This is part of Coles Bay. Just to the right of where the boat leaves from to go on our cruise. It is such a pretty area.
Coles Bay is situated approximately 195 kms north east of Hobart and 175 km south east of Launceston.
It is a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive from our home, without stopping. The time difference depends on whether you travel up the middle of Tasmania and then across to the East Coast or travel down and then along the East Coast and back up to Coles Bay.
Due to the fact that we had to be in Coles Bay at 9.30am, we decided to travel through the middle of Tasmania, up to Campbelltown and then across to the East Coast and along to Coles Bay. We left at 6am, to allow us time for error or a need to stop for a stretch or toilets along the way. Neither or these things eventuated, so we arrived in time for me to grab my camera and take a short walk around and photograph the area.
They say that the town was so named after a guy called 'Silas Cole'. Apparently he worked as a lime burner in the region and collected shells from the Aboriginal middens and burnt them for lime. Which could never happen today as they are protected by law.
"Aboriginal middens are distinct concentrations of shell, bone, botanical remains, ash and charcoal - evidence of past Aboriginal hunting, gathering and food processing activities within a particular area. The discarded shells and other materials may be the remains of a single meal or the result of repeated use of a particular location over thousands of years. Midden sites can range in size from small, discrete scatters to extensive deposits that run along a coastline for hundreds of metres. They are often associated with dark, ashy soil and can also be visible in eroded or collapsed sections of dunes where they may appear as a dark, ashy band with layers of shell throughout."
