Ross

Robin was keen to visit the Female Factory in Ross which lies about 50 miles south of Launceston.

The Overseer's House is the only building of the Factory that remains. A 'Female Factory' was essentially a work-house for female convicts. It operated for six years between 1848 and 1854 and you can read more about it here.

All the other buildings are demolished.

Model of what it used to be.

Not the most inviting of houses. I bet it was very cold in winter.

Presumably the building was used for other purposes after the female convicts left. The steps would not be this worn after just six years.

The railway line from Hobart to Launceston lies just to the left..

This path leads to the river and the bridge.

The path to the cemetery on a hill. To the left of the stone fence is the regular cemetery.

The old cemetery is separate from the current cemetery.

There are few grave stones so I presume the women convicts who died were buried in unmarked graves.

Some of the grave stones.

It's all very peaceful out here. The town of Ross is quite small.

The regular cemetery is unusual in that all the graves appear to be off to the right. The area next to the wall appears to be empty. Room for expansion, perhaps.

Ross is delightful with some interesting older buildings.

The main street is quite wide.

Roman Catholic Church.

The Town Hall which was built in 1891.

Inside the Town Hall.

The United Church on a slight hill.

Quite plain which would be normal for a protestant church.

Inside the church.

If you read the Wiki article, you will see a reference to the Four Corners of Ross. This building, the former jail,  is one of the fours corners and was known as 'Damnation'. It is for sale at $500,000.

We walked down to the bridge which was completed in 1836. We drove over it to get to the town. The river was still flooded from all the rain.

You don't often see such an elegant set of steps at the end of a bridge. There are matching steps on the other side of the road and presumably on the other side of the stream.

Flooded river banks.

Ross was a lovely place at this time of year. I suspect it could get quite hot in summer and cold in winter, but this day it was delightful.