Sunny Sunday

On a glorious spring morning, in wonderful bright sunshine, we gathered at Woolmers Cottage, out in the beautiful courtyard, the weather being so perfect. This courtyard is soon to be paved with flagstones made of sandstone to match those used in the verandas around the front of the house. Woolmers Cottage, hardly a cottage, is more a large graceful Victorian mansion with stunning veiws over the fields and hedgerows of the Norfolk Plains towards Longford.

But, I digress. There we were gathered (fifty or sixty people, mostly members of Woolmers Foundation Inc) to hear Barry Jones AO give his take on events leading to the lengthy process of assessment for World heritage Listing (which includes five Tasmanian Convict Sites) at Brazilia in July. He's an entertainng speaker and mentioned Kevin Rudd (remember him? Barry said) at one point because Mr Rudd became fascinated with the convict history of Tas as a result of finding out that he has five convict ancestors in his family. Barry mentioned how very useful it might be if we could find other helpful contacts in Government who also have convict ancestors.

The point being that so many of the sites now listed (jointly) will need some form of financial asistance going forward - and 'going forward' is certainly our intention. It was interesting to hear of the behind-the-scences machinations leading to these World Heritage Listings and to find that the process has taken more than twenty years. Talk about lengthy and complicated!

But now begins the challenge of marketing and promoting this World Heritage Listing in order to tell the fascinating Convict Story to as many visitors as possible.

Should any of my readers (and I hope there are many!) wish to join Woolmers Foundation (which is a not-for-profit organisation run mainly by volunteers) please contact: enquiries@woolmers.com.au or access the website: www.woolmers.com.au or telephone: (03) 6391 2230.

A plea was also made on Sunday for volunteers who are urgently needed right now to weed in the National Rose Garden at Woolmers - please, please do volunteer, even a few hours a week would be wonderful - contact details are as above.

Our very own - "Living Treasure"!

We're in for a rare treat at Woolmers on 3rd October when Dr Barry Jones AO., who has been declared one of the National Trust's Australian Living Treasures, will be Guest Speaker at the AGM of Woolmers Foundation Inc. The talk will celebrate the Tasmanian Convict Sites being accorded World Heritage Status.

A former politician and renowned academic with a strong interest in education and civil liberties, Dr Jones has a string of letters after his name and is a prolific writer and passionate social activist. He is widely known because of his appearances on Television quiz shows and he's an accomplished and witty public speaker.

Named in 1988 as one of Australia's 'Great Minds', he is currently a Board member of the Victorian Opera and Chairman of the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority.

He is an eloquent advocate for Australia at the Brasilia meeting of UNESCO and very influential in gaining World Heritage status for eleven Australian Convict Sites, five of which are in Tasmania.

"It's just great to be able to celebrate this nomination, after the lengthy time it has been in the offing", says Woolmers CEO Damian Saunders, "And this is sure to be a fascinating talk, so do come along - the more the merrier!"

Starting at 10.30am on Sunday 3rd October, at Woolmers Cottage, and preceded by the AGM of Woolmers Foundation Inc., the talk by Barry Jones will commence at 11.00am.

Light lunch soup and sandwiches - $10 per person.

For catering purposes please RSVP by September 29th to enquiries@woolmers.com.au or telephone: 6391 2230

'POSTCARDS' the TV Show

On a glorious day - one of the very first glorious days of spring - I sat in the sun at Woolmers waiting to welcome a Television film crew from WIN Channel 7.

They came to film both Woolmers and neighbouring Brickendon for the TV program 'Postcards'. It's a half hour travel show which is normally screened late on a Sunday afternoon.

While filming took - well hours really - the actual segment will probably last only minutes when it finally goes to air. Such is Television land.....

So lucky that the weather had turned out great for us and everyone was excited that we had this wonderful opportunity to showcase our World Heritage status to the rest of Australia.

Woopee! Is what I say and I just hope the rest of Australia is watching for the show!

Fashionable Devonshire Tea!

"Of course the best Devonshire Teas in the whole of Tassie are at the Servant's Kitchen at Woolmers, near Longford." I said to the visiting food and wine journo. "And it's just amazing how scones and jam and cream are so, so fashionable right now!" said she.

Oh dear! I thought, and there I have been guzzling those very things at every opportunity for years and years without it ever occurring to me that I was showing myself to be completely out of fashion. And been spouting on too, about how delicious the raspberry jam is at Woolmers to everyone who would listen, thus spreading the word far and wide about my lack of fashion conciousness.

"But then everything old is new again." said the journo as she left me.

Whew, thank heaven for that!

So, I'm off to Woolmers right away, to order a round of warm, freshly baked scones with all that lovely home-made raspberry jam and lashings of thick real cream.

And I can be happy and secure in the knowledge that I'm right up there - so, so in fashion!


This blog written by Pixie Lowe http://pixielowe.blogspot.com/

Woolmers Estate World Heritage Listing

A total of eleven built sites (as opposed to significant natural areas of National Parks), in Australia have this week-end been declared by UNESCO to be World Heritage Convict Sites and five of those chosen are in Tasmania.

All are important places where the British Empire sent some 166,000 of its convicts over a period of eighty years from 1787 to 1868. British transportation of convicts to Australia was the first-ever attempt to use the labour of convicts to build a whole new society.

And - in the fullness of time - it worked! They could not possibly nave imagined back then how amazingly well it would all turn out.

The eleven sites spread accross Australia are listed so you can see just how important the ones chosen in Tassie really are, joining such places as the Sydney Opera House on the World Heritage list.

On the mainland the historic convict sites are Norfolk Island; Old Government House at Parramatta; Hyde Park Barracks in central Sydney; Old Great North Road NSW; Cockatoo Island Convict Site NSW; and Freemantle Prison in WA.

The five important Tasmanian Convict Sites are:

- Cascades Female Factory in Hobart
- Port Arthur Historic Site
- Coal Mines on the Tasman Peninsular
- Maria Island Darlington Probation Station
- And last by by no means least - Woolmers and adjoining Brickendon Estates which have been listed as one historic precinct. It's fantastic to get this international recognition of the importance of both properties.


These two beautiful 19th century estates, near Longford in the Northern Midlands, illustrate the 'good' side of the convict story, where convicts could be assigned to work out their sentence, eventually obtaining their freedom.

Port Arthur (which is now Government owned) and the Coal Mines Historic Site represent the opposite extreme of the penal system, in all its misguided cruelty.

Strangely, this cruel severity seems to hold the most fascination for visitors, Port Arthur attracting by far the biggest numbers.

Just to avoid misunderstandings, (of which I know there are some) Brickendon is still owned and operated by the Archer family as it has been since earliest settlement. Woolmers Estate, on the other hand, originally also an Archer property, is now owned and operated by a non-for-profit Foundation and is administered by a Board of Management, all of whom are volunteers.

Woolmers is open all year and it's well worth visiting to take the tour of the house and property. If you have not yet visited these beautiful and significant historic World Heritage Estates - it's surely time to do so!

Woolmers Estate

Here is the place to read all about Woolmers Estate in Longford, Tasmania, Australia.

Woolmers finds out at the end of this month about the World Heritage Status.

Exciting times ahead! Stay tuned!