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| Boats in the Harbour, people on the beach |
I am talking about Dover, Tasmania, not the one of UK fame,
though there is a tenuous link. It is said that the pier of the original Dover
was built from Huon Pine exported from here. Our Dover (pop. 862) is a pretty
little fishing village about 81 Km south of Hobart. It is Australia’s most southerly township and
about the last place where you can buy supplies before heading to places such
as Ida Bay, Hastings Caves or Cockle Creek.
Begun as a convict station in around 1840- 1844, it became
an important timber supplier to the
world until the First World War, though
one mill survived until the 1970's. Other mainstays of the region such as orcharding and fishing also had their ups and downs. Serious apple growing went into a decline when the UK joined the European Common Market and Dover’s busy fishing fleet
gradually diminished as modern technology increased catches and laid waste to the
seemingly endless supplies of scallops, couta and crayfish.
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| Busy stalls line the foreshore |
Since then, Dover has
largely reinvented itself as a tourist and retirement destination, though a small
number of fishing boats as clean and sleek as its population of seagulls
continues to occupy its picturesque harbour. Quaint cottages dot the hillsides and
offer a variety of accommodation and activities. Further along Esperance Bay
there are fish farms which have taken up some of the slack left by the
traditional fishery. Adamson’s Peak looking
rather like a movie prop because of its near pyramidal shape, fills in the backdrop in the West.
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| Seafest revellers |
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| It's definitely a family occasion |
Today we are here for Seafest an annual celebration which
includes a regatta. The weather is perfect. The co -mingled smells of fish and barbecues
fill the air. Though the main focus is on seafood, stalls offer everything
from local wines and cider to locally made crafts. Children take to the beach
and the bouncy castle, while music is supplied by a couple performing on the
flatbed of a truck. Further along the
beach eager supporters urge on competitors in what looks like a three boat
race. My friend goes in search of scallops, pride of the region. We share a
puffin muffin, which is actually a very well filled and messy cream puff and then we both have some satay sticks because the aroma is too tantalising to resist.
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| We did - home of the puffin muffin |
Thus fortified we do a pleasant walk along the beach and then
attempt another at the end of the nearby Narrows Road which unfortunately ends in a heavy duty gate. Still, the drive home through the Huon Valley
with its turning leaves and orchards bursting with ripening
fruit, more than makes up for it.
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| Apples ready to harvest |
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| Too perfect - Adamson's peak presides over fishing boats and pleasure craft |
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