A 'cliffy round lump resembling a Christmas cake'. This colourful and very apt description of the famous Stanley geological feature, the Nut, is one which is far from widely used, but believe it or not it was the first mouthed by a European.....no less a person than Matthew Flinders himself when he and Bass sighted this extraordinary feature in 1798. What a shame it doesn't snow in Stanley. Imagine a frosting of white across the top of the Nut....a cake with icing!
The town about which we are about to ramble has a number of claims to fame, excluding that remarkable natural feature with which it is inextricably linked, one we have already explored.
The website 'Discover Tasmania' promotes Stanley as:
"a town of perfectly preserved colonial buildings, genteel cafes and quality B&B cottages, all sheltering in the imposing shadow of the Nut, an immense flat topped, volcanic plug rising 150 metres straight up from the water's edge."
With all this under our belts it was time to meander up and along Alexander Terrace, probably the most well known 'character' street of the town, seen here from the junction with Wharf Road looking north past the marine park and the VDL Store.
I've included this annotated Google Earth shot at this point for two reasons. Firstly, it shows the relationship between the southern end of Alexander Terrace and the old dock area and the row of cottages which line its northerly route around the base of the Nut (red arrow).
The second reason if to try and make some sense of the three way junction of what I suspect were old cart tracks (yellow arrow) where Alexander Terrace, Wharf Road and Church Street all come together on different levels in a manner which can be most confusing for those newly arrived in town.....spoken from first hand knowledge!
This chart shows the same spot and includes the position of the caravan park in relation to the 'old town'.
This is another of John Lee Archer's buildings, an unremarkable fact in itself given his energy and industry, but discovering its original intended occupant blew me away....this elegant cottage had been built for one of King George IV's many illegitimate sons. Whether he ever occupied it (and, for that matter which one of the many of this dissolute monarch's many offspring born out of wedlock was the intended occupant?) I've not researched. But what a story, as indeed is that of the life of gallivanting and glutenous George!
A little further north brought us to this stone and weatherboard building, where the shingle hanging out the front proclaims it to be the Bay View, c1849. Surely not......it looks as through it went up yesterday.
A series of plaques in front of the building told us something of history of this lovely guesthouse. And as you can see, Joe Lyons' grandfather was the first occupant of the much more modest Inn which stood on this site.
The story went on (obviously 'photo-shopped' to make it legible here).
To the credit of the current owners they have since put in 25 years of continuous toil to bring this grand old building back to the magnificent state it is today, and the work is still going on.
We could only hope that this wonderful view they have out over Sawyer Bay, and all the hard work they have put into this venture and the building which houses it, continues to be rewarded with full occupancy.
Just beyond the Bay View, we came to that potentially confusing road junction where Alexander Terrace actually splits,
with the lower half continuing north as Church Street whilst the remainder of Alexander Terrace narrows dramatically.
Several sets of steep stairs allow pedestrian access from one level to the other, and in this shot the third road in this jumble comes into view, where Wharf Road just adds yet another level to the general confusion, literally. To be frank, however, we soon came to see this as just part of the charm of Stanley.
'Yelnats Cottage', circa 1848,
two storey 'Talisker' (date unknown)
and the more imposing white washed stone walls of 'Captains Cottage' built in 1835, all grace this northern section of Alexander Terrace,
where the roadway is wide enough for one vehicle only.
The town about which we are about to ramble has a number of claims to fame, excluding that remarkable natural feature with which it is inextricably linked, one we have already explored.
The website 'Discover Tasmania' promotes Stanley as:
"a town of perfectly preserved colonial buildings, genteel cafes and quality B&B cottages, all sheltering in the imposing shadow of the Nut, an immense flat topped, volcanic plug rising 150 metres straight up from the water's edge."
My old reference friend 'Aussie Towns' describes Stanley as, "a truly remarkable town. Not only is it steeped in the early history of Tasmania (for it was from here that the mighty Van Diemen's Land company operated) but it is also a town full of beautifully preserved historic buildings. Not surprisingly it is a classified town.
