STILL BY THE SEASIDE - SWANSEA - PART 2 (THE TOWN AND THE SEAFRONT) (1 - 7 MARCH 2018)

Well, dear readers, I must begin this missive with an apology. I have misled you all with the comment that as we left Ross we also left Tasmanian history behind for a while. Not so. 

In my own defence I am so far behind with this blog that some detail has deserted me, and in this case, until I got cracking with this missive, I had overlooked the fact that Swansea is indeed a town of some historical significance, not least because it is the only one 'of an age' on the coast.

This area first came to the attention of the English as the result of something of a nautical detour. Captain John Cox, outbound from Old Blighty to Sydney Town in the good and stout ship 'Mercury', had heard news of vast numbers of seals in the area. He decided to have a look, so left the normal sailing route and took his ship up Tasmania's east coast. 

On 3 July, 1789 he sailed past Maria Island and into the stretch of water which he named Oyster Bay......now known as Great Oyster Bay, the beautiful bay which lies between Swansea and the Freycinet Peninsula. 

Nothing much came of this at the time, but in 1821 George Meredith, a Welshman, arrived in the district with his family and a tribe of workers. He established a thriving farm around the bay and in no time a tannery and flour mill were set up on the banks of the modestly named nearby Meredith River.

Needless to say, given the era, whilst the seals escaped predation, the whales did not fare as well. A number of whaling stations were set up on the nearby islands to exploit this resource.  

Historically, the real significance of this area and the town itself lies more in the fact that it was the first municipality to be established in Australia after Sydney and Hobart (for whatever that may be worth!).

So with that quick history lesson and my 'mea culpa' out of the way, let's get down to the business of 'discovering Swansea', which, as I said in passing in my last, was and remains one of my favourite towns in Tasmania....not that there is too much to it as you will soon discover, but its location and the surrounds are nothing short of spectacular.

Lying as it does on the north-west shore of Great Oyster Bay, with the high peaks of the Hazards on Freycinet Peninsula to the east, Swansea has been built in a picture postcard location.

In fact, 'Aussie Towns' notes, "Today the town's primary appeal lies in its access to the Freycinet Peninsula. Travellers pause to admire the historic homes and buildings; spend time fishing and enjoying the distinctive charm of Swansea as a holiday destination; and head for Freycinet for bushwalking and to marvel at Wineglass Bay."

So for the next few days, with the exception of the fishing bit (although I was sorely tempted), the Mobile Marshies became text book travellers. We admired the historic homes (not that there are a large number of them here and they are well spread), enjoyed the charm, sucked up the scenery and tramped the Freycinet.

Let's get on with it, beginning with an overview. As Google Earth shows, the main street (the Tasman Highway aka the Great Eastern Drive) makes a dog leg turn through the town at the corner of (briefly named) Franklin and Victoria Streets. I've highlighted the small CBD area in yellow, 

identified the town jetty with the white arrow, the headland which is Waterloo Point (now the location of the the golf course which will become significant later) with the green, and finally, our caravan park (and indeed our very site) was at the point of the red arrow.

As you can see, it is not a significant physical challenge to wander the streets of Swansea on foot, which is exactly what we did, beginning with a town tour including some of the lovely old buildings in the back streets.

We began at the highway 'dogleg' where the road nears the bay and the ridges of the Hazards (oddly, that is all this range is known as) form what is an almost constant backdrop to the views from most parts of Swansea.








From here, off to the right, just beyond one of the town service stations we could see the roof of the Waterloo Motel, but one of the several large visitor accommodation establishments in this very 'touristy' town.










As is the case so often in smallish towns (Swansea has a permanent population of about 600), many shops are multifunctional. Here the local Post Office also serves as the News Agency and a 'Fashion House'.







Needless to say my travelling companion could not resist a quick shoofty inside where it was patently obvious that this is a town which caters for those who arrive inappropriately attired for the seaside. The interior of this emporium was all casual and colour (and very well stocked).






Liz resisted any purchasing temptation, and we wandered on past the wall of the nearby IGA, north-west along what was now Franklin Street, the hub of the town's business area.









Here one of Swansea's really grand old homes stood side by side with the glaringly white, wooden Town Hall.

