Real Tasmania

Hullllooooo!!!..........where is everyone!

Wed, 16 May 2012 01:53:26 +0000

hullo hullo hullo........I's back......nipped up to Darwin for a wee while, ......just got back this morning........Biiiiiggg! difference in weather......30 degs up there.....about minus fifty levven here!............so did ya miss me???........Huh did ya???

Moving to Tassie for work

Mon, 07 May 2012 07:17:24 +0000

Hi All,

I came across this website while researching for my potential move to Tassie. It has been a great source of info and thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences. A bit about me. I'm currently working in Melbourne and might be sent over by my company to Hobart with the office located in the city and I was wondering if I could get some info about suburbs to rent as well as the best and most cost effective way to move my furniture over. Oh and I have a dog too...

I have never been to Hobart before and I have no idea geographically where to start searching for places to rent. I'm hoping to get a 1 bedroom with a small yard near the city, within 20-30mins drive, and my budget is about $250/wk. Can anyone give me a few nice suburbs to start with? Also any advice regarding moving would be awesome!

Thanks in advance and although I'm a little anxious about my move, I'm really looking forward to this new adventure.

Vic...

Adamsfield Conservation Area: Osmiridium!

Tue, 01 May 2012 07:15:18 +0000

There's Osie in them there valleys!

On the road to Lake Pedder, over the western edge of the Florentine valley you can find the track to Adamsfield. Located in the South West Conservation Area, this area has a rich mining heritage, but for the most part it's returned to wilderness. It's the former site of an amazing settlement of miners digging for a rare metal in the South-West Tasmanian wilderness.

The metal of choice to mine in Tasmania in the early 20th century, especially if you had no experience, was Osmiridium. Very little investment was required, and (some) fortunes were made within weeks. Indeed the "motherlode" was found by "new chums". It was so striking that a poem was written about it. Here's the first part:

Jack Brennan’s Osie Lode

"There was hell to play, just up our way, a week or two ago
When the Osie Lode was found upon the Thumbs,
So once again the Diggers were a little bit slow,
And another find is booked up to the Chums.

But Jack Brennan has been searching for three long years I know
This is the Lode he sweetly talked about,
When he said some day the Diggers would find a Dinkum Show,
And it would be running truly North and South.

Oh you should have seen the Diggers when the news was passed around,
They were like a lot of ants upon a hill,
They rushed about both night and day pegging all the ground
And what’er you say you could not keep them still."
...

(From "Notes on the history of mining and exploration at Adamsfield" by C .A. Bacon, MRT Tasmania 1992, detailed maps of leases, history, and present day relics, very good! ref 1)

Many men left their families and headed west to strike it rich. So many that The Mercury newspaper (Hobart) in 1925 ran a series of articles for the hopeful. This is a map from that series.

If you want to go there today you'll most likely head in from Clear Hill to the west.

Adverts from that time include "Osmiridium Diggers' Supplies" at Canes (74-76 Elisabeth St Hobart). They supplied Tents and Flies, Picks and Handles, Shovels, Sluice Forks, Axes, Hatchets, and Dishes, Knives, Forks, Mug and Camp Ovens (ref 2) It was all basic equipment.

What was the big deal with Osmiridium? It's a curiousity now-a-days but that's all.

4.5mm nugget of Osmiridium from Adamsfield, courtesy of bluegems.com.au, they know their stuff!

The value of Osmiridium some 100 years ago is hard to understand. It's a rare, dense, tough metal, heavier than gold and relatively impervious to acids, bases and anything else. And basically it made excellent nibs for fountain pens. Back in the day, most writing was done in ink, and if you wanted to write a novel it most likely was done by hand. Typewriters were very expensive, and noisy and cumbersome. A good Osmiridium nibbed pen would last you a life-time.

Like so many older technologies exactly how Osmiridium was used in nibs is now mostly unclear. Wikipedia states "it was used in fountain pen nibs". Thankfully, the Mercury (1927) (ref 3) had an excellent article on the process, "Making a Fountain Pen: Through a London Factory Using Tasmanian Osmiridium" alongside an advert for that particular pen maker. You'll no doubt be reassured that it was an "All British product, with only Empire materials and British labour used"!

It seems incredible now, but tiny nuggets of Osmiridium were welded to the nib at the very point. They were then polished and cut using a very fast copper wheel to produce that thin "slit" that allows the ink to travel to the paper. And, perhaps even more incredible the size of the nuggets determined the price, nib-sized nuggets were worth a third more. A shrewd writer suggested that a miner with nuggets too large could use a "morter and pestle" to increase the value of them. Cambell Browns' "Review of the Osmiridium Mining Industry of Tasmania" (1919 ref 4) is the definitive work in this area, and Brown provides many pictures of the miners and their workings.

