Douglas: the town that wasn’t

Crown land sale! 25 April 1877 TOWN OF DOUGLAS, NINE MILE SPRINGS. Section A. Lot 1. 1 rood. Upset price £5. Fronting on Sholto and Bruce-streets, bounded by Lots 2 and 11. Lot 2. 1 rood. Upset price £5.. Fronting on Bruce-street, adjoining Lot 1. Lot 3. 1 rood. Upset price £5. Fronting on Bruce-street,…

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Lefroy: the rise and fall and rise and fall of a gold town

Lefroy, population 2000. Once upon a time. Gold was found at Nine Mile Springs at various times, maybe even the first place on the island where it was found, but an 1869 discovery was the find of significance. (I think it was alluvial gold, being the sort you pick up off the ground/out of rivers…

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Lefroy, 1883

From A Visit to Lefroy, Examiner, 17 July 1883 It is by no means a compactly built township. On the contrary, it straggles in all directions, and consequently extends over a large area. The streets, too, are at all sorts of angles, and describe some very eccentric turns and curves. Nevertheless, scattered as the town…

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Hobart weekend

So the weekend just ended up being one night. Well, two nights because I went down Thursday night with Sam and stayed in the city Friday night. That gave me a day and a half of wooden boats. That is quite long enough 🙂 It was rather same-ish this year. Nothing new (although the bullocks…

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