I have just got to tell you this story!

 In our local newspaper the other day it was written that this lady from a place called Westbury (with bush nearby a 30 minute drive to the town) not far from where I live let her two dogs out in the morning, the lady herself went to the toilet, her two dogs were barking madly, a Tasmanian Devil ran inside to get away from the dogs and the Devil went to the back of the toilet whilst the women was still sitting there.  The lady quickly moved and closed the bathroom door where her toilet was. The lady phoned a wildlife rescue person to come and collect the Devil which they did, during the process the bathroom was wrecked to a degree!

Must have been a frightening experience and as my husband has family living in that town, I will find out who the lady was.  I can see the funny side to this story!

Now what a fright that would have been, never heard of such a tale before - only in Tasmania this could happen.

A couple of photos of the Tasmanian Devil which are borrowed with permission.  They are certainly not a cute animal.

Tasmanian Devils, once widespread across mainland Australia are now confined to Tasmania, becoming extinct on the mainland about 3,500 years ago, possible due to dingoes and other factors.  These Devils have faced and are still facing a contagious facial tumor disease which has led to their endangered statues once again.

I do believe a few zoos in other States of Australia have a few Devils.

The first Europeans to enter Tasmania imagined demons lurking in the bush when they heard the blood-curdling shrieks and grows.  Hence being dubbed 'devils'.  It's now known that their various vocalisations (coughs, growls, snorts, sniffs, screeches and even sneezes) are designed to scare off other animals.

Perth, Tasmania

 Perth's history began in 1821 when Governor Macquarie, on a visit from Sydney, stayed with David Gibson of 'Pleasant Banks' across the river, and selected the site for a township, naming it after his host's native town in Scotland.  It was named a town in 1836.

Perth is about 20 kms south from Launceston with a few older buildings and as the years have passed more modern houses especially in the last 5 years have been built.  The South Esk River goes through Perth.

Not far from Perth there is a hill called Gibbet Hill and it's here in 1837 5 years after the practice ceased in England that the body of John McKay was gibbetted (a hangman's type of structure) near the spot where he murdered Joseph Wilson.  There was a great outcry, but the body was not removed until an acquaintance of Wilson passed the spot and, horrified by the spectacle of McKay's rotting corpse, pleaded with the authorities to remove it.

According to documentation, McKay was lowered and buried underneath the gibbet.

This was the last case of gibbeting in a British colony.  

The location is still marked today reading 'Gibbet Hill' on the left side of the road going south from Launceston with a few houses up on the hill.  My father often told the tale of Hangman's Hill!

On a lighter note some photos taken along the South Esk River in Perth, Tasmania last spring.

The bridge over the South Esk River, you can just see a bit of water to the left.

The graffiti is nothing much but it is someone's art.

The toilets and closeup of the cutouts on the walls.

There is a few picnic areas along the South Esk River at Perth, Tasmania and yes, people swim there.

A roadside Library to take or leave a book and a place to sit by the river or go for a walk.

In an around Geraldton, Western Australia.

Mount Scott.

The city is home to the Port of Geraldton, a major west coast seaport. Geraldton is an important service and logistics center for regional mining, fishing, wheat, sheep and tourism industries.

We arrived in Geraldton on August 23, 2015, and found a caravan park easily down by the sea. So it's along time in fact it's 10 years since we visited there. 

There is a hill in Geraldton called Mount Scott, we could see it but be hanged if we could find it. Two days of driving around the city sightseeing and we stumbled across the hill.

On this hill is the 'Rotary Memorial,  World War 11 cruiser Sydney. 

The memorial recognises the loss of the light cruiser during a mutually destructive fight with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran off Shark Bay in November 1941, with none of the 645 aboard surviving.

(Note, this vessel is the second Australian warship to be named HMAS Sydney, and is sometimes referred to as HMAS Sydney (II))

645 steel seagulls

The Waiting Women.  Waiting for her child to return, but of course, he never does!

The Point Moore Lighthouse, located south of the Geraldton Port is a cultural and historical attraction. It is the oldest surviving Commonwealth lighthouse in Western Australia and was also the first steel tower to be constructed on the mainland of Australia. The Point Moore lighthouse stands 35m tall and its 1000w Tungsten Halogen Lamp can be seen for 23 nautical miles. It began operation in 1878.  

A very long way from home.