly familiar....with good reason. We had seen the work of this artist before, in Georgetown.





And just as he had done there, the industrious Mr Eddie Freeman from the nearby town of Ross, had taken his chainsaw to several trees and created carvings which highlighted aspects of the Campbell Town's unique history.

As we had noted previously, Eddie is a master at cramming much detail into limited spaces. 

His works have to be viewed from all angles to be fully appreciated. In this offering the main theme is that of a soldier guarding a convict hard at work on the construction of the Red Bridge, which is all pretty straightforward, but the creation behind this one is a real pot pouri of historical figures and events.

Here we have an aircraft and globe honouring the locally born Harold Gatty, who in 1931, circumnavigated the earth by air in his plane the 'Winnie Mae' (more of  this incredible gent later). The bales of wool and the sheep represent the Campbell Town show, the longest running in Australia. 





From this reverse angle you can see the seated figure and telescope of Dr William Valentine who was responsible for the US Naval Observatory team who came to the town to observe the Transit of Venus in 1874. Standing erectly proud atop them all is Governor Lachlan Macquarie (with his wife Elizabeth in tow). 





The third carving is more straightforward albeit equally 'busy'. Here we have local fauna, or as the plaque more eloquently states, 'a display of the rich aquatic and terrestrial wildlife found along the Elizabeth River'.....aka local fauna! 





Eddie had been a busy boy indeed. I waited in vain to see him appearing on the local TV endorsing a brand of chainsaw, but obviously his business acumen does not match his artistic talents.  Eddie might need a manager!




From this forest of sculpture I wandered off across High Street (as the National Highway is known over the distance it traverses the town) where, at the junction with the Esplanade, the bulk of the Foxhunters Return and the stables and outbuildings at the rear dominate the corner.

Aside from the fact that this  pub has been described by the National Trust as 'the finest and most substantial hotel building of the late colonial period in Australia' (of course...it's in Tasmania!), 



(with thanks to 'studiaphotos' for this excellent photo of the rear of the premises),






the Foxhunters Return represents a classic case of a shrewd investment by a smart bloke in the right place at the right time, as our old friend Geoff Richie explains: 

"The Foxhunters Return is the second coaching inn in Campbell Town to bear the Foxhunters name – the first, Foxhunters Retreat, operated on Bridge Street near Campbell Town’s original stone and wooden bridge. 

However when the authorities decided on a grander replacement,[i.e The Red Bridge] publican William Broad seized the opportunity and purchased land behind his inn that fronted High Street, the site of the new crossing."

Irish master stonemason, Hugh Kean, is credited with building the new Foxhunters in stages over 7 years, finishing the elegant Georgian sandstone facade of the central building in 1840. Campbell Town resident and onetime bushranger, Martin Cash, is said to have assisted Kean during the construction. 

For decades Foxhunters Return was a focal point for travellers venturing between Tasmania’s two major towns – Hobart and Launceston. Under several owners, including builder Hugh Kean, and under many different names Foxhunters provided shelter and refreshment to weary travellers whilst tending to their horses" [which of course explains why the stables at the rear were so large].

But then of course progress, in the form of a connecting railway, overtook the horse and coach and the old 'coaching inns' stared down hard times. The 'Return' fell into disrepair until it was bought as a private home and beautifully restored. Now it operates as a B&B and accommodates a very smart little bookshop.....below ground.


With a name which is a delightful play on words, 'The Book Cellar' has been established in the old wine and ale cellars beneath the pub (these actually run under a section of High Street) and from all accounts is a nice little earner for its inventive owners.









The theme of red bricks and convict history is maintained on High Street well beyond the Red Bridge where the western footpath carries this line of bricks for quite some distance. Each is stamped with the name of a transported convict and the ship on which he or she was brought to the colonies.






I was amazed to learn that this memorial to the over 200,000 convicts transported to Australia for a hundred years post 1788, is a privately run project. Although the first brick was formally laid by the local Mayor in  August 2003, that was the extent of the Council involvement. Each brick has been purchased privately and the details on them have been provided by individuals with some connection to the miscreant.





I could have tarried along this strip for hours, but time was pressing. Let me share a few that caught my eye. Well at least good old George eventually made something of himself.....was this a case of it takes a thief to catch a thief, I pondered.

The same cannot be said for a later arrival!










Now I was unable to discover too much about George McDonald, but 'Mr Priest by name but not by nature' (although it turns out he was a quite likable rogue) was a different matter, and what an excellent yarn it made.

