We started the morning in Hobart in the south of the state. Our flight was from Launceston in the evening. We followed the Tasman Highway north.
Oatlands is one of the villages the highway bypasses and we hadn’t intended stopping, but as we shot by something caught my eye and I just had to turn off. More of that in a moment.
Like much of Tassie walking the main street is a bit like stepping back into the 19th century. It is also like crossing half the world and dropping into an English village.
The village is largely built of local convict-cut sandstone. Most have corrugated iron roofs that replace the original shingles.
Almost every building was worth photographing so I’ve picked a few at random to share.
Little cottages like this
Grander residences
Former shops now residences
Shops that still fulfil their original function.
The colours of this one caught my eye.
I loved the faded sign on the side of this one.
A sweet old barn
The ANZ bank with attached manager’s residence.
These timber shops are more typical of those you would see in small Oz country towns.
Now to the sight that brought me into town.Callington Mill built in 1837.
Alas, the sun was badly placed for getting good shots of the front of the sails
The mill has been lovingly restored and is fully functioning.
Standing along side are the miller’s cottage
And the granary.
Another out building
The roofs have been restored to the original hand-split timber shingles that would have once clad most of the town's buildings.
Buildings like these in Melbourne would have been built with Welsh slate shingles. But Tasmania didn’t have the wealth of the Victorian goldfields to draw on, so they opted for a cheaper local option.
