DERBY

 

1/ The A3 Tasman Highway runs right through Derby, where it is called Main Street. Most of the historic buildings are located on this street.

2/ The post office is an attractive, early 20th Century building on the western end of the CBD.

3/ The old bank has been well restored. It is an interesting example of the Victorian, rural style.

4/ There are many Victorian cottages in Derby, like this well restored example.

5/ Derby is cut out of a valley, thus the houses are lower than Main Street on the northern side.

5/ The old Town Hall of Derby is still operational today.

7/ The old school of Derby is now an interesting museum.

8/ This street at sunset shows the old atmosphere of Derby.

9/ Just east of Derby is this cleverly painted rock that looks like the head of a trout.

10/ This is the track to the Derby Tunnel. This track is part of an adventure trail that takes you around the historic sites of Derby.

11/ When I visited the tunnel in the spring of 2015 the Derby Tunnel Track was bedecked by hundreds of these beautiful flowers.

12/ This is the Derby Tunnel. It was excavated to mine tin. You could wander a considerable distance down this tunnel. I don't know whether or not it was safe, as there were no restriction signs evident.

13/ Branxholm is a town west of Derby. It hosts this magnificent Victorian hotel.

14/ This is the monument at the Chinese cemetery near Derby.

 

1/ Ringarooma is an old former Gold and Tin mining town south west of Derby. It is on the alternate route to Ralph Falls. This photo shows the lovely old Ringarooma Hotel.

2/ This old church of Ringarooma now houses the visitor centre.

3/ The main street of Ringarooma has many old houses.

4/ This photo shows the White House guest house on the southern edge of the Ringarooma.

5/ This photo shows the shop complex at Ringarooma. Unfortunately all these shops were closed in 2013.

6/ This photo shows a quaint cottage in the main street of Ringarooma.

7/ As you drive south from Ringarooma you pass through lush meadows. The peak on the right is Mount Victoria. Unfortunately, the roads deteriorate south of the Ringarooma.

8/ This is your last view of Ringarooma as you drive south. It shows a valley of lush meadows.

 

1/ Legerwood is small hamlet just off the A3 Tasman Highway, west of Derby. It has turned its historic war memorial trees into interesting sculptures.

2/ At the base of this one you can see a plaque and a flower, as I visited soon after ANZAC Day.

3/ Each Legerwood sculpture was a creative interpretation of the possibilities of using the old tree to honour the fallen veterans of World War One in a unique way.

4/ The railway man was an important person in Colonial Legerwood. Note the clever way that a branch has even been carved into his flag.

4/ I like the way this one even used one small branch to shape into an axe to honour this veteran.

5/ Each sculpture at Legerwood showed character in the face and stance. This one looks quite stoic, as befits a tough soldier of the Great War.

6/ This large tree showed a group of figures, including both civilians and soldiers. I think it represents the families of Legerwood thinking of their men at the front.

7/ This large tree shows soldiers of Legerwood engaged in a wide variety of tasks.

8/ The old train station of Legerwood has been rebuilt into a toilet and a BBQ for the convenience of visitors.

 

1/ Tonganah is a locality east of Scottsdale and just south of Mt Stronach. There is an old railway there that has now been converted for the use of bicycles and bush walkers. This gallery shows some images taken on a journey there in 2013. This image shows some friendly horses that we met.

2/ Our groups first walked down a gravel road to reach the old railway line.

3/ This is the old railway line. The rails and sleepers have been removed, so that it can be used by bicycles and bush walkers. This railway included many shaded areas that were a prime habitat for fungus at the time of my journey.

4/ I was most impressed by the variety of fungus types that I saw on this journey. However, I do not know anything about fungus, except that most species are poisonous. In the next few images you can see the enchanting shapes and colors that I saw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/ The Mt Paris Dam lies just south of Derby. It was built in 1935, but has been empty since 1970. It is 250 metres long and 16 metres high and is described as a concrete slab and buttress dam. There is a short easy walk from the car park to the base of the dam.

2/ The Dam wall begins at the car park with this old slip way. There are no facilities, but the area makes a good location for a rough picnic.

3/ In 1985 these holes were made in the dam wall to allow the Cascade River to flow freely again. I found it strange to see a dam with neat holes in it.

4/ This image looks through the holes to the other side of the dam. The wall reminded me of a medieval castle wall.

5/ This view shows the buttresses that you pass as you walk through the dam wall. Walking through the water is potentially hazardous, but one of the holes was dry when I visited in late 2020.

6/ This image shows the cascade river flowing away from the dam wall.

7/ This image shows one of the neat holes in the wall.

8/ This image shows the area that was once covered by water.

9/ This image shows the four holes made in the dam wall.

 

1/ This is the historic Weldborough Hotel. It goes back to the 1880s, when Weldborough was a thriving mining town. It is just a few kilometres from the Weldborough Forest Walk shown in the photos below.

1/ The Weldborough Forest walk is a short, easy excursion into an ancient myrtle forest. It is located just 15 minutes east of Derby on the Tasman Highway.

2/ This photo shows the base of an ancient myrtle at Weldborough Forest.

3/ Here you can see a fallen myrtle amidst ferns in the Weldborough Forest.

4/ There are also many large man ferns in the Weldborough Forest.