Thanks to 'Wikipedia' for the following:

"Daniel Priest (1814–1883) was a convict and bushranger in nineteenth century Tasmania. Priest escaped from the penal settlement at Port Arthur and became a bushranger while trying to avoid arrest.

He became known to those he robbed as 'the friendly bushranger' on account of his 'almost unparallelled mildness and kindness towards persons with whom he came into collision in pursuit of his lawless career.' Priest held up settlers at gunpoint but only took what he needed and was never violent.

In 1845, he was eventually caught and, at an appearance before the Police Magistrate, witness George Lucas, who had recently been robbed, claimed the coat and trousers worn by Priest, were his. Priest replied: 'Yes, you're right, they're yours; you have told a very correct yarn ; all that you have said is very true.' When the Magistrate then told Priest that they would have to find him some other clothes, Priest answered, 'Just as you please, Sir, it's not as I like now.'

Priest was sentenced to hang, but after the intervention of many members of the public, including three priests and several people who he had robbed, his sentence was commuted to ten years at Norfolk Island."

And there is a postscript to this extraordinary tale.....Priest went on to live until he was 81, well over 20 years beyond the average life span of a bloke of that time.

What did Miss Livingsten do to deserve this notation? Let's face it, she was but one amongst many bad eggs in the one penal basket. My curiosity got the better of me, and after some research I found that she was a very naughty girl.....she escaped (more than once) from the Women's Factory in Hobart.  Tut, Tut!

Finally, (before I do bore you all to death) what a poignant comment this brick makes about the penal system in 18th Century England.







And here is the official transcript of her trial.

Old Bailey Trial Transcript.
Reference Number: t17870110-60
219. ELIZABETH HAYWARD was indicted for stealing, on the 19th of December last, a linen gown, value 4 s. a silk bonnet, value 2 s. and a Bath cloth cloak, value 1 s. the property of Thomas Crofts :
And SARAH PHILLIPS otherwise CONSTANT was indicted for receiving on the 8th of January , one linen gown, value 4 s. part of the said goods, knowing them to be stolen .
The prisoner Hayward was apprentice to the prosecutor, and was taken three weeks after she took the things; the gown was pawned by her, and redeemed by the prisoner Phillips, against whom there was no evidence.
ELIZABETH HAYWARD , GUILTY , (age 13 years)
Transported for seven years .
SARAH PHILLIPS alias CONSTANT,
NOT GUILTY .
Tried by the second Middlesex Jury before Mr. RECORDER

After arriving in the antipodes Elizabeth was given 30 lashes for being insolent to a minister (her convict master), was then shipped off to Norfolk Island, survived the wreck of the Sirius on which she was being transported, worked off her sentence, had several children (by a couple of fathers) and lived her latter years in Launceston as a free woman until she finally died at the age of 63 and was buried in the Cypress Street cemetery. Whew!

Sorry about all this.....carried away yet again. That's it for the bricks from me, but what fascinating stories lie there along High Street.....but it is definitely time  to move on, literally and figuratively.

For all its history, I have to comment that I found much of High Street quite non-descript for a couple of reasons. One is its width which immediately removes that 'village' feel which is so evident in places like Evandale, Ross and Oatlands. The second stemmed from the fact that the buildings of interest are dotted here and there amongst much more modern structures....again mitigating against sense that I was wandering through a Georgian town.





But that is not to say even some of the more recent additions to the street were not of some interest in their own right, such as, for example, this singularly quaint little hairdressing salon.

The only operating pub in town, the Campbell Town Hotel, which lines up behind the bakery, was a real disappointment. We breasted the bar here on one occasion with high hopes of being immersed in local history and surrounded by interesting junk only to find that we could have been standing in a bar anywhere. What a golden opportunity lost was our reaction.....we had absolutely no incentive to return.







A shade north of the pub the buildings of High Street again showed some age, 










including this odd looking building of the early 1800's where the 'lid' atop what is now a coffee lounge shows that some of our colonial cousins understood the value of being able to cool a building by letting the hotter air escape through the roof space. 

Right next door, on the corner of Queen Street, another Georgian stone frontage suggested that this had been a building of some significance in early Campbell Town.  Indeed it was. The local builder Hugh Kean had been at it again, this time in 1840, constructing what was the second of the two large and gracious town pubs (after the Foxhunters). 


The former Campbell Town Inn, which is now an antiques shop, stands to demonstrate the importance of Campbell Town as a resting place on the journey between Launceston and Hobart when this trip was done in horse drawn vehicles or on the back of a trusty steed.

