In Search of a Title

I want to go on a trip, but can't really, so it'll have to be a virtual trip. The good thing about them, is everyone else can come too!

When we were kids, before the new Bass Highway was built, the trip out to Deloraine would take fifty minutes, or longer if the traffic was held up be a slow car or farm vehicle. Then the traffic would build up into a long snake winding back further than we could see when we twisted around to look out the back window.

Along the fifty kilometre stretch between Launceston and Deloraine there are five towns, Hadspen, Carrick, Hagley, Westbury and Exton. Each town originated a coach stop on the road west, or so we were told. I don't know if that's true, but this is the old coaching inn at Hadspen.


The Red Feather inn, built in the 1840s. At the time I took this photo, November 2006, it looks like it has fallen out of use, but according to the website it was refurbished and reopened late in 2008.

( Hadspen )

Slight detour to church.


St John
The Evangelist
Catholic Church
1836
Australia's Oldest Existing
Catholic Church
MASS TIMES
1st & 3rd Sunday
of the month 8.30am
2nd, 4th & 5th Sunday
of the month 11am

It's fairly typical country town church, and not really all that interesting as these things go, but still I have photos so photos get shown. (Actually, I usually don't bother with the church photos, maybe I might do some more.)

( See inside )

We look at this side of the building today. Note the building on the left that looks like a two-storey house, the very enclosed yard and the cut-off wall on the right.



( More photos -- bet you didn't guess that. )

We're doing the gaol thing again, sort of. An associated chapel anyway. That is, it was built as a chapel but for most of its life, only part of it was a chapel.

( More photos, but you knew that. )

St Johns Church of England, Launceston

Yah, I can get photos off card again

Another new post card. On the back is a short letter dated "21-9-08". The image on the front is rather interesting though.


Yes, it's a view of the church at Port Arthur, possibly the most common image found on Tasmanian postcards, even more than Mt Wellington. It's one of those images that's you see too often and it doesn't change, so you don't even pause to look at it. *yawn* Just flick to the next one.

So what made me buy this?

( Read more... )

This is the Church of England at Hadspen. Thomas Reibey of nearby Entally (the house in the other photo) at various times archdeacon of Launceston, state politician & premier, start building this church in 1868 but stopped after a couple of years.

And it sat like this for most of the next century -- just walls.

It was finally completed and opened in 1961.



This is the other side.



The lighter row of stone at the top (top row in the second photo, more in the top photo) is the newer part. New vs old is particularly obvious when you look at a window.



Original work around the window and walls, with a row of new work at the top.



On the other side, new work starts about half-way up and around the window, it's sort of obvious.


From the inside (original above, newer windows below).


Church stained glass windows are annoying. Like all stained glass, it's intended to be viewed from inside, so if you're taking photos from outside, you can't get anything decent. So:

This is where I went today
( Read more... )