Cascades Female Factory Hobart Tasmania

We had a fascinating day. Starting with awesome views from the top of Mt.Wellington and learning about the experiences of Isabella Dixon, a convict ancestor, at the Cascades Female Factory.

We took the opportunity of being woken up early to drive up to Mt.Wellington. The road is steep and narrow in parts and we were conscious of Buster being slow up hills. Luckily there was hardly no traffic and Buster managed 3rd gear and 40km all the way! Mark was impressed. At 1271m altitude, it dominates the city of Hobart with the distinctive Organ Pipes escarpment . We were blessed to have a clear morning with views of the city and beyond, including Bruny Island. At the pinnacle we donned the woollies as it was freezing up here and walked along the board walk to the ultimate viewing platform.  The two big towers here are for television and radio transmission. 

Our next destination was to find out the life of Mark’s convict ancestor, Isabella Dixon, who was transported here on the 3rd December 1836 on the Westmoreland. At 19 she had stolen a cheque for £1 and sentenced to 7 years. We were fortunate to have previously learnt much of her history from Mark’s father who had done a lot of research. We were excited to be crossing her footsteps even tho the conditions she had to suffer weren’t ideal. We managed to find out some new information on her parents too. 

2 1/2 hours later we returned to Buster and drove up and around Hobart

 to Mount Field National Park, arriving mid afternoon. We got a reasonable spot at the very popular camp ground and settled in, cooking a roast for dinner.