Industry and Nature

A steam museum is nearby, and worth a visit. An extensive collection of steam tractors and rollers, as well as small stationary engines once used in in a family contracting business are now looked after by a small volunteer group of enthusiasts, along with farm tools and implements from days gone by.
Almost all are British made, mainly Fodens, which were imported here at a cost for shipping of over £1000 each in the early part of last century, when the cost of the actual machines were only half that!

An early combine harvester, which I understand was invented near here, was also on display.Originally horse  or bullock drawn, many were later converted to tractor and still being used well into the 50s and 60s.

Moving on we visited a Mine Heritage Centre. Closed only last year, gold has been mined here for over 100 years, although it was closed for many years before reopening in the 90s when gold prices made it worthwhile. One interesting exhibit was an ore crusher or stamp powered by a water wheel, very noisy in operation!

As we passed a "Bush Maze" we chanced to call in for a coffee, and found ourselves in a world of puzzles, indeed it was quite "amazing"! The little coffee bar held hundreds of small puzzles which visitors could try and buy, and the garden was full of larger puzzles which were not too easy to beat.

But we did beat the maze, in and out in about 15 minutes despite the fact it was very well kept, with quite a few dead ends. We made it to the middle, and surprise surprise remembered the way out!

We had not come across any Platypusses (Greek, not Latin, so not Platypi!) so we decided to see them in an aquarium that tries to breed them an return them to the wild, and takes in injured animals. Along with Echidnas, they are the only mammals in the world that lay eggs, which are hatched in pouches on their bodies before being weaned in a nest in river banks. They are of course only found in Australia, but the mainland variety tends to be nocturnal, unlike the Tasmanian that can be seen during the day. Don't know why we've missed them!

We have seen echidnas, one here in Tasmania and one on Kangaroo Island earlier in the year. It would appear that the Tasmanian variety is quite different from the Mainland one, in that the spines and fur has evolved differently since Tasmania drew away from the mainland. Like our own hedgehog, they are insectivores, and as such have very long tongues and poor eyesight.





Next door is Seahorse World, where they are bred by the thousand. I have little to say about this, as the reason for breeding them is to sell to aquariums and pet shops, which neither of us approve of. We are told that this stops them from being taken from the wild, but why do people need to keep these animals in captivity in the first place?