I booked this tour to Goat Island quite a few weeks ago as a birthday present to myself. It is another first time place of interest I am visiting.
The approximately 2.5 hour tour runs on certain Sundays and Thursdays throughout the year and departs around 10.30 am from Circular Quay returning just past 1 pm. The cost is $40 for an adult.
Today the group is meeting at 10.30 am at Wharf 6 near the Captain Cook Cruises concession. I am a little early giving me time for a snack and toliet stop before departing.
I think I am the only one on this tour that is not part of a group. You can book online to go on this public Goat Island Heritage Tour and not be part of a group.
I was getting concerned that I was the only person on the tour that was not part of the group, then others started to arrive at around 10.20 am however the tour now does not depart until 10.45 am. The tour must be booked out as there are now heaps of people going on the tour today. It turned out to be a great day to go as it is not extremely hot with temperatures in the mid 20s and no sign of the forcasted thunderstorms until later this evening which were originally forcasted for around midday. Smog unfortunately still blanketing Sydney.
No photos yet - still waiting for the ferry
down on wharf 6. The group starts to make their way down to wharf 6 so I follow ( when our guide shows up she did have a word to the group's representative about how they were suppose to meet near the Captain Cook concession at the top of wharf 6.)
The Captain Cook ferry we boarded was a non Opal card chartered service ferry as there were 2 stops first Goat Island then onto Barangaroo. What a great view of the harbour it was on the top deck of the ferry which was a larger double decker ferry. It took forever for this ferry to reach Goat Island and it was quite a rough ride on the top deck so I held on and sat down most of the time.
Once we reached Goat Island there were 2 distinct landmarks you could see upon arrival 1. a huge green shed with no windows and locked doors ( what's inside part of it I will reveal towards the end of this blog). 2. a huge old crane above ( similar to the ones at Cockatoo Island) which looked as if it has been disused for decades and has become an occupational health and safety structure overlooking a hidden ship yard below which could not be seen from the wharf.
One of the members of the group that was on the tour said to me at Wharf 6 " There aren't goats on Goat Island you know" I knew there weren't because I had researched this before the actual tour. So why was Goat Island named Goat Island if there were never actually any goats on the island? Well explorers liked to name any islands they discovered after animals eg Cockatoo Island, Shark Island, Kangaroo Island etc except with the exception of Bare Island where it was not named Bear Island probably because we don't have any bears in Australia except for the imported ones found in zoos. An aerial view of Goat Island is supposed to resemble the island being the shape of a goat NOT!
First stop was a really really large building.
I missed most of the guide's commentary as I was more interested in taking photos - something about convicts and guards?? More about guards soldiers convicts gunpowder and the shipyards later.
There were loads of interesting buildings and items to see behind this building. Unfortunately it was just one of the many buildings we could not access.
We walk up and around a very narrow path behind the building and a rather high sandstone wall towards an area above the shipyards. Along the sandstone wall there is quite an amount of "graffiti" on this sandstone wall. These were carvings left from possibly bored employees at the time - you have to admit there would not have been much to do on Goat Island around the time - watching over convicts and chasing convicts who tried to escape , manning the stock pile of gun power or just keeping guard over any invasion attempts of the mainland wouldn't exactly have been the most exciting of jobs. Whatever was left on this wall is important history delving into life at the time - a historical diary.
A few large open sheds apparently with their original roofs and some remains of old wooden boats which may have been used to transport convicts or staff even goods were located within the high sandstone wall. The were 2 prominent structures that stood out. One was a replica of a transportable convict "jail" - think a 10 share male dorm with a shared toliet except more like a 25 share male dorm with 4 bunk beds to share amongst them no lights and 1 shared toliet but no shower or running wateer - not exactly a tiny house on wheels and the other the Queens Magazine - the island was used as a depot to store gunpowder. We were able to go inside the Queens Magazine - a grand old building built in the 1800s with very high ceilings and whitewashed walls where on the walls there were features in the shape of what I can only describe as giant power points. These wall features were also repeated on the high walls around the building . I am still unsure why they were there and how or what they were used for. Photos attached.
Anderson's couch is actually a large rock but not just any rock. This was where an ex - marine come convict was chained for a period of time in solitary confinement for mischief having committed a marid of crimes and several attempted escapes without sucess. Whilst Mr Anderson was chained to this rock he somehow carved himself out a bench and at one point even had planks of wood above him. He must have been very bored and quite an intelligent man. After several days he was released from being chained to the rock and was eventually released back into the community to be rehabilitated by one of the more lenient governors of the time where he started to work and ended up doing very well. The story goes that ever since he left the marines his head was never quite right again which resulted in his crime sprees . You don't say! Obviously mental illness such as depression and PTSD were unknown back then - all Mr Anderson really needed was therapy and something that would keep him occupied and feel that he is continuing to making a contribution to society - locking him up was not the solution.