Across High Street, in another demonstration of the old and the new side by side on the main street, the ornate windows, dark bricks and steeply pitched roof of the Brickhill Memorial Church, circa 1880, seemed to be almost struggling against the squeeze in by its much newer neighbours. 

Like many older buildings in the town, this no longer functions as it did originally, and has been taken over as a private residence, something the sign on the front gate made very clear!

The next item on the agenda of my High Street stroll was the open space of the Village Green where I discovered all sorts of interesting things. Let me begin with the rather shadowed statue facing the footpath.

Here, courtesy of 'monument australia' is a much better shot of a most incredible woman. Eliza Forlong is the undisputed founder of the super-fine wool industry in Tasmania, the vast bulk of which is grown in the Campbell Town district and on the surrounding plains. Indeed you may recall my comment in one of the first of these Tasmanian missives about how surprised we were to see so many sheep as we travelled from Devonport to Hobart back in October. Well, now things were becoming clearer.





I'll let 'monument australia' take up the story:

"The Forlong family decided to establish themselves in New South Wales as producers of Saxon merino wool. Eliza undertook the task of selecting the finest merino sheep in Saxony. She travelled by foot, buying sheep for William’s voyage on the Clansman in 1829 and for her own voyage on the Czar in 1830. In all, Eliza and her sons walked across Saxony three times, leading flocks of 100 sheep to the port at Hamburg.

In June 1829, her 16-year-old son William sailed for New South Wales with a flock of seven rams and 90 ewes. The Clansman stopped at Hobart en route, where Governor Arthur recognised the value of the flock and persuaded William to take up a large grant of land near Campbell Town. On reaching Van Diemens Land in January 1831, Eliza, her husband John and son Andrew, with a second flock, joined William at the Kenilworth property. These sheep formed the basis of the Winton superfine stud at Campbell Town, Australia’s pre-eminent superfine wool stud, and the neighbouring St Johnstone stud."

And there's more to it. Somewhat discontented with her family's lot in Tasmania (for a host of reasons, not least of which was the poor outcome of a running battle of letters with the Government arguing for more land) she later moved to Victoria with one of her sons (her husband had died earlier) and started the fine wool industry in that colony.

Eliza has been described variously as 'pleasant and energetic' and 'strong-willed and positively eccentric', but whatever may have been thought of her, there is one this which is universally accepted.....although her pioneering and managerial skills were of the highest order it was her uncanny ability to select the finest sheep which set her apart.

I have to say that when I read her name on the statue here in Campbell Town, it did ring a bell. And then the penny dropped.....we had come across her other memorial when staying at Euroa a couple of years previously. Big country......small world!

Nearby I came across this sketch of the early days of Campbell Town in which the Red Bridge, the Foxhunts Return, the brewery buildings and the spire of St Lukes Church (I had not quite gotten that far at this stage!) were all clearly discernible, with coaches thundering by along High Street.

Behind the open sward of the green stands another of Campbell Town's grand and significant buildings.....'The Grange'. Built in 1847 in the style of an English manor house, this was the home of Dr William Valentine. 






Apart from his medical prowess, the good doctor was a keen astronomer who hosted a party of Americans from the US Naval Observatory to witness the Transit of Venus on 8-9 December 1874. Not only were these yanks feted and fed, the redoubtable Dr V went to the additional trouble of having an observatory built alongside The Grange especially for the occasion. No wonder he is a starter in the Eddie Freeman wood carvings as a notable local! 

By now I had almost reached the northern end of the straight stretch of High Street (seen here looking back whence I had wandered)














where the last stop on this section of my 'mooch' brought me to the Town Hall, an oddly incongruous art deco construction where its 'johnny- come-lately' appearance was confirmed by the date of 1939 on the clock tower. 




This like the pub, was another scene of disappointment. This building had been right on my radar. It houses the Campbell Town historical and visitor information centres. I was eager to see what I could find. Nothing! It was shut, and no matter where I enquired, I could not find out when the local volunteers who run this place were likely to be back on deck. Frankly, in a town like this in which the tourist dollar spent forms a significant part of the local economy, this was not good enough.

Fortunately I had managed to download a couple of maps and a list of the main historical buildings and points of interest from the Internet, and notwithstanding the fact that the resultant print was so small that I was constantly diving into my pockets for my glasses, it was better than nothing.

We shall press on in my next to discover more old churches, another of Hugh Kean's pubs and a clutch of cottages of assorted style and construction, all with one thing in common....nothing later than the mid 1800's.

And I do promise to try harder to control my historical excitement.....but I really can't guarantee it!