You know how there are, for many places in the world, tourist must-dos? In Paris you must climb the Eiffel Tower, for example. Well, in Tasmania, doing a Gordon River cruise is one of these. I have done it before, but back in 1974. I don’t remember a lot except that it was beautiful. Len had never done it before, so of course it was on our itinerary – and we decided to do it in style, booking, unusually for us, the luxury “Captain’s Upper Deck” option. It was fun – and not uncomfortably posh as I feared! Two thirds of our co-passengers were people our age and older on a “Captain’s Choice” tour of some Aussie islands.
Cruisin’ da river
The morning cruise takes about 6 hours, from 8.30am to 2.30pm, and starts by going out Macquarie Harbour* through the Hell’s Gates and into the Southern Ocean to let us experience the waves of the Southern Ocean. Fortunately they weren’t too big this morning! Indeed, we had pretty much a perfect day for the cruise – calm, clear with pleasant temperatures (though it was cool if you ventured out on deck).
As we cruised we were told quite a lot about the harbour, about:
- some of the lighthouse keepers, and their sometimes tragic stories
- the convicts who called the entrance “Hell’s Gates” because of the brutal reputation of the convict settlement on Sarah Island (though, the name has a double whammy because it also aptly describes the narrow and rather perilous entrance into the harbour)
- the intensive fish farming operation – rainbow trout, atlantic salmon and ocean trout – established in the 1980s and now a huge business for companies like Petuna and Tassal.
Back in the harbour, our boat, the Lady Jane Franklin II, took us down the Gordon River, past Sarah and Grummet Islands and into the first gorge where those of us interested disembarked at Heritage Landing and did the little 400m boardwalk through dense temperate rainforest. We could see why most convict escapees failed to get away. This is dense stuff! Indeed, we were told that one convict who escaped and managed to make it right over to the east was given a job in the surveyor’s department! Anyhow we saw many of the native species, including the now protected huon pine, beech myrtle, laurel. We were told we’d not hear many birds because many of the trees (tree types) here preceded birds and don’t provide the sort of food birds need. Fascinating. We assume it’s true.
Most of us I’m sure knew that the Gordon River is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, but it was interesting to hear that this Wilderness is only one of two World Heritage Sites that meets 7 of the 10 possible natural and cultural criteria. To qualify, a site need only meet one, but while many do meet three or four, only two reach 7!
Anyhow, after this little boardwalk, it was back on board for lunch, while the boat turned back up the river to Sarah Island where we were to get off for another tour. We were encouraged to join one of the tours on the island, rather than go it alone, because “It’s not history. They’re actors and they’re very enthusiastic”! Oh dear! We suspect this was to encourage people who might think history is boring to take the tour rather than wander the paths themselves, which you could do. But, of course, it was history – albeit presented with a level of entertainment. As we walked around a section of the island we were given stories about the island and its inhabitants during its penal settlement days from 1822 to 1833. The people, the timeline, the general facts were all I believe drawn from fact.
You can read up on Sarah Island elsewhere on the internet so we won’t tell it all here, but it was a “banishment settlement” for re-offenders. The convicts engaged in several industries including shipbuilding (using the wonderful properties of the Huon Pine), tanning, shoe-making and brick-making. It was, though, a brutal place, with horrendous punishments, including floggings with the “Macquarie Cat” (a harsh version of the cat-o’nine-tails) and solitary on the tiny Grummet Island. With the arrival of shipbuilder David Hoy in 1928, ship production stepped up, and by the time the penal settlement closed, it had made over 100 vessels. Remnants of the wooden wharves are still visible, as are ruins of some of the brick buildings. There are fascinating (though sometimes gruesome stories) to be told about Sarah Island, including escapes, cannibalism, and contraband entrepreneurship.
After the convict settlement closed the island was used by “piners”, a word which initially confused us. We thought the tour guide didn’t know how to pronounce “pioneers”! There is no settlement on the island now.
I should briefly mention the food on board for we “upper deckers”. We were served : canapés, and could eat from a cheese, nuts and dried fruit board, and for lunch there was a buffet including local produce (such as cured wallaby, smoked salmon, and hot Petuna ocean trout). Drinks of the hot, cold and alcoholic variety (including Ninth Island wines) were served whenever you wanted them.
The Ship That Never Was
… is a play at the Visitors Centre. It has been running for 22 years, and tells the true story of the Frederick, the last ship built on Sarah Island and which 10 convicts commandeered and sailed to Chile. This is a comic, pantomime-vaudeville-style retelling – by the Round Earth Company whose actors also do the Sarah Island tours! They know their stories and make history fun. There’s a lot of audience participation as you’d expect, with not only the usual “booing” and singalong, but the dragooning of audience members to fill out the ranks of the cast. One such audience member was our own Len as the Frederick’s alchoholic Captain. He did such a good (?) job of acting that the main storyteller, playing convict James Porter, referred to Len’s using the Oliver Reed school of method acting. You can judge for yourselves from the video below. In a funny little coincidence, brother Ian informed me by email that our father had played exactly the same role on his visit here many years ago. Like father like son-in-law it seems. Anyhow, it’s a very entertaining show with, I’m sure, some history there amongst it all!
* Macquarie Harbour we were told is the second biggest in Australia, and bigger than Sydney Harbour
Pictures from the day…
Be patient, these videos are about 1 minute and a half long, and may take a while to load.
Cruising the Gordon River…
The Ship that Never was …
We did the Gordon River cruise, too – it was memorable though a dull day that we did it. Also remember the board walk.
Dad’s performance was also memorable – what a co-incidence! His performance was out on the street with a far less impressive stage – I seem to remember he was in a rowboat which made the drunken act a bit more difficult. Good fun, though.
Very funny, isn’t it, about Len and Dad doing the same role!
Alison emailed me saying that when she did the cruise it was freezing, and all she wanted was for it to be over.
Absolutely the Sarah Island acted interps is drawn from fact, as is the story of the Ship that Never Was. Richard Davey, who was behind them both and sadly died of cancer a couple of years ago used some very well respected Tasmanian historians while writing and developing those programs. As for the birds, quite correct, you don’t get nearly as many in the wet forests because the living is easier elsewhere. Like Len’s performance – those years on the wine trail stood him in good stead when his opportunity arrived!
Thanks Ian … I rather felt that was the case from the little bit of research I did. Unfortunately, some on the tour were sceptical.
As for Len I think some more respect for your elders would be in order!
What a talent Len! Sounds like a lovely way to do the cruise. We did it many years ago too, but I like the sound of your shore excursions and the fine food! Keep enjoying yourselves you two!
Yes, I’ve done the cruise before too, Kate, but as a poor student in 1974! This was very different!
I had forgotten what a magnificent river the Gordon is – what a tragedy if it had been reduced to a trickle!
Absolutely agree, Mum, of course.