Handmadehobart Market

It is a couple days late, but I think some mental space was needed before I even felt up to posting some pictures of................

Our stall at the handmadehobart market! 

My SIL, a friend and myself all shared a stall. This picture is from the second day when we had improved our look (stay tuned for another post on that), and I think it looks pretty awesome :)

I made these neckwarmers using my Urban Shells Scarf pattern (free!). (My other free crochet patterns can be found here, two of them also have pdf downloads). The shawl pins are made from horn, I think all the ones you can see here are made from ox horn.

My SIL made these adorabe overalls. She is one clever chicky! The best part is..... custom orders! She also made the recycled denim bibs you can see hanging up on the basket and the pink flowery dress lying on the table. If you scroll back up to the first photo you can see some more of what she makes. The few things that did not sell at the market are now in her shop, Wee Threads.

In this photo you can see two of the crochet beanies (pattern coming soon!) made by me for the stall. Hanging up are the gorgeous knitted dresses made by Jeka B Handmade. These dresses are incredible. My neice has a pinny like the red one hanging up and it is so adorable on her. The blue and brown baby beanie and the two neckwarmers you can see at the front (the black one and the light blue one) were also made by Jeka B Handmade. She does custom orders too!


The market goes over two days and happens every two months in Hobart, Tasmania. All the stalls were amazing. I bought a gorgeous scarf from one and did some swaps with a couple other stall holders. I will be back later in the week to show you what I got! 


It was a great experience, I loved meeting other stall holders and am hanging out for the next market we do!


Kathy xxx

Red Sun...

... there was a fire somewhere in Tasmania when this picture was taken (about a week ago now).

Bruny Island: Barnes Bay (Part Two)

A continuation from yesterday, here are some more photographs of Barnes Bay.

A rusty boat shed lock.

Bruny Island: Barnes Bay (Part One)

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to Barnes Bay with some family and friends to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday. I had a great time taking photos! Enjoy!

(And come back tomorrow for some more!)

One of the many boat sheds along the beach.

Looking up: this tree is reaching out over the edge of the cliff.

Still looking up.

Tas Lit Tues: Online Resources

Today it is Tuesday! Time for some Tasmanian Literature related stuff!

I thought that today I would compile a bit of a list of sites to do with Tasmanian Literature - a sort of "resource post".

Good Places for an Overview of Tas Lit:

Tasmanian Literature, Wikipedia

 The Companion to Tasmanian History > Literature (University of Tasmania)

Association for the Study of Australian Literature > Tasmania (The first name listed in this article is that of my thesis supervisor, Philip Mead. In the next paragraph is some information about Danielle Wood, who in 2007 was one of my lecturers.)

Searching Resources:

The Australian Literature Resource (AusLit) (A fantastic database, which I used extensively for my thesis on Tasmanian children's literature.)

Tasmanian Websites: 
Brand Tasmania > Arts

Brand Tasmania Newsletter, February, 2004, Issue 34 (A page that give a brief summary of several books by Tasmanian authors.)

Fellowship of Australian Writers Tasmania (Meeting are held in Hobart once a month. The site also has biographical information on members, as well as information about members publications. There are competitions, but I gather that you need to be a member to take part in the majority of them.)  

The Tasmanian Writers' Centre  (The website for the Salamanca based Tasmanian Writers' Centre)

So, this is a start. As I find more sites I will be adding to this post, so expect it to be super long in a couple of years time!

Bruny Island Fare

As I have told you, my husband and I went camping with a bunch of friends on south Bruny Island from the 27th of December, 2009, until New Years Day, 2010.

While we were there, we partook in some freshly caught seafood (though let it be known we didn't catch any of it, we only ate what others caught):

Abalone... it was cooked a bit fast, I think, so it was a bit tough, but you still feel super special eating it because you know how expensive it is!

Crab. This was cooked to absolute perfection. Delicious!I think if you spread the legs out it would have been close to 2 feet (60cm) from leg tip to leg tip. Slightly bigger than the ones you find under the rocks around rockpools!

There was also flounder once or twice (which I helped to get on one night! They are freaky!), but that stopped after a midnight shark scare that actually left one of the guys knocked over in mid-thigh depth water (thankfully I wasn't helping that night).

While eating the freshly caught seafood, I couldn't help but think of the Aboriginal tribe that used to roam Bruny Island and how they would have eaten the very same things that we ate during that camping trip. 

