history, scenery, victory

8/9/2019 history, scenery, victory

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From: David Jarman [[email protected]]

Sent: 10 June 2002 04:59

Subject: history, scenery, victory

dear all,

i'm back in melbourne now, a city of around three million people - about sixtimes as many as tasmania, a state the size of scotland. having spent almosta month on the island, it was all too easy to feel close to home when crossingthe forth and clyde rivers, or staying with families able to trace their ancestorsback half a dozen generations to the people who set sail to establish the farm.a sense of state identity is clear across australia, but it's a little easier toappreciate as a visitor to the country when tassie is so very different - you cancomfortably travel the length of the island state in a day for example. thescenery is as varied as the beaches are unspoilt, the mountains high and the

old growth forests lush and abundant. even by australian standards,tasmanians are ever conscious of the impact they're having on theenvironment, and the benefits it can have on them.

i spent a week or so in hobart, the compact state capital of 200,000 or so. thenatural setting of the habour beats sydney's with the quiet grace of a beckhampenalty - lack of iconic architecture not really missed when there's a mountainhigher than ben nevis within a mile or two of the heart of the old town. and oldit is, only sydney's been around longer since 1788, while the route from herenorth to launceston could well have been the busiest in australia beforemelbourne took off in the gold rush. film set streets in old suburbs rubshoulders with the mixed clientele pubs, the harbour wharfs gentrifying aswharfs do.

british attention in the 19th century also focused on nearby port arthur, thepenal settlement which is now a collection of restored officers' weatherboardhouses and the ruins of stone convict accommodation. almost weighed downby its past and those of the men who lived there, there's a calm atmosphere inthe place; too calm when doing the evening ghost walk...

travelling around the state, you can't help but pass through small towns - very

few miles of 4 lane highway here. names like bothwell, queenstown,richmond; occasionally the odd 'irish, scottish, welsh' shop; and plenty of anglican and scots churches suggest symbols of the familiar for somepioneering founding fathers. i'd be wary of recommending you drive aroundthough: you'd miss too much of the glorious sun-drenched wooded valleys, or the all too accessible coastal views if you were concentrating on the road.

nothing so good as getting out there on foot though, and with a third of thestate locked up in a forested 'world heritage area', there are enough deepwater lakes, granite mountains, spring-fresh streams and bush walks to keepthe most adventurous busy. again it feels a little scottish highlandish in

places, but apparently austrians feel a connection too, and i guess manyothers as well. lake st.clair, the freycinet peninsula and the many bushwalks



around cradle mountain were highlights, but then there's the crashing seas of the north coast and some of the purest air on the planet in the centralhighlands.

there's a good case for promoting tasmania as a separate experience from

mainland australia. it has its own international award winning wines, cheesesand beers, and a population who seem ever keener and more proud to drawin visitors. from overseas yes, but i've only heard good things fromaustralians who've travelled interstate to get there - seems plenty head therewhen young, and as it gets ever easier to fly around on the cheap would loveto move across later in life. for the summer at least, but if you're spoilt on year round tropical sunshine your shoulders just aren't built for warm coats iguess...

there are parts of the hills where the huts have a second door some 8 foot off the ground to make them accessible when the snow sets in. you'll also find a

close link between country and town with the state economy relying on both.the current drought isn't doing anyone any favours as it threatens to disruptthe flow of electricity through the well established hydro-electric schemes. thefuture's windy though with scores of huge windmills planned to harness a littlemore nature. another big money spinner is the logging industry - few object tothe managed farming of pines, but pristine old growth forests are beingslashed to produced woodchips for paper. a few more object when beingovertaken by a thundering oversized lorry carrying a few dozen tons of ancient woodland to the coast.

the island also produces 80% of the world's medical grade heroin.

anyone wishing to make a dollar or two could introduce central heating anddouble glazing. electrical heaters and wood fires are the norm - i'd never seen 'smokey' appear on a weather forecast before.

it's a superb island, at times beautiful and awesome. a destructively closeinteraction between human and environment has left its imprint around thebarren hills of mining districts, but lessons have been learned and hopefullycoexistence can be managed for long term gain. as someone once said, behere now.

*

australia woke up to the world cup this queen's birthday weekend as italian,english and other communities cheered on their heroes, and the neutralspicked which sides they did and didn't want to do well. you'd be forgiven alittle confusion when the presenters refer to the '17th world championship of football', but that was definitely prince david's mohawk on the screen.

there's also an advert played at half time where pele talks about the teamspirit of playing in the tournament, but says there was something the players

never discussed; a voiceover then gives details of an impotence helpline.



on that uplifting note,david.x

history, scenery, victory

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