Midwinter weekend on an island off an island surrounded by other islands

So, it is that midwinter time of year again. Always special to celebrate the solstice of shortest days and longest nights and look forward to when it happens again, but in reverse.

It is a pretty special day for a birthday too.

Anyway, this year we went to Hobart for the weekend. Not my idea - I'm all about NOT spending money at the moment, but Lauren had planned to go for the midwinter festival held there (Dark Mofo) as her treat to herself for her birthday. She said I could tag along, so I thought - why not ?

We'd been watching the weather so were prepared for the cold and rain - and it was such a refreshing change to the dry dry dry climate in central Victoria. It hampered some of our activities, but we had rented a car, so managed not to get too drenched or be constant icicles.

We had an early flight from Melbourne, so we had gone on a shuttle on Friday night and stayed at the airport. Not the greatest Holiday Inn we have ever stayed in, but convenient. The weather on arrival was crisp, but the sun was out and the rain clouds looked far enough away to not spoil our exploring.

We had a little wander around the Salamanca Market 300+ stalls selling food, drink, bric-a-brac and handcrafts - most locally made. Travelling only with carry-on makes you a discerning shopper though.

We were pretty hungry, no breakfast because of the early start, and you might remember we have had hangry travel experiences before. So we found somewhere - with the perfect name, and as it turned out perfect food.

We managed to get almost all the way to the top of Mt Wellington - part of the road was closed - but we got to the lookout anyway. By the time we walked back to the car the rain had arrived. Only a fine drizzle. The cloud and mist hung about the hills, it's a long time since we have seen that ! Scotland; Wellington.

On the way down the hill we stopped by the Cascades Brewery for photos, not tasting and then the Female Factory. We wandered about in the mizzle thinking about the women who had spent time there, sent to the other end of the planet mostly for petty misdemeanours centuries ago.

We stayed in Battery Point which looks so English you could imagine just being transported back to Georgian times. It is just a 10 minute walk to the city centre. 

I had coffee and cake with Christina Henri who is running a project to memorialise the 25000+ women transported to Australia as convicts between 1787 and 1868. It was wonderful to meet her and handover the bonnets I had made for the project.

Dinner was at the Winterfest on the waterfront - in the drizzly rain. Outside there were foodtrucks selling all sorts of deliciousness and inside there were more food and drink choices. Also inside was the seated banquet. Long, long tables adorned with candles and bathed in red light, people enjoying each others company. Such an awesome idea.

By now the rain had really begun to set in, so we braved the crowds to get some delicious donuts from Lady Hester Eats and an orange & cinnamon hot chocolate with coconut milk to take back to our private hotel.

 an iron for every adornment you could imagine (lace, frills, fluting) new admiration of laundresses

Sunday we went to an exhibition each which we enjoyed separately then set off for a drive. We had hoped to go to the miniature village Old Hobart Town in Richmond but the rain put paid to that. Then some poor navigating led us on a very roundabout journey to Oatlands. Had we been thinking more clearly we should have just taken the opportunity to drive to Launceston and explore there as well. (Next time). 

Carrington Mill, Oatlands

We'd thought about going to Bruny Island, so after a stop at the Old Kempton Distillery we carried on to Kettering. But it was late in the day, and the weather really was looking like a ferry trip might not be the most fun thing to do.

After a night time wander along the foreshore we found our way through the city to pick up pizza for dinner from Amici. Delicious. 

Monday we went back to Solstice for breakfast because it had been sooo delicious on Saturday, then drove to Port Arthur stopping at the Tessellated Pavement on the way. The tide wasn't right but we got some photos anyway.

 A fossil ? Or petrified wood ?

Port Arthur was a much larger site than I had thought, we wandered about on our own wishing there was a little more information on display. Pretty tricky holding an umbrella and camera while trying to read a foldout paper map. It is amazing that so much has survived there...but there is still potential to develop the experience further in my opinion; especially for independent visitors who don't want to join over-sized walking tours where you struggle to keep up or hear what the guide is saying. We didn't have time to spend in the visitor centre either as we had to get back for the flight home.

...and then we were home.

Transported

I made an exciting discovery about Joseph Dickinson (who I have written about before) on Ancestry, way back on Australia Day. Thanks to the banner on Ancestry for prompting me to search the convict records again that day. I don't even know what made me put his name in to search, as I had seen nothing in my 20+ years research to suggest he might have been a convict. But search I did - and results I found ! 

I haven't been able to find much about his trial or the crime. On his certificate of freedom (27 September 1841) along with the description of his numerous tattoos and the revelation that he had red hair and bluish eyes are the words "stealing a box". What sort of box ? what was in the box ? Or what was the box made out of ? There must have been something surely to make this a crime worthy of transportation. Perhaps it was nothing at all - just a way to send tradespeople to the new country - using any minor misdemeanour as an excuse. Joseph was a plasterer and so was his father before him. I would imagine plasterers would have been quite sort after in the burgeoning building trade.

We have all heard about people transported for crimes such as taking a loaf of bread, stealing blankets - objects which in reality are simply necessities of life. My other convict Mary Brown stole a couple of pairs of shoes with her friend Mary Cannon. (Actually I think my Mary was the accomplice not the mastermind). But a box ? It must have had some value - to Joseph to entice him to steal it, and to the owner who felt wronged by its loss and their desire to have it returned and the thief bought to justice. I will find out more, eventually.

Anyway, Joseph was sentenced at Westminster 30 January 1834, and sailed 11 April 1834 from London arriving in Sydney on the "Surry", one of 260 convicts on 17 August, 

 The Sydney Monitor (NSW 1828 - 1838) Wednesday 20 August 1834 page 2 article32146993-3-001

but still lying in stream on 23 August. The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), Saturday 23 August 1834, page 2 article/32147026 .

On the 1837 muster Joseph is assigned to T A Murray and located in the Goulburn district. He was granted a ticket of leave in 1838, and his certificate of freedom 27 September 1841. I haven't found an application to marry, although he must have married Ann Blackman about this time. He appears in the New South Wales, Gaol Description & Entrance Books 1818-1930 for Goulburn Gaol. He served two months imprisonment from 31 March to 28 May 1850, though I'm not sure what for. 

From reading copies of The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser (NSW : 1848 - 1859) on Trove, to try and discover his crime, I discovered that T A Murray had property in the Lake George area. This all ties in with Joseph's other records and backs up the birthplace of his daughter Sarah, which is written on her marriage certificate (although no record of that birth seems to exist anywhere else). Apart from this scrape with the law, Joseph's only other appearances in court in Australia were where he was a witness rather than an offender. Some of these are mentioned here .


Perhaps I should try the convict records with all my hard to find people, in case they too are hiding a secret.


This post forms part of Trove Tuesday as suggested by Amy, from Branches, Leaves & Pollen .