A short stroll brought us to the junction of Noyes Street, where the corner was dominated by the old Swansea school building, c 1860, now home to the Visitor Information Centre and the East Coast Heritage Museum.

We took a quick detour at this point to check out the local RSL a little further up the hill to see at what time the bar operated and/or if they provided a meal service. As it transpired we ran out of time to enjoy either.

Not far beyond the RSL we came to the local Police Station, unremarkable in all but something I spotted in the station yard.

The local Swansea Sea Rescue vessel?? I don't think so. At least one of the staff here would have no problems filling in a day off, and what a spot Great Oyster Bay would be to spend a few hours casting a line. My envy knew no bounds!

Here in Noyes Street we did discover two buildings which spoke to Swansea's history. The first was the original town Municipal Office and Court House built by one James Hurst in 1860. The return verandah remains a feature of this building which was not common to the architecture of the time.

We found the second of the buildings of significance yet further up the hill at the intersection of Waterloo Street.

Now known as Meredith House and Mews (the land was originally owned by one of the members of the founding Meredith family) this elegant Georgian building rose on this site in 1853. The owner initially named it Laughton House, and when he married the local schoolteacher this beautiful building became the local girls' school.

This did not last long. By 1870 one James Morris (of another important establishment family as we shall see shortly....if you peer closely you will spy the roof of the main street two storey Morris Store at the far right of this photo) had his name on the title deed and by 1892 what was originally a grand private home was converted into a boarding house.

And today, well over 100 years later, that's exactly what still goes on here. With prices ranging from $220 to $275, a room here at Meredith House can be yours.....including a full breakfast, of course! I could not help but take a quick look at the relevant website.....this is an example of what you might expect to find....and the bookings seem to be very steady indeed.

Back to Franklin Street where, just past the Noyes Street junction, we found one of the many town cafes and the Swansea pharmacy. And here I met my saviour! What's the story?

One of the absolutely 'must do' attractions of Swansea, or more correctly, the nearby Freycinet Peninsula, is a visit to what must be one of the most well known scenic attractions of the East Coast, Wine Glass Bay. Now if not arriving by sea, this involves a serious climb (as I'll show you in a later missive). I was determined not to miss out, but with my dicky knees, the right one in particular, I was viewing the prospect of this jaunt with real trepidation.

Ever practical, Liz dragged me into the pharmacy to see if we could find a knee brace of some sort. They must have known I was coming. The range was extraordinary. I suspect I was far from the first to have had a similar requirement here in Swansea. 

We left rejoicing, and without pre-empting too much, I can say the device we chose did the trick admirably (and I'm still using it). With it (and a stout stick which I have also kept).......but that's a story for tomorrow!

As we resumed our tour, I did spot a notice in one of the cafe windows which solved a local mystery. 

On the opposite side of the street we had come to what must be the most well known building in Swansea, the imposing bulk of the Morris General Store with its single story addition at one end. This impressive building began as a single storey structure itself in 1833, but as the business expanded so the building rose.  

I won't bore you with the fascinating history of this enterprise, other than to note that it was established in the first instance by a Mr Graham for whom a young James Morris came to work in 1859 (after a number of previous adventures and failures in the new colony). James excelled in the business, and with Graham's death in 1868, he bought it. Now part of the IGA chain, the store remains in the Morris family to this day.

It is by far the most prominent building on Franklin Street, something which this old photo shows has not changed over many years.

Beyond the Morris Store, we came to Maria Street, where a quick pause to look back along Franklin Street again confirmed the preeminence of the store building.

The importance of tourism and the popularity of Swansea as a holiday destination was clearly evident here in Maria Street. Holiday villas

and apartments occupy most of this short seaside leg of the street with every balcony presenting magnificent views out over Great Oyster Bay.

Looking further along Franklin Street, as it began to curve to the right, I thought initially I had finally found the town pub. Not so. This rather prominent building was actually home to the '1850 Seafood Restaurant'. 

I was soon to discover, to my disappointment and surprise, that for all its history, Swansea does not boast a functioning old inn or hostelry of any kind. The town does have a 'watering hole' (which we'll visit shortly) but this is a modern affair. How odd it was to come to a Tasmanian town like this and be unable to breast a bar which had been a place of refreshment for many, many years.

