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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Coal Mines Historic Site and Darlington Probation Station

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
412 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 22
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

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Why this ride

412 km from Dodges Ferry to Dodges Ferry, about 5 h of riding. On the way it passes Cascades Female Factory, Darlington Probation Station and back through Cascades Female Factory. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Coal Mines Historic Site

    The worst convicts in Van Diemen's Land were sent to Port Arthur, and the worst of those were sent here. The Coal Mines on the Tasman Peninsula, in southeastern Tasmania, were established in the 1830s to supply coal to the colony and to punish repeat offenders with hard labour underground. Men worked in dark, damp shafts and tunnels, hauling coal in terrible conditions, and solitary cells were built for those who broke the rules. The site was closed in the 1840s, and today the ruins of the barracks, cells, chapel and mine shafts lie scattered among the eucalyptus forest beside the sea. It is one of eleven places that make up the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage property, listed in 2010.

    Read the complete Coal Mines Historic Site write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Coal Mines Historic Site is where the day begins. Next is Cascades Female Factory.

  2. 2. Cascades Female Factory

    In the shadow of kunanyi, the mountain that rises behind Hobart, a set of high stone walls in South Hobart marks the site of the Cascades Female Factory, where thousands of women convicts transported from Britain and Ireland were held in the nineteenth century. They worked here at laundry, sewing and other labour, and some were punished with solitary confinement, hard work or shaved heads. Many arrived with children, and the death rate among infants was appallingly high. The factory is part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listing, which includes eleven places across Australia that tell the story of the forced migration of convicts and the building of the colony.

    Read the complete Cascades Female Factory write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Cascades Female Factory comes up 73 km in. Next is Darlington Probation Station.

  3. 3. Darlington Probation Station

    Maria Island lies just off Tasmania's east coast, and Darlington is the little settlement on its sheltered north-western shore where convicts, officials and later Italian entrepreneurs left their mark. No cars are allowed on the island and no one lives there permanently, so what you find is a quiet bay, a scatter of Georgian buildings and a lot of wildlife. You reach it by passenger ferry from Triabunna on the mainland, and the crossing takes about half an hour.

    Read the complete Darlington Probation Station write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    145 km in you reach Darlington Probation Station. Next is back through Cascades Female Factory.

  4. 4. back through Cascades Female Factory

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Cascades Female Factory write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Cascades Female Factory, late in the day. Next is Coal Mines Historic Site.

  5. 5. Coal Mines Historic Site

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Coal Mines Historic Site write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Coal Mines Historic Site. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Coal Mines Historic Site to Cascades Female Factory

Coal Mines Historic Site → Cascades Female Factory is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Cascades Female Factory to Darlington Probation Station

Cascades Female Factory → Darlington Probation Station is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

Darlington Probation Station to back through Cascades Female Factory

Darlington Probation Station → back through Cascades Female Factory is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.

back through Cascades Female Factory to Coal Mines Historic Site

back through Cascades Female Factory → Coal Mines Historic Site is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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