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As has been the case for sometime, a few Chapter members arrived in Campbell Town on the thursday afternoon for a stopover before pushing onto to our Rally at Ross, first down to the river and Liz attracted the ducks with food. This area is a wonderful and peaceful where you overlook the pristine river and the old convict built brick bridge which even today carries the normal and heavy traffic south. With large trucks constantly crossing, the bridge is a testament to the building capabilities of the convict labour in the early 1800's, from here we moved onto the Lions park rest area for the night. Of course we gathered for our happy hour and caught up with the news since our last Rally. Next morning we all pushed onto to Ross. |
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| Liz feeding her mates | Campbell Town convict built bridge |
| Ross in Autumn!
beautiful amber coloured leaves on the many trees that line the
entrance and main street of Ross, giving an indication that winter is on the way. Many
of our Chapter Members have left Tasmania, and others will do so in the
coming months, for the warmer climes of Northern Australia. In the
meantime those of us who have elected to stay at home this year will
no doubt enjoy the companionship of other members at our many winter
rally's. |
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Tree lined Main Street Ross |
Heritage listed building |
Autumn leaves near school |
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Quite noticeable
is the large amount of heritage listed buildings as we
moved towards our Rally site close to the old sand stone Hotel,
in fact we were to park on the grounds of the very old
sandstone block school. After setting up we had the opportunity to catch up with all our friends and spent time soaking up the wonderful sunny day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and with no wind it was very warm. The trees are starting to drop their leaves and with the differing autumn colours they look great. |
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| Gathered for happy hour | Awaiting their meal |
Before we knew it happy hour arrived so we selected a nice sunny area on the grounds and gathered to chew the fat, so to speak. President Ian spoke to the programme set out over the weekend which was met with applause and he also drew to our attention the 44th wedding anniversary of Brian and Jean. Our trailer arrived and we were all busy erecting our Bee Haven canopy and lighting up our fire pot. |
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| Excellent meals arrive | Sheriff David accepting meat tray won in raffle |
A large
number of us opted to go to the Hotel for our evening meal,
it was obvious that our numbers had taken them by surprise
for we were not able to gain a table for everyone immediately
until tables were bought in from other areas. The meal was wonderful
and plentiful, we did not hear one complaint about the meal and everyone
complimented the manner of the service, given they had taken over sixty
five orders at once not to mention their normal bar trade.
The local football club was raising funds by way of selling tickets
in a meat tray raffle, we are all bit concerned for the Sheriff won
the meat tray and we discovered that the person selling the tickets
was his nephew, just joking of course the draw was all above board;
wasn't it? After our meal we adjourned to the fire near Bee Haven and more refreshments were consumed before retiring for the night after an excellent and happy day. On the Saturday morning our sheriff was up and about and lit the fire to boil the kettles for an early morning cuppa and no doubt to catch those not wearing their Chapter badges, we experienced a very foggy morning and it took some time to lift. Once the fog lifted we had another sunny and warm day |
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| David and Bob lighting the early morning fire | President Ian and Secretary Trix conducting the general meeting. |
Ten am and it was time
for our General Meeting, with President Ian and Secretary
Trix heading up the business it wasn't long before the
formalities were completed with members participation minimal.
The warmth, friendliness and lack of complaint was to shine
through showing that our Chapter members are content with
the way our rally's and happenings are occurring, thus
re-enforcing the camaraderie that currently exists. After the meeting many went on a tour of the township of Ross and of course the first discovery was the Bakery with all the lovely smells wafting on the breeze, from the freshly cooked cakes, pies and different types of bread, many were to purchase the beautiful curried scallop pie's and wash them down with the many lovely coffee varieties on sale before returning to the Rally site quite contented singing the praises of the Bakery. |
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Section of Motorhomes |
Heritage listed Church |
Wool centre Ross |
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At 2pm around sixty
of us gathered at the Wool Centre for a conducted historical
tour of the township of Ross, Ross being a historical town
many fine examples of early 1800's Georgian built sandstone
buildings are on display plus the township is surrounded
by many very large sheep farms. This area has many Merino sheep and consistently wins the many fine wool trophy's and obtains world record prices at auction for the fine merino wool that is produced, just like the rest of Australia the area is suffering from the the lack of rain, thus experiencing drought conditions; though it has been stated that this produces an even better micron in the merino sheep flock. |
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| Melissa outlining the history of Ross | Southern side of convict built Ross Bridge circa 1833 |
We broke into two groups
with each having their own tour guide.We moved on down to the war memorial
where our tour guide, Melissa, outlined the history of the town, its
convict past, land grants, Georgian Architecture and the future aspirations
of the township of Ross, given that the main highway now bypasses the
township. To hear Melissa speak so passionately of her township was indeed heartening and well received by our group, judging by the type of questions asked during the whole tour. We were to note this passion from all in the township over the weekend which no doubt will auger well for their future aspirations for the township of Ross. |
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| Stables hewn out of the sandstone bank | Georgian architecture of the Uniting Church |
 Moving
on down to the famous convict built sandstone block Bridge
that is adorned with beautiful carvings and gargoyles,
though built in 1833 the quality of work by the stone masons
has stood the test of time, floods and much heavy traffic
that would not be envisaged in that era has not affected
this magnificent structure to any great extent. Melissa
was to explain that records of the era show that many tons
of sandstone block had been cut, though there appeared
to be no major increase in height of the bridge structure,
it was noted that there were many new buildings springing
up within the township that on observation matched the
block work intended for the bridge. The governor of Van Diemens
Land (as Tasmania was then known as) issued an edict that
the two main stone masons would be granted total freedom
of the colony and be stripped of their convict stature
if they were to complete the bridge in a certain time.
