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Tasmania (Eastern Region) |
| Ross | |
| Beyond Campbell Town – a rather plain community originally settled by Scots – you drive south through sheep-grazing countryside, eventually turning off the highway to ROSS, 2km east. Another town settled by Scots, this has a very secluded, rural feel. The town of Ross, named by Governor Macquarie in 1821, was one of the first sites selected for a town in Tasmania and is very rich in colonial architectural heritage. The village's pride is a magnificently carved bridge over Macquarie River which was built by convict labour and opened in 1836 and is one of the oldest and most beautiful bridges in Australia. For the pleasure of visitors the bridge is floodlit at night, along with three grand, old churches. | |
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corners of the main crossroads in the town are locally known as
Temptation, Recreation, Salvation and Damnation being respectavily the
Man-O-War Hotel, the Catholic Church the town hall and the former gaol
(now a private house). The wide main street, lined with old elms
compliment numerous convict built Georgian sandstone buildings, rising to
a knoll which gives great views over the Argyle Plains. The banks of the
Maquarie River next to the bridge is an excellent place to have a picnic
and feed the swans and ducks or even catch a glimpse of a platypus. The
river and nearby Tooms Lake provide enjoyable trout fishing.
Church Street, lined with deciduous trees, ends quite abruptly and overlooks miles of fields, farmland and hills. As you walk through the grounds of St Johns Church of England, just one of the town’s three pretty churches, you have views of the Macquarie River, spanned by the sandstone Ross Bridge, designed by John Lee Archer and built by convicts in 1836; the intricate stone carvings on its three arches earned the convict stonemason a free pardon. There’s a fairly melancholy walk in the other direction from the church, down to the original Ross burial ground and past the site of the Female Factory, actually a prison, where women convicts were held before being sent to properties as assigned servants. You can stay in several of the old cottages dotted about town; Colonial Cottages of Ross have four to pick from. The old sandstone Man O’Ross Hotel on Church Street has several intimate rooms in which to eat or drink, and basic accommodation upstairs. Tasmanian Wool Centre (Church Street) |
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Tasmanian Wool Centre traces the evolution of Ross from its early days as
a garrison town. Japanese buyers frequently pay world record prices for
the extra superfine Merino wool from this area, and the centre displays
samples, production techniques and finished articles.
A number of interesting tours can be taken from the Centre, including the restored Female Factory, a probation centre for female convicts and their babies. |
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