As a bonus it has one of the most remarkable landforms anywhere in Australia: the Nut, the stump of an old volcano, towers over the town. Although the Nut can be bitterly cold when the winds are blowing it is a magnet for everyone who wants to get a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside."
We had already learnt about the winds of Stanley and although they can prove more than annoying at times, this wind does have one saving grace......the air in and around Stanley is officially recognised as the cleanest in the world, a formal measurement taken at nearby Cape Grim on Tassie's north-west tip.
So folks, all breath deeply and make the most of it!
We did just that as we set off to explore this small, charming town (current permanent population of about 500 or so), where all that is of real historical interest lies within easy walking distance of the caravan park.
Firstly, however, I must include a photo which I somehow omitted from the missive dealing with our walk around the Nut, one which shows the precipitous perch which is Tatlows Lookout. This was the last on our jaunt and presented marvellous views of the town and beyond, but as you can see here, the barrier is in place for a very good reason.
Strangely enough there were no signs cautioning against attempting to go outside the guard rails to get that special shot....I guess the assumption being that the danger had to be obvious, even to the most mentally challenged tourist!
Back today's venture where we began at the Stanley marine park at the eastern end of Sawyer Bay with its small lighthouse, ship's propeller and the odd looking stele which can be seen in the foreground.
The plaque at the base of this piece of art told us that The Divine Mercy Stone had been sculptured as part of the 1989 Circular Head Arts Festival. More detailed information about it was available from the nearby Lyons cottage. This was shut when we walked by, so we are none the wiser other than to comment that this, to us, was esoteric in the extreme.
Here is another view of the park taken from the nearby boat ramp which also includes a couple of buildings of real Stanley significance, both as different as could be (the VDL Store and Lyons Cottage).
The large stone building which abuts the park is the old Van Diemen's Land Company Store, another designed and built by John Lee Archer, the civil engineer and colonial architect of the fledgling colony between 1827 and 1838.
Archer, who incidentally died in Stanley in 1852 and is buried in the impressive local cemetery, was responsible for all the government buildings during his tenure.
There hardly seems to be a town of any historical significance in Tasmania which does not have Archer's stamp on it somewhere....Parliament House, Hobart, the Ordnance Stores in Salamanca Place, the stone bridge in Ross, St Lukes Church in Richmond.....the list goes on and on.
The redoubtable Mr Archer was a man in incredible industry. In addition to all his building work he held the position of Chairman of Quarter Sessions, the Commissioner under the Electoral Act and the Assistant Commissioner of the Court of Requests. Whew!
The bluestone from which the VDL Co Store here in Stanley, impressive despite its relative architectural severity, was not locally quarried. It arrived as ballast in the sailing ships which came to Stanley in its formative years. This landmark building is now used as an up-market B&B, something of which we were to see much more in this tourist orientated town.
The second of the two old stone buildings in this area is not too far away. The Stanley port Bond Store, here seen from the end of the boat ramp jetty (with the VDL Store on the far left of the photo) rose in 1835.
With bluestone walls and an interior crafted from used Baltic pine and ballast from sailing ships, and a lime rendering which was made from crushed seashells, this signature Stanley building was, at various times after the need for a customs house had passed, used as a bacon factory and a grain store.
It is now home to one of the town's best known restaurants, Stanley's on the Bay and by all accounts offers fine fare of a standard which would please the most demanding of trenchermen.
Almost abutting the bond store, the old town railway station (could this building have been anything else?) is now a motel,
whilst a little further on towards the docks, and facing directly out to sea over the rocky shore, this modern apartment block looks almost incongruous.
Firstly, however, I must include a photo which I somehow omitted from the missive dealing with our walk around the Nut, one which shows the precipitous perch which is Tatlows Lookout. This was the last on our jaunt and presented marvellous views of the town and beyond, but as you can see here, the barrier is in place for a very good reason.