The Stonemasons made sure the sandstone blocks and decorations
were completed with the assistance of the many convict
labourers. The bridge was completed and open to horse and
buggy 18 months later which ensured the two stone masons
gained their freedom. Unfortunately there is no written
record of their future travels or residence. We moved onto the horse stables that were hewn out of the sandstone bank,  they
had created structures that were half in the ground and the other part
built of sandstone blocks giving an allusion from a distance of being rather
low buildings.
The architecture is truly amazing given that the use of scaffolds and cranes as we know today did not exist in those days, how did the workmen lift the many blocks to such a height as in the Uniting Church; let alone the intricate timber work, sandstone plinths and excellent stained glass window. The church still has the original organ that is still in operation today, Melissa regaled us with a story of when the organ played non stop by itself during a service that bought the service to a halt. Many carried the organ outside and though still playing the church service continued, to this day there is no explanation to this phenomena. It would be true to say that the Woman's Factory (prison) display in the overseers house gives an indication of the hardships the many convict woman endured given the cold winter temperatures, though now demolished the model of the prison leaves no doubt why many committed suicide or went mad. We spent some time here looking at the interpretation boards coming to understand the harshness of the regime and paltry crimes committed ensuring incarceration in the Woman's Factory. (prison) Which could include six months further jailing if a convict woman was to become pregnant whilst in the prison. In all the tour took two hours and was very enlightening and enjoyed by both of our groups, as it was we arrived back at the Rally site at the commencement of happy hour. Thank you to our guides for their frank and enlightening information on Ross and its surrounds. |
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| One of the many Cemetery's of Ross | Playing Uno |
Another excellent happy hour with our beloved Sheriff once again remonstrating with us due to our alleged misdemeanours. This brings much laughter and some of us are sure that people flout badge wearing etc to attract the attention of our Sheriff. The raffle was drawn and won and again all 12 prizes were donated by members, for which we thank them. Then it was time for our evening meal a few electing to return to the hotel for their meal. |
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| Crib underway | Strange form of dice game |
We gathered in the hall at 7:30pm, over the next four hours we were to see many groups playing Uno, crib, dice games, singalongs around the key board/organ and of course many of the Ladies again engaged in craft activities. It was a wonderful atmosphere with much laughter and the hall being so large it easily accommodated all the activities at once and though it had been a very full day of activities there was a reluctance of many to retire for the night the enjoyment of chapter family was so great, with much laughing and singing. Many elected after leaving the hall to visit and stay by the fire for a couple more hours no doubt with the appropriate refreshments before wandering off to bed. |
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| Liz trying out the Key Board | Ladies doing their crafty things |
Sunday morning was sunny which saw many members heading off to the Bakery for their breakfast, John and Colleen conducted a church service and then many of us headed off to the sunday markets to purchase fresh produce and many items of brick a brac. Again, many opted for another scallop pie along with coffee before heading back to the Rally site to pack for our journey to our homes in the respective areas of the State. Many were reluctant to leave and it was late afternoon before the site started to clear with a few opting to stay another evening before returning home. The Rally was a complete success with plenty to do and see. We must thank our hosts who arranged such a full and excellent programme over the weekend. We will come together again on the 4th of May for our next Rally scheduled for Myrtle Park. |
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