Do Not Read This Title

In the interests of balanced reporting :)

These are the photos I have of Bell Bay, the big industrial area near the mouth of the Tamar. First is taken from Beauty Point, the resort town on the other side of the river; the second is from the West Tamar Highway.

Gold was discovered at Brandy Creek in the 1870s, and it wasn't long before a substantial town, renamed to Beaconsfield, grew up. It was said to one of the biggest in the state at one stage. According to Town With a History, by Coultman Smith, in 1899, the population was "2,699, with 7 hotels, eight boarding houses, five bakers, four blacksmiths, two doctors, two watchmakers, a solicitor, a tailor, 15 general stores, six greengrocers, five drapers, a state school, and four private schools."

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Gravelly Beach, is another small riverside town.

These places have a lot of houses for the size of the town. They are close enough to Launceston that most people would go there for shopping and other services, or nearby Exeter for quick visits.

As you come into Gravelly Beach from the north, there's a long section along the river with newer houses, then the older ones and then this little shopping centre, if you can call it that.


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The Low Head lighthouse was built in 1888, replacing a 50 year old dilapidated tower.

The original tower was designed by Colonial Architect John Lee Archer, who was responsible for many public buildings in the colonies, including Parliament House, Ross Bridge, the King's Orphanage and the
Penitentiary Chapel

Painting showing the original tower

I won't include any comments. If you want to know more about the lighthouse, have a look at Lighthouses of Australia. For the buildings on the site (the tower and the older cottage), there's some information in the Australian Heritage Database.

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Plan today was simple:

I was going up to the Gorge to get some photos to fill in the gaps in the webpages I'm doing. Camera was recharged. Card was empty. I was going to get off the bus in the city and either walk up Paterson St, or catch one of the buses the went up that. Although, on the way in, I thought I could get off near the Old Seaport and walk up through Royal Park, just on the off chance that there was something different to see. Ha ha.

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