TASMANIA: History in Biodiversity

CEBU, Philippines - This has been a dream come true, my trip to Tasmania. Although it took me 25 solid hours of airports to airplanes from Mactan Cebu International Airport 8 pm on May 3, through Adelaide (South Australia) and Melbourne (Victoria) to Hobart Airport (Tasmania) 9pm on May 4, it was well worth it!

One hitch, though, was that Qantas inadvertently sent my luggage back to Adelaide. Upon arrival, they gave me an overnighter QF kit with sleepwear, but no undies! It is a good thing that I always place in my handbag a disposable underwear and basic make-up stuff whenever I am on a trip. My luggage was delivered to my hotel the next afternoon, but not after a number of follow up calls to a call center QF uses for such matters. It can be frustrating, especially if you were told that Qantas is known for such glitches.

On my first day, I found the huge Derwent River cutting across Hobart as the city spreads over seven hills up to the towering dolomite, cloud-capped Mt. Wellington. Being Australia’s second oldest city, next to Sydney, Hobart’s birth as a thriving fishing community is at Sullivan’s Cove, formed 10,000 years ago in the last ice age when sea levels rose and isolated Tasmania some 300 km away from mainland Australia. To this day, Hobart is known as “the city of yachts and spinnakers.” Its waterfront also hosts cruise ships, whaling ships and Antarctic icebreakers. A respite stop of Antarctic expeditions, it is named after Robert, Lord Hobart, Earl of Buckinghamshire, who was England’s Secretary of State for War & the Colonies when settlement took place. John Sullivan was the Undersecretary. Peopled with about 204,000 inhabitants, Hobart has the largest population in Tasmania (pop. 500,000).

Tasmania is steeped in history, as well as in biodiversity. Its animal emblem is not the Tasmanian devil – more popularly known because of the cartoon character – but its hunted-to-extinction Tasmanian tiger. Contrasts abound – although any point of the island is no more than 120 km from the surrounding Southern Ocean, Tasman Sea and Bass Strait, Tasmania also has glacial mountains and one of only three large temperate forests in the Southern Hemisphere. The island became a British penal colony when the first 300 convicts, with their soldier escorts, and some 30 free men with their families, landed on February 15, 1804 off Sullivan’s Cove.

Due to its numerous protected wilderness parks, Tasmania has mild summers at 21 degrees Celcius and agreeable winters at 12 degrees Celcius. Snow only caps the nearby mountains. Yet, colonial life was harsh for the convicts who were the beasts of burden – no horses were brought into the island. The extant carefully restored 19th century houses and buildings across the island are testaments to the fine handiwork of convict-slaves. Our guide pointed out that if the bricks of the colonial buildings are small, then they were hand-made by convicts. (New bricks are bigger.) Now, these charming houses with trellised porticos are turned into cozy Bed & Breakfast places, quaint restaurants and curiosity shops.

Much ado about gorgeous Aussies springs from their convict ancestors. Predominantly Irish with some Canadians, Americans and New Zealand Maori prisoners convicted for such acts as stealing a loaf of bread or a hairbrush from the mistress of the manor, came to Tasminia from Sydney – 67,000 from 1803 – 1853, 14,000 of which were women — to provide slave labor among the free settlers. The jails were like factories where prisoners turn out products needed in the community. A local pride is Hollywood movie idol Errol Flynn, a Hobart lad whose father was a biology professor at what is now the University of Tasmania.

Another set of contrasts are the bushlands just outside Hobart, reminiscent of the African savannas, amidst the lush patches of poppy fields (Yes, they grow opium plants for pharmaceutical purposes, albeit in highly secured areas.), stretches of vineyards in verdant valleys under cloud-capped mountains. Hobart is the second driest city in Australia, next to Adelaide, making my ubiquitous umbrella useless despite the overcast skies. Yet it abounds with fruit crops like cherries, apples, pears and oranges; it exports tulips to Holland! Another major export is whale blubber to as far away as India, since pre-colonial times. Because of the pristine waters, oyster farms abound for the world market, as well as seahorses.

In my week-long stay in Tasmania, I went back in time as I toured the surrounding villages and historical sites…not to mention meeting the Tasmanian devils at petting distance. Yes, Tasmania was a dream come true! ?