As we were passing, we stopped into Evandale, a popular town close to Launceston and famous for being a picturesque historic village with preserved Georgian and early Victorian architecture. There's a timeless charm to it and a relaxed rural atmosphere. Nearby, there's the grand Clarendon Estate, a Georgian mansion managed by the National Trust, though we didn't visit there as we didn't know about it until we had already left. I wish I was there for the market as well which is meant to have some fabulous arts and crafts.
We pulled up in front of the Clarendon Arms, the local pub, which had been done up as more of a boutique pub. The beer garden was loved and it looked like a nice place but there wasn't anything on the menu we liked so we decided we'd make lunch in a park up the road after looking around at the shops.
It was definitely a place that celebrated history, as evidenced by this old cart in someone's garden. The streets were well kept and the buildings original and old - that is, for Tasmania and Australia, not by Europeon standards!
We went into a couple of antique shops - the one below was by far the best, and had some interesting items in it that would have come out of the colonial houses in the area. Lots of things would have been brought over from England as personal items.
I loved the old floor made of red bricks.
There was even some scrimshaw, which is whale tooth or bone carved with scenes. Of course Australia used whale like any other nation, for burning lamps I imagine to begin with.
Jamie and I liked this draftsman's set - you could pick them up for a pound in op shops in England not so long ago. My Dad was a draftsman and he always had beautiful pens. Writing on a laptop has no where near the elegance.
There were quite a few little shops, but we were attracted to this one, The Village Store, as we saw mushroom themed things in the window. We thought it'd be full of old junk but actually it was a carefully curated gift shop with lots of lovely things in it.
We didn't really need anything but it's always fun to window shop. Inside the front door was opinel knives, shaving brushes, natural soaps, natural dyed wool, and more besides.
There were beautiful, beautiful woollen jumpers imported from Scotland, which I would have bought if I was rich. I think they started at $170 so far too expensive for me. There was a gorgeous collection of books, lots of architecure ones which Dad would have liked. It wasn't the first time on the trip I thought I'd buy him a book and then remembered he was dead.
If I ever cracked nuts, I definitely would have bought one of these mushroom nutcrackers. I also saw some lovely bread knives with handles of local wood like huon and sassafras, and I wish I had of bought one, but Jamie suggested they were too expensive, which they weren't - I don't think $50 AUD is expensive for a breadknife, do you?
It was definitely the kind of shop I could have spent some money in if I had money to burn. But the bottom line was that it had nothing I needed, which is kind of a shopping rule I live by - mostly.
It was that rule that had us pass the leather shop - unless they had a belt covered in mushrooms, which I seriously doubted, they really would have nothing we needed. We did go into another antique shop though. This was one more well curated op shop finds than anything, pretending to be something else. Still, if you wanted to furnish a late 18th century cottage for a decent price, this would be the place to go to find period sensitive paintings or crockery perhaps, and there was some nice items of furniture too.
We had a little more of a walk down to the end of the high street. It certainly seemed a hive of activity and with many weekend events on the go. One was the penny farthing festival. I imagine it'd be quite fun to go to - it's in February and celebrates the iconic 19th-century bicycle with races, parades, and other festivities. Competitors race these high wheeled bikes through the streets amongst the crowds.
It's also the home of the John Glover art prize. John Glover was an Australian landscape painter - I really like his old landscapes. This one in particular captures a time long gone - observing Indigenous Australians in the landscape that were brutally dispossessed.
REad more about John Glover here
If we were better travellers, we'd arrange to be in a town when things were actually going on instead of landing mid week, but hey, that's just how we roll.
With Love,
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I like hitting up little shops like these. You never know what you can find in antique shops especially. Typically I am looking for old coins, but occasionally will find something else that catches my eye.
Travel Digest #2457.
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