Strangely enough there were no signs cautioning against attempting to go outside the guard rails to get that special shot....I guess the assumption being that the danger had to be obvious, even to the most mentally challenged tourist!
Back today's venture where we began at the Stanley marine park at the eastern end of Sawyer Bay with its small lighthouse, ship's propeller and the odd looking stele which can be seen in the foreground.
The plaque at the base of this piece of art told us that The Divine Mercy Stone had been sculptured as part of the 1989 Circular Head Arts Festival. More detailed information about it was available from the nearby Lyons cottage. This was shut when we walked by, so we are none the wiser other than to comment that this, to us, was esoteric in the extreme.
Here is another view of the park taken from the nearby boat ramp which also includes a couple of buildings of real Stanley significance, both as different as could be (the VDL Store and Lyons Cottage).
The large stone building which abuts the park is the old Van Diemen's Land Company Store, another designed and built by John Lee Archer, the civil engineer and colonial architect of the fledgling colony between 1827 and 1838.
Archer, who incidentally died in Stanley in 1852 and is buried in the impressive local cemetery, was responsible for all the government buildings during his tenure.
There hardly seems to be a town of any historical significance in Tasmania which does not have Archer's stamp on it somewhere....Parliament House, Hobart, the Ordnance Stores in Salamanca Place, the stone bridge in Ross, St Lukes Church in Richmond.....the list goes on and on.
The redoubtable Mr Archer was a man in incredible industry. In addition to all his building work he held the position of Chairman of Quarter Sessions, the Commissioner under the Electoral Act and the Assistant Commissioner of the Court of Requests. Whew!
The second of the two old stone buildings in this area is not too far away. The Stanley port Bond Store, here seen from the end of the boat ramp jetty (with the VDL Store on the far left of the photo) rose in 1835.
With bluestone walls and an interior crafted from used Baltic pine and ballast from sailing ships, and a lime rendering which was made from crushed seashells, this signature Stanley building was, at various times after the need for a customs house had passed, used as a bacon factory and a grain store.
It is now home to one of the town's best known restaurants, Stanley's on the Bay and by all accounts offers fine fare of a standard which would please the most demanding of trenchermen.
Almost abutting the bond store, the old town railway station (could this building have been anything else?) is now a motel,
whilst a little further on towards the docks, and facing directly out to sea over the rocky shore, this modern apartment block looks almost incongruous.
With all this under our belts it was time to meander up and along Alexander Terrace, probably the most well known 'character' street of the town, seen here from the junction with Wharf Road looking north past the marine park and the VDL Store.
I've included this annotated Google Earth shot at this point for two reasons. Firstly, it shows the relationship between the southern end of Alexander Terrace and the old dock area and the row of cottages which line its northerly route around the base of the Nut (red arrow).
The second reason if to try and make some sense of the three way junction of what I suspect were old cart tracks (yellow arrow) where Alexander Terrace, Wharf Road and Church Street all come together on different levels in a manner which can be most confusing for those newly arrived in town.....spoken from first hand knowledge!
This chart shows the same spot and includes the position of the caravan park in relation to the 'old town'.
The European settlement which we now know as Stanley had it genesis in the formation of the Van Diemen's Land company in England in 1825, a company which was granted the rights by Royal Charter to a large area of land around Stanley with the intention of breeding fine wool sheep.
In October 1826 the arrival of livestock, implements, craftsmen and indentured labourers from England, along with convicts assigned locally at Circular Head, heralded the beginning of the town. The port was opened in 1827.
Despite initially being known as Circular Head, the town was given the name of Stanley after Lord Stanley, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (interesting combination of responsibilities!) at the time. There was obviously something to be gained in this office....the same august gent went on to serve three terms a British Prime Minister, but I digress.
Many of the cottages on Alexander Terrace date back to the town's origins. I've been unusually selective in my presentation of them!
