Travellin' Penguin

What a beautiful summer’s day we’re having but I must say I’d love a good rain storm. It is so dry here in Tasmania. 

BOOK OF THE WEEK

I just finished a really good Tasmanian book. I really liked it. I mentioned it before. It is called My Heart at Evening by Konrad Muller. The author grew up in Melbourne, studied Arabic in Egypt and was an Australian diplomat posted in Cairo and Tel Aviv. He now works on a small family vineyard in northern Tasmania. This book is his first novel. 

The story:  In 1832, Van Diemen’s (original name of Tasmania) land. A troubled emissary narrates his journey north from Hobart Town to Circular head (in the northwest of state) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suicide of Henry Hellyer- surveyor,  amateur botanist, artist and friend to the wife of the Chief Agent in the north. There he navigates the horror of a fledgling nation.It is an irresistible foundational story and observation of the forces that shaped Tasmania, and Australia more broadly from power, to mateship, sexuality a nd isolation-forces we still recognise today (book blurb). 

From Chat GPT-  Henry Hellyer was an English surveyor and explorer who played a crucial role in opening up the remote north-west of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen’s Land) in the 1820s.

Why he matters in Tasmanian history

1. Surveyor for the Van Diemen’s Land Company
In 1825, the powerful Van Diemen’s Land Company was granted vast tracts of land in north-west Tasmania. Hellyer was appointed chief surveyor. His task was to:

• Explore and map rugged, heavily forested country
• Lay out farms and townships
• Plan access routes and infrastructure

2. Founding of key settlements
3. Overland exploration
He cut tracks through extremely dense bush between the north coast and the inland plateau — an extraordinary feat at the time. His journals describe:

• Thick rainforest
• Difficult river crossings
• Encounters with local Aboriginal Tasmanians
• Harsh weather and isolation

His work was physically punishing and psychologically demanding.

***********************************************************************

Henry died of suicide and Governor Arthur at the time wanted to know the circumstances around his death. The book is about the narrator going to the northwest of the state and trying to get the story. The writing is beautiful. I loved this man’s writing. The history is anything but dry. It is an easy read for learning so much about this time period and this man.

MY COMMONPLACE JOURNAL

I came across this type of journal recently and I am really enjoying writing one. I enjoy seeing how others use it.

A commonplace journal is a personal notebook where you collect and organise useful or meaningful information—such as quotes, ideas, observations, and excerpts from things you read. Instead of recording daily events like a diary, it serves as a curated reference of knowledge and inspiration you want to remember and revisit

While reading the Henry Heller book I took notes of places in Tasmania I wasn’t sure of location. I had some 1800s clothing vocabulary I didn’t know. There was a quote a man uttered under his breath about another I didn’t know what it meant. I jotted these words/quote down. At the end of my reading session I looked them all up and wrote it in my commonplace journal. I had a lot of fun doing so as I love research and the rabbit holes that follow.

I’ll share a couple of examples. 

• While walking in a garden the flowers Delphiniums were mentioned. I couldn’t remember what they were. When I looked them up and saw the photo it was a forehead slapping moment. Of course I know what those are.

• Describing a woman’s. clothing the word “pelisse” was something she wore. What the devil is a pelisse? Turns out it is a long or short dress/garment with a tightly fitted bodice, often with embroidery decoration.

  

• The names of two children were Walterus and Carolus. Why not just Carol and Walter. I wanted to know the origin. Turns out it is of a Latin origin. It was then shortened. It is of English/Dutch origin.

• One man in authority, talking to another man who is a freed convict (not as good as him, of course) mutters under his breath at the end of the conversation “Iscariot!” Why call a man an Iscariot?  Turns out it is a reference to Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus. Iscariot has become a permanent reference to a man who betrays another.
• I wondered why Emu Bay was called that. Are there emus in Tasmania? Not now but supposedly at one time there were. I need to look into that one a bit more.

I had a lot of fun looking these terms up and I wrote them in my Commonplace journal and then I illustrated them with my five year old’s drawing skills.

I now have this terminology committed to memory. Ha!

With an older brain it is lovely to know there are tricks to keeping one’s memory of something one reads!

PHOTOGRAPHY:

I haven’t done any photography this week but our photo group is going to a wetlands area on Friday morning. I understand there could be a platypus there as well as birds and who knows what else. So stay tuned for a couple of photos from this wetlands  I never knew this wetlands is where it is, a 25 minute drive away tucked behind a hotel.

So all the best for the rest of the week and I’ll catch up again.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Are you going anywhere this week you’ve never been before?  I find it’s always a fun thing to do. Maybe shop, maybe enjoy a. New nature walk, maybe a new place to have a coffee or a meal. If not why not do so. 

Books of the week.

I’m currently listening to Lily Brett’s Old Seems to Be Other People. I have always enjoyed her a lot. Brought up in Melbourne but now lives in New York City she tends to write short essays, almost anecdotes of the thoughts in her head. Many about life experiences, her relationship with her father who at the time of writing is 99 yrs old. She is quite a hypochondriac. Her parents lost everything while interred in the death camps of WWII but survived. Although other family members all perished.  Listening to this audio book is like sitting in a crowded living room in a New York apartment with a lot of ‘tchotchkes.’  I have always loved books about New York City but have never been there. I have a large image in my head of probably old New York and if I visited I would lose that. It is the only city in the world I feel that way about. 

The other very short book I read was Claire Keegan’s story Foster. What a beautiful book. I will say that again. It is just so beautiful and the ending would make for great discussion in a book group. I read it in a single setting. I will give you the Good Reads description in case you haven’t read it though everyone I know has told me to read it. 