I wonder if they considered Abalone a delicacy like we do?

Sunset

Last night the sunset was simply gorgeous. Having a new camera, we simply had to try out the 'sunset' function. My husband took these pictures. Stunning, don't you think?

Chess Board at Franklin Square

Chess Board at Franklin Square
Originally uploaded by kathytakesphotos

I logged into Flickr today for the first time in over a month. Imagine my surprise when I had a message saying that this photo of mine had been shortlisted to go in the Schmap Hobart Guide, which gets published at the end of January.

This photo of the chess board at Franklin Square is one of my least favourite photos of those I have on Flickr, but it will be interesting (and exciting!) to see if it gets chosen!

Bruny Island: An Overview

Bruny Island is a beautiful place and it has quite a lot of significance in Tasmania's history. 

Captain Cook landed on it at Adventure Bay, on the east side of South Bruny. Lots of other explorers also visited (or at least tried to) Adventure Bay: Abel Tasman, Tobias Furneaux  (who named it) and William Bligh.

A globe at Adventure Bay.

 

The island itself and the channel of water between it and mainland Tasmania are named after a French explorer, Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. The channel is called the D'Entrecastreaux Channel.


Truganini, the most famous of all the Tasmanian Aborigines, came from a tribe which lived on Bruny. 

At the south end of Adventure Bay. The water was beautiful but FREEZING!

 

Bruny Island is made up of a north island and a south island, which are joined together with a narrow isthmus, called "The Neck". So original! North Bruny is less than half the size of South Bruny. Here's a map so you can take a look. On it you can also see Captain Cook's landing place.

An artistic shot of the lighthouse... the person in the front seat was trying to ruin the photo but I love how it turned out.

On Cape Bruny, which is way down south, is a very old lighthouse: The Cape Bruny Lighthouse. It was built in 1838. When it was first in use, there were no roads on the island. To get supplies to the lighthouse boats would land at Jetty Beach (now a camping site in Great Taylor's Bay - look for the green 11 on the map). Supplies were then carried overland to the lighthouse on a track that became the first road on Bruny. Now, it is probably the bumpiest!

The lighthouse is no longer in service, but it remains a popular tourist attraction, which is understandable because it really is a gorgeous lighthouse in a stunning location. 

Tas Lit Tues: Tasmanian Authors

When I wrote my thesis in my honours year at university, I wanted to write on Tasmanian literature. It fascinated me. But I hardly knew of any Tasmanian authors, except for a few I had studied in a unit all about Tasmanian Literature. So today, instead of posting a poem or an excerpt from a book (they take ages to type up!) I thought I would list a few Tassie authors, with a note or two about each one.

Nan Chauncy - (28 May 1900 – 1 May 1970) an author of novels for ages 10 -16, very popular in her time (approximately 1960-1970). However, not even her award winning books have ever been republished. Go to this post for more.

Marcus Clarke - (24 April 1846 – 2 August 1881) born in London, later emigrated to Australia. He visited Tasmania in 1870, for first hand experience of the place he was writing about in articles on the convict period. He is most famous for The Term of His Natural Life. I've not yet read it, partly because it is a very think book, and partly because my mum says it is depressing.

Marcus Clarke

Richard Flanagan - (born in Longford, Tasmania, in 1961) maybe one of the best known of Tasmania's authors, his latest book, Wanting, only came out in 2008. The Sound of One Hand Clapping was made into a film in 1998. He has written five novels in total, besides non-fiction (he is a historian) and political articles. His first novel was Death of a River Guide.

Christopher Koch - (born in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1932) author of eight books. I have only read his first one, The Boys in the Island (1958), which I loved. The Year of Living Dangerously (1978) has been made into a movie, starring Sigourney Weaver and Mel Gibson. He is a beautiful writer. I don't think I will ever forget The Boys in the Island.

Allan Smith - Okay, not famous (yet!) but I had to put him in because he is my old high school science and physics teacher. He used to read it to us during homeroom (and occasionally during science), often making changes as he read it. I still remember it well, and that was in 2003. All profit from the sale of the goes to the Fistula hospital in Ethiopia, run by an Australian doctor, Catherine Hamlin. Go here for more - you can even read the first seven chapters. (There is also a sequel, but I can't remember what it is called.)

The cover of Allan Smiths novel, designed by his son.