We pushed on around the bend and off towards the end of the business end of town, past the local school with its front yard artworks,

and the house opposite, where at first I thought the owners were taking their ease on the front porch. Then I took a second glance.....they had not moved....not an inch!

And with very good reason......this made a change from ornamental pots!

By now the end of the 'main drag' was in sight, signified by the buildings of the Bark Mill Tavern, so named because it stands on the site of the 'bark mill' established here in 1885.

At the entrance to what is now a tavern, bakery and museum, an old dray loaded with black wattle bark stands as a reminder of the industry which processed this material to extract tannic acid, the basic ingredient necessary for tanning leather.

  

A choice of two al fresco 

seating areas await visitors to this complex, 

whilst for those who prefer to partake under cover, the Bark Mill offers both a large cafe area

and, of course, the 'tavern' section.

In addition to the museum at the rear of the complex (we did not visit) and the old dray at the entrance, the cafe area houses this old cider press (which I very poorly photographed against the light pouring in through the windows).

 

Apart from any intrinsic interest, I was more than fascinated by the plaque attached to the press frame. Now here is a bit of historic certainty for you......not! Surely they could have done better than this in respect of the provenance of this press.

Whilst on something of an historical note, let me complete our town ramble with a few examples of what can be found here in Swansea. 

Quite unlike towns such as Ross, Richmond and Oatlands, for example, where the original buildings stand together cheek by jowl in quite concentrated areas, here in Swansea one has to roam further afield to find them, but they are here for those who look.

One of the most prominent was right on our park doorstep. We could see it from our van (that's us, the white van top just above the fence). 

Schouten House, now a very upmarket B&B in the same vein as Meredith House, began life in 1844 as the Swansea Inn. It has a long and fascinating history (some homework for you if you choose!). What a shame it was no longer a pub....only a two minute walk away or even less if we scrambled over the fence!

On the other side of town, taking advantage of the higher ground and the views over the bay which come with it, 'Braeside', c 1850, with its heavy stone block walls, looked as solid as the day it was completed. 

Even on a cloudy and hazy day such as today, this was a view worth having.

'Plasnewydd' (another local name with direct links to the Welsh homeland of the town founder) is the oldest house in Swansea. Convicts hefted the stone blocks to form these walls in 1834, and once completed this became the Wellington Street home of the Assistant Police Magistrate, Lieut. Alexander McKenzie (a lone Scot amongst the Welsh??). 


In the 1850's Charles and Louisa Meredith made it their home, and after their departure, and for the next 85 years, it served as the Church of England Rectory. 

Louisa was a prolific author and artist. Her life and work in the Swansea district is remembered with this plaque and garden near the Information Centre. The story of her life with Charles, in NSW as well as Tasmania, and the incredible financial roller coaster of their lives, is one I commend to you as being well worth reading.

Her artwork, much of it depicting native flora,















was stunning, as these two examples illustrate (unintentional, but I'll own it!)
















And speaking of rectories, this is the 'workplace' of the lucky residents of Plasnewydd, the beautiful All Saints Anglican Church, prominently sited on the corner of Wellington and Noyes Streets.







This 'Gothic Revival' style church was built of what is known as locally sourced 'fieldstone' (as were many of the buildings of this era) with buttresses of the more easily worked dressed sandstone. It was consecrated in 1871 and continues to serve the faithful of Swansea to this day. 

Let me conclude this very brief 'historial tour' (there are many more lovely old stone cottages and other buildings scattered throughout the town) with something of a set back. The stone walls and gateway pillars of 'Longtime Cottage', circa 1850, 

and the driveway hedges and large shade trees beyond promised much, but we could not see past this for the life of us. Short of being brash enough to knock on the front door, or merely trespass, this was all we could manage. Even my subsequent trawl of the Internet has come up blank.




So we shall just have to use our imaginations as far as this clearly well maintained old home is concerned and picture it as we like.

In my next we shall take a quick trot along the Swansea foreshore and make an equally brief visit to nearby Dolphin Sands before spending a very challenging and rewarding day out on 'The Freycinet'.