“It is a hot summer inn rural Ireland. A girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm, not knowing when she will return home. In the stranger’s house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known. Before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. But in a house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers how fragile her idyll is.”

Reading this book is like sitting indoors on a rainy evening with a cup of hot chocolate and a purring cat in your lap. I will probably read it again. It is only 96 pages long so I guess more of a novella. 

Photography this week

I haven’t done too much this week. A friend and I popped into the Botanical Gardens looking for things in the lily pond. Insects, ducks, any thing that sparks our interest. It is such a lovely place to drop into and only 15 minutes away from where I live. Going in late afternoon is nice as not many people are there and no running and screaming kids darting around. 

Playing with filters.

Random photos from the bus. Each time the bus stopped on way home I snapped a picture out the window.

Vinnies thrift shop- always several people milling around

Hobart street scene. All our electric boxes in town have art work on them by various people.

Life

As I write this I have the windows open on a mild summer’s day.   The council just laid about a meter (it seems) of hot tar on the road out front and the smell is strong. Now they have big roller machines going back and forth flattening it out. I always hate to take the car out on hot tar but I think by this evening when I need to leave it will be pretty well squashed into the ground. Looking forward to the white lines.

There is going to be a lunar eclipse tonight right across Australia and a blood moon and I have another engagement so can’t take up the invitation to go to the top of Mt Wellington and try to get photos. Even the clouds are moving away. I am really disappointed I can’t get up there. I guess there will be other nights but the lunar eclipse could be interesting but photographing the moon can be tricky. You need a building or a tree in front or beside it as it rises. If you’ve ever pointed your camera or phone camera at the moon and snapped a shot you’ll know what I mean. It turns into a “nothing-burger” as one of the photographers in America often says about photos he critiques. I already have a bunch of nothing-burgers so don’t need any more.

Family life with 5 pets.

Peanny falls asleep watching me write this.

All of our guys are doing well. Our cat, Cousin Eddie was at the vet last week for a severe gastritis but modern medicine has knocked that right out of him. People can break the world speed record when they hear a cat retching and about to throw up on your bed. We often have someone sprinting across a room to move him to the floor before he finishes the task.  It is a good way to really fly out of a chair.

That about sums up life around here for the past 10 days or so. Let’s hope it gets a bit more exciting. I did book a couple of photography tours but they are later in the year. More on that later.

All the best for the rest of the week. 

Question. Did any other Australian see the blood moon and eclipse?

*********************

Note: I wrote this yesterday then accidentally deleted it. So the lunar eclipse was last night. I could see it from our yard. The moon did in fact look orange and I watched it as the shade covered the moon.

Good Morning from Penguin and Me

Yesterday we had a bit of travel and camera work. Last week we started a new book. There are photos up today as well from a well known Tasmanian tourist spot.

Let’s begin. 

First the book. The latest book is by Tasmanian author Konrad Muller. He is a Tasmania implant as many of us are.

Konrad Muller grew up in Melbourne, studied Arabic in Egypt, and was posted as an Australian diplomat to Cairo and Tel Aviv. He now works on a small family vineyard in northern Tasmania. His literary writings have appeared in The London Magazine. My Heart at Evening is his first novel.

Robert Dessaix (author) describes it as: A glossy black cockatoo of a book, as black as midnight, menacingly courtly, with mischievous scarlet flashes.

There is Tassie history, nature and mystery I am told. I actually went to the launch of this book awhile back at Fullers book store so am looking forward to seeing what it is about. 

Now onto the travel. Yes it was only a day but it was still travel. I joined a photography tour run by Tasmanian Photography Tours. {Wilkography_Tasmania)

There were 8 of us with two professional photographer guides. Ben and Charles. We hopped into the mini van and drove the hour plus up to Triabunna on the east coast of Tasmania. We then received a big box of yummy sandwiches and one of the members shared a wonderful almond cake. 

We hopped onto the Maria Island ferry with a million very excited Asian tourists (it is summer tourist season after all) and off we went on the 35 minute journey to the island. Once on the island everyone dispersed and the island seemed almost vacant. Except for us.

Maria Island is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The 115.5-square-kilometre island is entirely occupied by the Maria Island National Park, which includes a marine area of 18.78 square kilometres off the island’s northwest coast. It is a car-free national park. It is renowned for its pristine natural beauty, abundant wildlife (including wombats, kangaroos, and Tasmanian devils), and rich convict history.

Cape Barron goose

As it was a very bright sunny day the wombats, wallabies and devils of course were sound asleep somewhere out of sight. However we did have fun photographing the Cape Barren geese. These birds are of significant size and they do have quite the attitude.

We hiked up and down hills, through the bush and admired the beautiful views all while learning new photography strategies from our hosts. It was lots of fun. We got back to the dock at 2:30 and headed back to mainland Tassie. 

We were presented with a great big box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for afternoon tea and that just added to a lovely day. Another half hour drive to the north and we landed on Kelvedon Beach. We spent around an hour pr so there enjoying the Tasman Sea and surrounding area with our tripods and cameras. I finally arrived home at 7:30 pm, was in bed at ten and slept a good 9 hours as I was exhausted after the almost 9 km walk up and down hills, over loose sand, rocks and the freshest air on the planet. What is it about older age and fatigue?

I didn’t think one could do a lot on the island in just a few hours but I was wrong. It is certainly accessible from Hobart for a day trip. Some people were camping or staying in some historic basic colonial accommodation on the island. But the day trip is still very doable and a lot of fun. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I would like to visit again when not a hot summer day and the wildlife are more active.

So there we have it. Another week of life.

The Penguin has a good question for you all this week.

What was the last island you were on? 

Travellin’ with Penguin since 2012

Instagram wanderlensphotographyTasmania