Around the corner from Andersons Couch were some old lime kilns which are dotted around Goat Island, blink and you will miss them as many of them have been filled in with large blocks of stone. Lime was at one stage made in these kilns from crushed up shells which were in abundance around the island's coastline often leftover from what the Aboriginals had for a meal. The native Aboriginals were quite intelligent especially when it came to sustainability and diet. The types of shells left behind by an Aboriginal family's campsite was used as an indication of what they ate for that meal and told the next Aboriginal family not to have the same for their meal therefore having a more balanced diet and not depleting their natural supply of aquatic food sources.
Barney's Cut (underneath island's bridge). We continue our walking tour up a path along the coastline of Goat Island uphill with spectacular panoramic views of Sydney Harbour passing a marid of jacaranda trees and various plants and flowers full of colour until we stop at a bridge. Underneath this narrow bridge there are several buildings. One a pale blue rather solid but vacant building once a police station/holding cell. This is one of a many buildings which we could not access the interior of. Next to it was another pale blue and white building which was less sturdy which looked as if it was used as a community hall/club house as there were are kayaks parked outside it in the yard. The building a a flat roof and a bridge/walkway from the path we were on to the roof. You can just imagine parties snd gatherings on the roof with the spectacular view of the harbour ( Let's hope it is safe as the building did not look very well maintained!). This buolding with some tlc could make a great youth hostel - imagine all the revenue and tourism it could generate as an alternative to camping glamping and a short stay on Cockatoo Island. So close yet so far away from the city's hustle and bustle and only a ferry or water taxi ride away. ( public transport to and from Goat Island would have to improve but that's another story!)
Above us further along was a row of beautiful Federation style houses. We learnt that one of these houses was where the island's caretaker resided. Yep there was definitely someone residing there. Some of us decided to look over his fence and the observation was " He doesn't even mow his lawn!" which I added "How can he be the caretaker of the island if he doesn't mow his own lawn?!"
The house(s) next to the caretaker's was another storey. A beautiful old house with marble fireplaces. Nobody has lived in it nor has it been used for many years. We could not access the interior of the house but just peep inside through the large doors and windows of the bare spacious rooms inside with wooden floors. All it need was a bit of a dust and clean and a little repair work and it would make an ideal Summer holiday house bed and breakfast or even a gallery and restaurant - such a waste.
The final landmark we stopped to look at was what was inside that huge green shed along the wharf of Goat Island where we alighted the ferry upon arrival that I mentioned near the beginning of my blog. Our guide gets her key out and opens one of the doors into the green shed. We step inside and are asked by our guide what we thought this part of the shed was used for. Someone mentions a museum? Not quite although it really reminds me of my tax agent's office! (sorry I don't have any photos of his office). This is where the Australian tv series "Water Rats" was filmed. This particular small enclosed section inside the green shed was the Water Rats bar. All the props are still intact. It was filmed so long ago I can't even remember what the bar looked like. I wonder if functions are still held in this room? or if any of the equipment still works?
The ferry back to Circular Quay was unsually early and already docked at the Wharf way before our tour was over. We were meant to depart around 1 pm after we had finished viewing behind the doir of the green shed.
The ride back to Circular Quay was really quick and we squished into a single decker Captain Cook "ferry" with a very small outside seating area and a larger inside seating area. I think we all just fitted onto the ferry comfortably.
The tour did not have as toliet stop nor did it have a snack stop therefore by the time we arrived back at Circular Quay it was definitively time for some food!
I took the train from Circular Quay to Town Hall and purchased my favourite take away lunch of a piece of crumbed fish no salt and a wedge of lemon from The Little Fish Shoppe and placed it on an egg seeded roll from Lunburger next door. You notice I purchased an egg seeded roll instead of my usual vegetarian seeded roll because it has no cheese. Yum!
Rating : 9/10. If you hapoen to have a Sunday or Thursday to spare when this tour is running throughout the year, this is another must do NSW Parks and Wildlife Tour. Book in advance online as it is a popular tour - calendar of 2020 tour dates are already online in advance. It does get extremely hot therefore I recommend going on one of these tours during Autumn or early Spring no later then early November.
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