Tasmania 2023 – Week 2, Ross
Day 17
It is a leisurely Sunday, in no rush to be anywhere, on this brisk cool morning, with crystal clear air. It is quite fresh at 6.30am but warms to about 18-20 during the day. Out of the occasional breeze and in the sun it is quite warm, as our later morning ramblings demonstrate.
When we do arise and organise ourselves, we head across the road to the Ross Inn Bakery and partake of their goodies. The lady behind the operation is wearing a lovely cap, which I would associate with a maid’s cap or something similar, with matching apron. She looks a picture. They have Eccles Cakes, Cornish Pasties, a range of pies including laksa curry scallop and vanilla slices, including an “Irish” version which has alcohol in it. We purchase one each of the vanilla slices for later.
We set out for a wander around the town and the history it contains. We go to the furthest end of Church Street and find the Species Hotel – a delightful set up to encourage the return of various species, the area having basically been decimated by farming practices. There is also what will be a beautiful “forest” when the trees grow, beside the reeds and wandering river which Ross sits alongside.
Heading back through town, we make our way to the Bridge, completed in 1836 by convict labour. The metal joiners on the top side of the Bridge have a convict marker. We wander along the river briefly, then make out way to the stables (cut into the hill) and the Anglican Church. We daren’t go inside, being the heathens that we are, but stand to admire the building from outside – the lichen on the roof and the walls of the leeside which clearly does not get a lot of sun.
Passing the Church, we head to the Ross Female Factory and the sad tale for convict women, which it entails. We move then to the cemetery, up the rise. It seems to me that there are no markers for those who died as convicts, at the Factory. There is a fenced section to the cemetery with nothing in it. Next is the Pioneer’s Cemetery which has some quite old graves. There are plenty of floating spiders webs as we wander through and it seems the only thing holding some of the headstones up might be those floating spiders webs.
Coming back through town, we stop in at the Cenotaph then the bric-a-brac and second-hand goods stores and marvel at the “stuff” which is crammed into one of the stores and the beautifully laid out, almost exhibit like presentation of the other. Lunch is at Bakery 31 – both have a profile for vanilla slice and scallop pies.
We also look in that the Wool Centre, which has beautiful products as well as a museum at the rear – come in for a visit and have a look, there is no charge. There are some knitting examples there too – I admire the skill and talent which creates these items and think of my boss who loves to knit and how she might appreciate this.
The afternoon rounds out quietly, sitting reading the book I spilt red wine over last night and considering tomorrow’s adventures. The birds chatter away happily this afternoon as they did this morning. They are small creatures happily ensconced in the trees and shrubs. We have played in the autumn leaves and marvelled at their colours. We have taken time to sit and breathe. The stones of the buildings have spoken to me and delighted me in their formations and assembly.
Tonight is a simple dinner, accompanied by fresh sourdough bread from Ross Inn Bakery. We tipple on some “mainland” Rose and generally manage to disregard the television and most things internet. It is a little bit of simplicity in the craziness of life.
As I write these ramblings, I am not ignoring the plight of the Tasmanian aboriginal people. Those who came to this country, and I use that in the generic sense of the word, really did seek to conquer. There were “wars” and the white man really was a terror to both those who were transported and to the local inhabitants. I trust we can learn from the past, acknowledge the mistakes and not forget whilst also trying to chart a better course into the future having that knowledge to guide our way but without seeking to sanitise or whitewash history to what seems to be a better story today.