How to get there, and what are you going to see.

Parks and Wildlife Tasmania administer the Adamsfield site. You don't need a Parks Permit but you will have to book the key and provide a deposit ($300). Although this sounds like a hassle it isn't. The key is collected from the nearby Mt Field National Park (9am) and you can be on your way. (ref 5)

Opening the gate is probably the hardest part of the trip. A soft-roader 4wd should be OK to Clarks Huts and a 4wd with fairly good clearance will get you to Adamsfield. It's not a long walk from the huts to Adamsfield although you will have to wade across the second river, the river at the huts has a log foot bridge near the old sluices.

Clarks Hut

Relics

Ford

Water race

Log dam wall

The huts are privately owned and still used, so please respect that. Perhaps the best examples of mining equipment are to be seen there. Because the miners mostly used tents there is virtually nothing left of this once large town except water races and many (many) bottles. At its peak there were some 1000 men to 5 women in Adamsfield. Dance nights were interesting. Further along the track are the open cut workings from the 1960s.

This is a truly unique area of Tasmania, relatively accessible yet it is amazingly isolated. Very highly recommended.

Jon TBT

References

ref 1 http://www.mrt.tas.g...0/UR1992_20.pdf

ref 2 http://trove.nla.gov...|sortby=dateAsc

ref 3 http://trove.nla.gov...l-illustrated=y

ref 4 http://archive.org/s...age/n5/mode/2up

ref 5 http://www.parks.tas...e.aspx?id=19238

Request a New Global Gallery Album

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:01:58 +0000

If you have albums that you would like to nest together under a single collection heading you can make a post here to request a new global album be created within the Site Supporters Gallery Section.

Although I could make it so that only the person requesting the Global Album would be allowed to post images to it, this would soon turn into a nightmare as it requires a new member group for each instance. So, please respect the collections of others, and ensure your images are only posted to your own albums.

To have your Global Album created just make a post here with a title and brief description. Sooner or later your ever lazy admins will create it for you

Another bonus for our Site Supporters

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:56:53 +0000

In previous versions of our Gallery section, members were able to create sub-albums to better organise their images. For better, or worse, Invision has decided to remove this feature from the latest gallery version There are a number of complaints and suggestions as to how it could be improved from the original, which did have a few issues associated with it, so the feature MAY return in a later version.

After being prodded a little by Cascade, I have created a new section in the gallery that will allow Site Supporters to request an album to be created for them, which will allow the creation of sub-albums within.

All members can view the images, except those folk we banned and banished, and everyone except Guests, Banned, and Validating members will be able to comment on those images, but only Site Supporters can add images to albums in that section.

Our Site Supporters are what keeps this site alive, the bills paid, and everyone happy, so when a request for a special feature is made by one of those highly valued members, we will always try and find a way to make it happen. If you are not already a Site Supporter, please consider becoming one by making a donation of $20 or more to help offset the costs associated with keeping a site like this running.

Further info will be posted in the Site Supporters forum.

Fire Dogs

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:01:54 +0000

Most people have fire dogs.

So here's what a couple of fire cats look like.

Swamp Harrier

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:51:22 +0000

Swamp Harrier in flight.

Unfortunatly it was quite high,it eventually flew over of me while I was lying in the paddock patiently waiting for it to come closer.

Skylark

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:44:08 +0000

A Skylark hovering in flight near Woolnorth.

Gunns Plains NW Coast

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:37:31 +0000

Attended the ANZAC Day dawn service this morning and took the long way home.

Both photos are taken from the Gunns Plains lookout on the South Riana Road.

In the Kitchen

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:32:02 +0000

Just thought I'd have a little brag and show off my homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce that I cooked up today.

Targa Tasmania...Plimsoll Leg

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:27:08 +0000

I went out the Anthony Rd on Friday and sat on a rock for hours. It was so peaceful...then the cars started roaring past...now that got the blood pumping . This is a new leg to the course so I was pleased to go out and shoot it after missing last years round. You can see some of my shots here....more to come when I have finished processing them.

ripped off

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:37:38 +0000

we are devoted "shop local" folks,........... willing to pay well above the norm for whatever we need.......chook friendly .....free range piggys.......happy little sheepies and we will gladly kill em and eat em up!

we always shop for bread and buns at our local bakers delight.........recently we picked up a "loyalty" card......everytime you purchase something you get a stamp......when the card is full you take it in and get a free loaf of bread or so it said on the card.............

right, card full ......off I go to get my bread.......ummm!! "you have to buy goods to the value of $6 before you get the free loaf of bread"..............

