Time Walks - Hobart and Newcastle

Good morning, we have four more episodes to go in our exploration of Tony Robinson’s Time Walks.  In the first episode today, Tony Robinson explores Hobart and the run time for this episode is 26:47.  This episode is not timed stamped for easy division.  In the second episode, Tony explores Newcastle and the run time for this episode is 26:44.  This episode is time-stamped for easy viewing.

At the bottom of the world a mysterious continent that nobody knew about.  Below that continent, there was an even smaller island and at the bottom of the island was a small settlement that people knew less about.  The first port of call for Tony is the port at Hobart.  This was the port that launched the exploration of the Antarctic continent.  There was a huge competition to explore it and walk across it.  Roald Amundson arrived in Hobart in preparation for his exploration.  Amundson had arrived in Hobart to send a telegram announcing his conquest of the Antarctic. Tony then proceeds to walk through Hobart wearing a seal skin coat. 

Tony nearly gets in trouble for an expired parking meter.  Which then segways into the history of the first parking meters in Hobart.  They were installed on April Fools Day.  After the parking meter incident, Tony heads on over to the pub.  This pub is called the Blue House and it was Blue House was a seedy place.  The Blue House was home to a brothel and the madam of the brothel attached bells to the beds.  When the girls were working, the bar was filled with their sound.  Tony then heads down to the tunnels that are below the pub.  It proves to be a challenge for Tony to maneuver in. 

The tunnel under the pub lead to the custom’s house and it was used to smuggle drinks.   So tony makes his way across the street to the former custom’s house.  After this side trip, Tony ends up in the theater.  He talks about the history of the theater and how it was restored.  Who would convince Tasmania to restore this theater?  So what else does Tony learn about Hobart?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out!

Today’s second episode will feature the city of Newcastle and which takes its name from the English coastal mining town.  Tony opens up with a discussion on Captain Cook and how he missed important things along the way.  He missed Sydney and he missed one of the most functional harbors in the world: Newcastle.  Newcastle is the biggest coal exporter in the world.  When it was found, it could prove to be a scary harbor in fact when sailors came into port their faces were white with terror.  So a breakwater was built to protect the harbor.  The locals ended up with a breakwater and the beach.

Tony tells the story of a ship that had run aground outside the harbor.  The ship got stuck as a result of a storm.  The whole of Australia was watching the ship and the surf club was the hub for a rescue operation.  What happened next was a long rescue operation to get the sailors off the ship.  It could have been an ecological disaster for Newcastle.  For years after the near disaster, tourists were drawn to the area.

After exploring the near disaster, Tony explores the history of an unplanned boat arrival.  Onboard was a man sent to chase convicts.  Instead of chasing convicts, he discovered coal.  Soon after, the first mine was opened and it would grow the city of Newcastle.  Tony then makes his way to Fort Scratchley, it would be built to defend Newcastle’s port.  It was built to prevent the Russians from invading.  They never came, but the Japanese did and they managed to defend Newcastle from the Japanese.  Tony continues on his tour of Newcastle, what else does he continue to learn about this mining town?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more!

Over all, these were two good episodes highlighting the history of both Cities.  The part about Captain Cook missing important discoveries was funny.  It was also funny to hear that the first parking meters were installed on April Fool’s Day.  These would be good episodes to show for a geography class.