Margaret Scott - (1934 - 29 August 2005) best known for being a poet, she was also an educator  and public intellectual, working at the University of Tasmania for several years. After retiring she lived on the Tasman Peninsular (where Port Arthur is located). After the Port Arthur Massacre, she wrote a book that goes through the events of the day and those surrounding it: Port Arthur : a story of strength and courage (1997). I have read this book, and it really honours all the emergency workers that played important roles that day, as well as remembering those who died and those who lost family members. I cried a lot while reading it.

Tas Lit Tues: You've Got Buckley's

Today's spotlight isn't quite on Tasmanian Literature, but it is on something that has passed into popular expression, so I think it counts!

On Sandy Bay Road, just where Battery Point turns into Sandy Bay, is a little triangle of green.

See the sign? That explains the story behind the popular saying "You've got Buckley's", or "Buckley's chance".

Here is what the sign says:

Buckley's Rest

This reserve takes its name from William Buckley, who escaped from the convict camp at Port Phillip in November 1803, lived with indigenous inhabitants for 32 years. His remarkable story of survival is said to be the basis of the colloquial expression "Buckley's chance". He spent his later years living in Arthur Circus, Battery Point. Following his death in 1856 he was buried in St George's Burial Ground (est.1841) which was located to the rear of this small reserve.

So there you go! When you tell someone they've got Buckley's, your NOT telling them that they have absolutely no chance of succeeding/surviving/getting something/whatever, but that they have a good chance of soon having a fantastic story to tell!

Rain Making

Over the weekend we had a LOT of rain in Southern Tasmania. Now, I don't know if this happens where you live, but here there seems to be certain things that help bring on the rain.

Here are some of the things:

Hanging out washing. A sure way for a light drizzle in winter, or a sudden shower in summer.

Planning a picnic somewhere with no rainproof shelter. (Prepare for thunder and lightening!)

Getting married in a garden with no backup plan. It happened to me. Houses were flooded that day.

If you want nonstop rain for three days, buy water to fill up your water tank. That's what my mother in law and her husband did last week... the day before it started to pour.

I'm sure there are more ways to make it rain! What activity do you do that brings it on? Tell me in the comments!!!!!!!!!!

Saint Davids Park III

You've seen the entrance and found out it is a cemetery. Now it's time for some pretty pictures!

The main walkway through the park. The trees make a shady tunnel to walk under.

In the shade of the trees are many plants, though not many of them are flowering at the moment. These Hydrangeas are one of the few plants curently in flower.

These steps connect the park with the memorial walls (see yesterdays post).

Stone, sunshine and flowers. I love this photograph.

For me, Hobarts most attractive feature is its joining of old and new. Here, a gazebo and the Conservatorium of Music (University of Tasmania) somehow look good together in the same shot, despite the differences between them.

The gazebo. It is humble, but has been stood on by famous characters (Humphrey Bear) and people (George from Playschool). Quite a few classical musicians have also played their instruments on here. Not quite as exciting as Humphrey Bear and George, I know, but it does sound beautiful.

One of the walls that borders the park.

Usually, there are people dotted all over the grass. When the Christmas Carols were held here, the park was overflowing with people. It was great!

Another entrance to the park, this one is diagonally opposite to the one with the lions. We will be leaving the park through here. Beyond is Sandy Bay, which we will have to explore some other time!

I hope you've enjoyed our three-day exploration of St. Davids Park! If you're in Hobart, come here with some lunch and a frisbee, and see if you can find someone in the cemetery with the same surname as you!

Saint Davids Park II

So, St. Davids Park is a bit more than just grass, trees, a gazebo and lion statues.

It's a graveyard!

'Cemetery' might be a better word.

There are two types of graves in St. Davids Park. Memorial, and - for lack of a better word - tombs. Here is a 'tomb':

This is some of the writing on it:

I love how the sun is hitting it.

Here's another 'tomb':

In it are (or, were... the coffin is from 1859!) the remains of a man named James Kelly. I wonder if he was related to Ned?

Slightly seperated from the rest of the garden, down a flight of stone stairs (you'll see them tomorrow!) are walls with memorial plaques on them.

I didn't look at the plaques themselves (I had to meet my husband at the hairdressers and was already running late), but I'm sure I would have recognised at least some of the names.

Regardless of whether I'd recognise any names or not, the wall is very picturesque!