Today we met up with our Under Down Under Tour and our tour organizer, Evan. He will be driving us to the West Coast of Tasmania and back again. Under Down Under refers to the mainland of Australia being called Down Under and Tasmania being Under Down Under. Tasmania is a state of Australia, not a separate country.
Tasmania was inhabited by aboriginals for over 30,000 years before the British empire started to send convicts here from their overcrowded prisons. Crime was rampant due to the Industrial Revolution. People lost their jobs. Many were starving and stole food.
The convicts built early Australia. They were slave laborers. The USA was built with the aid of slaves from Africa. Australia was built by convicts, especially Tasmania.
Despite their dire situation, many could learn a trade and acquire land after they had served their seven years.
In light of the background of the Tasmanian people, one would be wise to watch your purses and wallets. Haha!
Whalers and convicts were its earliest inhabitants. Southern right was the best and most hunted whale. Electricity saved the whale.
Salamanca is now an upscale place to go with restaurants, bars, art galleries, and museums, but it wasn’t always that way. It was a dangerous no go zone. This is where public floggings took place.
Bush rangers were convicts who lived out in the bush and robbed and killed people.
Many of the old buildings were kept. Many were abandoned due to people leaving for the gold rush on the mainland.
We stopped often to use the toilet. Evan said we were to “squeeze the lemon”. From henceforth, he would locate lemon-squeezing stations.
We drove through Queenstown which is a big mining town and was mostly mined by convicts. The topsoil has been depleted, and it will take over a hundred years to grow anything again. The population is 1,000, and there are three pubs. That indicates that there is a lot of drinking going on there. Cop Shop is what Australians call a Police Station.
Lake Sinclair is where the Overland Track begins. The other terminus is Cradle Mountain. We will be there in 3 days by bus but it takes 7 days to walk.
We spent two nights in the fishing village of Strahan (pronounced Strawn). It is a one-pub town. Pubs are an approximate measure of the population. One pub means 1,000 inhabitants. Two pubs mean 2,000 and so on.
There are two main types of beer in Australia. It is divided by Cascade drinkers in the South and Boag’s in the North. There are roughly 250,000 people in the South and 250,000 in the north. Depending on where you are, that is what is served.
Tasmania has been called Apple Island and makes apple ciders. One of their best ciders is called Pagan Cider.
The drive to Strahan was long and hard driving. I told Evan that it must have been a difficult day. He said, “Yea, it left me naked.”
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