
JURASSIC LEGACY | In a moment of geological high drama that may have lasted less than a million years, Tasmania received a huge share of accessible dolerite, the rock that threatened, intrigued and misled our early explorers and visitors. Of them, the legendary Charles Darwin proved he had more scientific skills than simply observing animals … An extract from a fascinating book by David Leaman starts here

RURAL
INSPIRATION |
Photographer Maria Fletcher says her creative
inspiration comes from looking out daily "at a rural landscape which
has been shaped over the past 150 years by
a small number of farming families. Alongside
the cleared paddocks and tree lined boundaries,
the land still retains a sense of its ancient
human history". Enjoy her portfolio here

STEPS TO THE SCAFFOLD | In contemporary terms would
you think of them as resistance fighters? Or
perhaps they were terrorists? Tasmania’s
black bushrangers are part
of a story previously untold in our history. Two of them, Pevay and Timmy,
were the first men publicly executed in Melbourne. Read more here

SHOOTING THE FRANKLIN | Through
trial and a fair amount of error, a brave bunch
of young men gradually found their way down the Pieman, the King, the Gordon,
the Franklin — wild rivers that had never before been navigated along their
full length. Read Johnson Dean's story here

MEMENTO MORI | The new Port
Arthur museum reeks of atmosphere — dark,
oppressive, gloomy, some say Gothic. Located in
a former dormitory of the Lunatic Asylum, it loudly
proclaims itself a new museum while whispering
of its past use says Julia Clark. More here. [Peter
Whyte photograph]
FRONT PAGE NEWS | Hobart-based
photographer Don Stephens, now in his 70s, has
a lifetime of photographic achievement to his
credit. Over 38 years as a photographer on The
Mercury he captured some
of Tasmania’s
most dramatic moments. More
THE SHAPE OF TASMANIA | A
fascinating look at a quirky exhibition of design
using Tasmania's distinctive shape, drawn from
the State Library of Tasmania's Heritage Collection.
More here
THE PIPELINE TRACK | NICK OSBORNE
walks and photographs a unique trail on Hobart's
Mt Wellington. More here.
AMERICAN PATRIOTS |
In 1837 in an ill-starred attempt to spread
the message of Independence, a Patriot army
launched an invasion of Canada, hoping to
provoke a general uprising. It failed to
light the fires of rebellion and the British
captured 92 mostly American citizens, members
of the American Patriot Army fighting with
Canadian republicans for independence from
Britain. Military courts smartly and highly
illegally banished them in 1839 to Britain's
remote and wild new island colony of Van
Diemen's Land. Find
out more here.
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