"yeah! but i have my card stating I gets me a free loaf of bread when all my stamp possies are chocka, and they is!"................

"sorry, still have to buy $6 worth before you get the loaf of bread!"

"but a loaf of bread is only $3.50"

"we know sir but that's how it work's"

now didnt I tell you folks that life was getting more complicated!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........even "free bread" will cost ya!..........where's my rock!

Heads Up

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:11:41 +0000

I thought you folks who have supported and kept this site alive on many occasions deserved a warning of what is coming.

We have had what looks like a genuine request to post advertising on this site, and Shane & I have agreed to accept the offer. At this stage it is a post in a single topic that has been requested, and we will make sure it is done in both a tasteful manner, and in a way that does not detract from our overall direction.

It had to happen, and we will be keeping it under control. We have already refused a number of advertising offers that did not comply with how we saw advertising fitting in here.

We knew this site would eventually become commercialised, but we will keep VERY strict controls over how this happens.

Cradle Mountain

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:09:57 +0000

Hello all,

- Adding one of ours from Cradle Mountain area, here is the link to the whole set:

http://www.sunwaysit...75977&k=XFZDkz2

Attached Thumbnails

Calendar Upgraded

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:26:41 +0000

We now have the calendar module upgraded. please note that only admins and site supporters are able to add events to the calendar.

Please tell us if you have any problems using the calendar

Swift Moth

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:29:08 +0000

Have these around just after dark at certain times of the year. This is one that was still hanging around in the morning.

Grey Goshawk

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:22:17 +0000

This was taken a few years ago before I had my 100 - 400 lens.

Unfortunatly I have not seen it around since this was taken.

Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:18:34 +0000

Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike working the fence line in search of food.

How to update status

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:46:14 +0000

With the upgrade the update status box is gone from the top of the status updates listed on the front page. So where is it, and how do you do it now?

Ok, it can be found by looking at your profile, then the profile feed box on the left, or, and much simpler.. click the down arrow next to your name at the top right of the board (number 1 in the image below) and then simply type in the box (number 2 on the image below)

That is so simple even Dave could understand it

Layout Question

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:48:29 +0000

When I set up the front page image strip I chose a number of images based on my browser settings. Sorting out the bug Cascade told me about earlier I found that if the browser is smaller than what I use, there will be two rows of images.

Curious as to what an average browser width is and how many thumbs appear in a row for you? I see 11 images in a single row, what do you see? I can easily change the number of images.

Bee in flight.

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:17:07 +0000

Although technically not a macro shot I managed to capture this bee in flight after a few attempts with no success.

Queenstown 2013

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:01:04 +0000

Hi guys, currently living on the Gold Coast and not loving it. We have toured Tasmania 3 times now and want to move there in 2013.
I am a hairdresser and want to find work in Queenstown. Even opening a salon could be an option, my question is... Where does everyone in Queenstown get their hair cut? I only saw one salon there .

Brand Spanking New Gallery

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:42:32 +0000

With many thanks and much appreciation to Dave, the gallery has now been upgraded, and looking damn fine The numbers in the top right of some thumbs on the front page random list indicate how many comments have been made on the image.

I really do appreciate the way that our members never fail to help us out when required.

You guys, and girls, are worth your weight in gold

Chamberlain 9G Tractor Club

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:30:17 +0000

As already mentioned in reply to Shane's Clipper post these guys are also currently in Tassie touring the State. They primarily have fun touring and raising money for various community / State & Australian Charities.

Here's their blog. & Tasmanian Itinerary

They were at Westbury when I captured these shots and many more but I will have another and better opportunity when they eventually arrive in Gunns Plains for an overnight stay.

When working out the Itinerary their day 1 is the 7th of April

New Upgrade

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:54:20 +0000

Hi Mystic.

Seem to be some issues in the gallery area.
Went in to do some editing and got this error when I clicked my Vietnam Gallery link.

Fatal error: Call to undefined method IPSLib::makeProfileLink() in /home/realtasm/public_html/admin/applications_addon/ips/gallery/sources/libs/lib_albums.php on line 379

Plus this error is showing on all Gallery links.

Error: Could not load template 'user_popup' from group 'global'