Tuesday Feb 23, 2010 - Strahan

It was a much nicer day today. Did not get very warm though. We took a trip to Zeehan. There was a wonderful West Coast Pioneers' Museum there. The main building was once a very prestigious mining school which closed in 1963. They have done renovations to the Police Station and Court House, and the Gaiety Theatre. There was a black smith shop, marine shed, train yard, miners hut, power house and underground mine exhibit. It was a wonderful walk through the history of the area. Zeehan was a mining town that once looked barren. It has made a good recovery. The vegetation is lush and green. We ate lunch in a park before returning to Strahan.

After I had a nap we went for a walk to see Hogarth falls. It is 1.25km walk one way. Most of which was easy. There was a climb at the end then 25 steps down to see the falls. I
felt good with the walk.

We went to see the play "The Ship that Never Was". In January 1834: the last ship to be built at the convict settlement shipyard at Sarah Island is about to sail for the new prison at Port Arthur. Ten convict shipwrights have other ideas. They steal the ship called the Fredrick and sail it to Chile. They sink the boat off the coast of Chile. A year later 4 of the convicts are caught and brought back to face charges, for piracy, mutiny and escaping the penal colony. They got off on a technicality. There were only two actors involved in the production. The audience provide the other parts. It was hilarious. It was amazing the way the stage changed to represent a ship deck sails and all. At one point we re-enact a storm at sea using spray bottles and feet stomping. It might have been a little more realistic last night with the wind and rain. The play is done in an amphitheatre and under an awning, so that keeping the rain out last night might have been a problem. It was a nice night to see the play tonight.