channeltimes

Bruce Wilkinson

Bruce was a Fisheries Inspector aboard the Penghana from 1964. Bruce here shares some of his memories aboard the Penghana.

The Penghana as a Fisheries Patrol Vessel

From 1959/60 the Penghana then became a Fisheries Patrol Vessel with the Tasmanian Department of Agriculture. Bruce Wilkinson and Bruce Dix remember their days on the Penghana as Fisheries Inspectors.

The Maiden Voyage

Noel Gordon, who helped build the Penghana, was also the deckhand on the Penghana when it made its maiden voyage for cray fishing on Tasmania's West Coast. Noel talks about that first voyage and his memories from those days.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the RV Penghana

On Monday April the 50th anniversary of the launching of the RV Penghana was celebrated at Peppermint Bay and the Marine Discovery Centre (MDC) in Woodbridge. Organised by the MDC staff and in particular the Penghana's current skipper of nearly twenty years, Tim Nossiter.
Those who have in some way been in involved with the Penghana over the past 50 years were invited to attend the event - with nearly 80 people in attendance.

The Read Family - We have two English Ones and Two Australian ones...

Mary speaks briefly about her children and life for them in the early days...

The Read Family - Home Deliveries

Local producers delivered their goods to your door - Mary talks about the local services in the region - particularly the baker and his magnificent bread at Woodbridge.

The Read Family - A time when services came to you...

With longer travelling distances it was common for important services to visit your area - Mary recounts how the doctor and the mobile library visited them at home.

The Read Family - The 1967 Bushfires

Mary recounts some memories of the 1967 bushfires.

The Read Family

Mary joined our Oral Histories group as an interviewee. Mary and her family came to Tasmania from the UK in 1960. Eventually settling at Hughenden (just south of Woodbridge). Mary gives us an introduction to her Oral History recordings....
We arrived in Tasmania from England in 1960 after four weeks on the Fairsky, renting a flat in Blackmans Bay at first then a house in Lenah Valley, buying Hughenden in November of that year. At first Peter worked for Port Huon Fruitgrowers (PHF) travelling to Hobart on a Vespa scooter as funds could be stretched far enough to get a car. My in-laws came out in 1963 and eventually bought what is now Five Bob and Peter went into partnership with his brother, and later left PHF and farmed full-time. As well as working on the five acres of apples on Five Bob we sold cream to shops in Hobart and locally, had an acre of blackcurrants, raised calves and pigs and built two chicken sheds which housed about four hundreds hens altogether. During the 1967 fires all these were lost and eventually we stopped farming as it became obvious the farm was too small to give us a reasonable living. Peter worked in the Allport Museum for ten years while I bred Labradors. After he retired in 1985 we planted a plantation of eucalypts and a stone fruit orchard, but decided in 2001 that we were getting too old to keep things in good heart and made the difficult decision to sell Hughenden. After a few hectic months sorting out 41 years of accumulated items in the sheds and barns we moved across the road to a more easily managed property that still manages to keep us busy.
Mary Read October 2007
To listen to the first of Mary's Podcasts about the early days living in Birches Bay following their arrival from the UK - click the Podcast Link below.

How they met

Gail talks about her early life and when she worked on the Page farm.