This site was our first introduction to the time when convicts were "exported" from the UK as part…read moreof the punishment for their crimes. Cascades Female Factory was sold off and mostly dismantled after it closed down. The government had to purchase back most of the property and return it to the original state to open the site for historical visits. We took bus 446 (free pending the outcome of the US-Iran war) from near our hotel and it got us there in around 15 minutes. There were two guided tour options offered (1) Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls which was focused on specific women's stories and (2) Convict Women's Tour which provided an overview of life, hardships, conditions and more inside. Each focused on different parts of the factory so it was best to arrive at least 30 minutes early or stay after the tour to see the part of the factory not covered in the guided tour. Good signage were posted throughout the site along with many individual profiles of the women convicts. There wasn't much to see (mostly walls, building outlines and one original home) but the tour guides brought the history and the stories of some of the female convicts to life. Very harsh living conditions, extreme penalties, abuse and heartbreaking separation from the children were conveyed throughout the tour. Well worth a visit if you have time in Hobart. If you have the Port Arthur Historic Site Ticket of Leave (housed the male convicts) then you can visit this site for free.

This UNESCO World heritage site is the best place to connect with a lesser known stories of…read moreAustralia's female convicts. The story is told through bios and artifacts of the displacement, mistreatment and forced migration of convict women & girls, and their contribution to colonisation throughout the history of colonial Australia to the present day. On the journey women were divided into 2 groups depending on their behavior. The class system regulated clothing & jobs of the women while in the factory. The more trustworthy women were employed as cooks, task overseers & hospital attendants. Second class convicts made clothes for the establishment and prepared & mended linen. The crime class was sentenced to the washtub, laundering for the factory, the orphan school and the penitentiary; they also carded and spun wool. All of these tasks were subject to change at the discretion of the Principal Superintendent.

This dock is basically for the two Mures fish restaurant and some fishing boats. Not much else to…read moresay about it, as it is otherwise uninteresting. I dined at the upstairs Mures restaurant, which was excellent.

Brace yourselves... an amazing little local coffee shop has arrived beyond the flannel curtain. Get…read moreamongst the wooden floorboards, subway tiled counter and shiny signage and feast on some utterly delicious coffee, that may be (but in my opinion should absolutely be) complemented by a delicious small bakery item from the cabinet. My double shot flattie today, already so perfectly good on its own, was accentuated by both a chocolate caramel macaron and a peanut butter macaron. Shut up. I'm going to have to drive down Main Rd more often, is what I'm going to have to do, and you should do so as well. Go on. Shake a leg.

Best coffee in Moonah, North Hobart, Hobart, Southern Tasmania and let's just make that Tasmania.read more