I have just arrived home from a fantastic 7 day sketching tour of Historic Hobart. With eight in the group we used Hobart city as our base and ventured out each day to a different location. The weather was very good for us with daily temperatures of around 23 and 24 degrees.
There is so much history connected with Hobart which is nestled on the banks of the Derwent River and was founded in 1803 initially as a penal colony.
It is truly a city proudly exhibiting its heritage, culture and spectacular scenery. We drove 1-1/2 hours to Port Arthur where we spent a full day exploring and sketching. This was the site of the penal colony. The many houses surrounding the gaol complex have been wonderfully restored so you can experience where and how the inhabitants lived. Ongoing restoration work is apparent in the gaol.
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| Port Arthur Penal Colony |
There were sketches in Salamanca Place with its original sandstone Goergian buildings, and of course historic Battery Point where some of the oldest houses in the area are found. Arthur Circle also proved a popular sketching site.
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| Some of the original settlers cottages at Battery Point |
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| Some of the group sketching the original houses at Arthur Circle |
A spacious air conditioned bus took us out of Hobart for three consecutive days. In Richmond we sketched Australia's oldest convict built bridge, and enjoyed the warm sunshine while we sat beside the river with the ducks and geese enjoying a frolic in the water.
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| Australia's oldest convict built bridge in Richmond. 1923. |
There was a real English feel about Richmond, and with the sketch above you can see the quaint two storey cottage with bright red canna lilies and white and blue agapanthus growing on the banks of the river.
The village of Ross was on the itinerary and it was also convict built with celtic symbols around the bridge arches.
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| Celtic symbols |
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| Sketching Ross Bridge |
Another very historic town we visited was Oatlands which boasted some wonderful Georgian houses and Callington Mill, where flour was ground in 1837. Fortunes were won and lost on flour mills but gradually the mill closed down in the face of changing technologies.
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| The miller's cottage which was a very basic two room house. |
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| Oatlands Lodge c1837 which was a guest house, and remains so today. |
As all good things must come to an end, so we left Hobart feeling the richer for the history of our Nation that we captured in our sketchbooks. And I certainly look forward to another historical visit.
