This time we found the grave from Farm Cove
by Jack and Jude 23 Mar 2018 06:06 PDT
Lone Eucalyptus marks the Grave site © jackandjude.com
During a break from our work we kayaked over to where we thought the old road from Kelly Basin reached Farm Cove. Those early pioneers had harvested plenty of trees from the shores around Farm Cove to use in the construction of the new town.
And we knew that Joseph Brown’s grave, which we’d found from West Pillinger our last time down from Strahan, was near that long forgotten overgrown road. So we sharpened our pencils, studied the topographical map and then went for a paddle to where the ridge goes up and over to Kelly Basin from Farm Cove. It was a thirty-minute workout, past Soldiers Island to our starting point. Then we changed into bush gear and entered the forest. Finding our way the first time is always a bit tricky. Wrong turns are going to be taken and the thick stuff entered in an attempt to find a way through, so we only got to the top of the ridge before saying, “Enough, enough.”
A week later the weather came good again, so off we went, this time starting from a rather better location further along the shore thinking it’ll all going swimmingly. Humph! Alas, I took a few wrong turns, leading Jude into more thick stuff, but eventually got us to our furthest point and from there into the unknown. Using the topo map, I had plotted a GPS waypoint supposedly on the open heath that, by the path of least resistance, became our next destination.
On the way, the forest was lovely, most of it thick leaf litter and fallen branches, but with plenty of still standing dead stuff that fell over when we put a hand on it. I was even bumped on the head by a falling bit. We left just a few deep-red tapes going in, as it is better to do that sort of trail marking on the way home after learning the lay of the land because it helps others following later from becoming confused by out of place red tapes. What’s important though is that we made the open ground at that plotted waypoint then tramped ahead pushing through waist to shoulder height tea-tree and other stuff, and by nearly lunchtime had spied the lone Eucalyptus marking the grave site.
Gosh, when the sun’s out in Tasmania, it’s too hot. We sweltered crossing the heath and got a bit dulled by it, and as our backs were wet from pushing through bush we ate out in the sun, and regretted it later.
Now, the whole purpose of this jaunt was to confirm the age of Joseph Brown, and to do this on a headstone exposed to the west Tasmanian weather for 118 years, Jude had taken along a few soft etching pencils and good paper. Like magic, her strokes brought to life the full details of this long ago man, who we now feel somewhat attached to. Mind, the blazing sun also made us feel a bit tainted by the macabre. We even worried the area might be haunted by ghouls and ghosts, so we made our etchings, then fled for the living life we love so much. First stop, the tinkling stream that runs just below the grave to fill our bellies and cool our heads before setting off to hopefully find our way back to the safety of our kayak without mishaps.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of jackandjude.com