This distinctive white walled and red roofed two storey cottage, which can be seen in the previous shots of the marine park, has an extraordinary story attached to it, one which presents a remarkable commentary on life amongst British royalty of the time.
This is another of John Lee Archer's buildings, an unremarkable fact in itself given his energy and industry, but discovering its original intended occupant blew me away....this elegant cottage had been built for one of King George IV's many illegitimate sons. Whether he ever occupied it (and, for that matter which one of the many of this dissolute monarch's many offspring born out of wedlock was the intended occupant?) I've not researched. But what a story, as indeed is that of the life of gallivanting and glutenous George!
The next on history's Alexander Terrace roll-call is an abode of much more modest style and original occupancy. This unprepossessing home was the birthplace of none other than Joseph Aloysios Lyons, who came into the world here in 1879. You may recall we were originally introduced to Tasmania's first (and only) Australian Prime Minister when in Smithton, the home town of his wife.
Joe's family were well entrenched in Stanley as we shall see in a moment.
As often happens on streets such as this, this large modern B&B is completely out of character with much of the remainder of Alexander Terrace, something of a shame really.
As often happens on streets such as this, this large modern B&B is completely out of character with much of the remainder of Alexander Terrace, something of a shame really.
A little further north brought us to this stone and weatherboard building, where the shingle hanging out the front proclaims it to be the Bay View, c1849. Surely not......it looks as through it went up yesterday.
A series of plaques in front of the building told us something of history of this lovely guesthouse. And as you can see, Joe Lyons' grandfather was the first occupant of the much more modest Inn which stood on this site.
The story went on (obviously 'photo-shopped' to make it legible here).
To the credit of the current owners they have since put in 25 years of continuous toil to bring this grand old building back to the magnificent state it is today, and the work is still going on.
We could only hope that this wonderful view they have out over Sawyer Bay, and all the hard work they have put into this venture and the building which houses it, continues to be rewarded with full occupancy.
Just beyond the Bay View, we came to that potentially confusing road junction where Alexander Terrace actually splits,
with the lower half continuing north as Church Street whilst the remainder of Alexander Terrace narrows dramatically.
Several sets of steep stairs allow pedestrian access from one level to the other, and in this shot the third road in this jumble comes into view, where Wharf Road just adds yet another level to the general confusion, literally. To be frank, however, we soon came to see this as just part of the charm of Stanley.
'Yelnats Cottage', circa 1848,
two storey 'Talisker' (date unknown)
and the more imposing white washed stone walls of 'Captains Cottage' built in 1835, all grace this northern section of Alexander Terrace,
where the roadway is wide enough for one vehicle only.
The 'Harbourmaster's Cottage' built in 1880, is another fine example of a fastidiously maintained weatherboard home, and I am sure that it is this combination of wood and stone buildings which add to the charm of this terrace.
Similar care has clearly been lavished on 'Gardinia House', with its double bay windows, which now provide the guests at this rather upmarket B&B (some rooms fetch $350 per night) with more views over Sawyer Bay below.
This has been but a small selected offering of the delightful row of private homes, guest houses and B&B's which march in a solid line north along Alexander Terrace from the old port precinct,
before this iconic Stanley thoroughfare ends when it joins Church Street.
Here, just above Victoria Street, the memorial statue of a 'Billy the Digger' gazes forever west, past the pub, out over the more modern section of Stanley.
This aerial shot (courtesy of the Kentish Visitor Information Centre) very neatly covers the ground over which we had just trodden. Hopefully you can now recognise some of the landmarks.
And before we leave Alexander Terrace, here is a sunset shot I took of some of the cottages and other buildings along it, with the front windows reflecting the glow of the setting sun and the cliffs of the Nut becoming a burnished brown.
In the second instalment of our Stanley town tour, we shall continue north into Church Street past what is the old Stanley CBD, another much photographed part of town, before making our way down to Godfreys Beach to see what we can find there.
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