Maatsuyker Changeover
(Sunday, 22 September 2019)
Hannah Sutton and Grant Ryan dropped by the Tas Maritime base having set foot once again on the Tasmanian mainland after their six-month winter stint as caretakers on Maatsuyker Island.
The highlight of their stay was their engagement as reported on the ABC and reproduced here. After enduring 85-knot winds and 9-metre seas mixed with glorious days and wildlife that had no fear of humans, they landed at Cambridge only to be shaken back to reality by the traffic and the sights and smells of Hobart.
A few of us were able to drop by at the Domain on Sunday to wish Grant and Hannah well on their trip back to Western Australia.
Hannah and Grant specifically wanted to thank everyone for the friendship and very welcome chats during their 6 month stay as island caretakers. They said it made a real difference to them and they looked forward to the skeds each day. Yes, they may apply to do another stint in the future one day (they will opt for summer next time).
From here they have people to visit, a trip to a pepperberry farm and eventually a booking on the Spirit on their way back home to Western Australia involving a cross-Nullabor drive.
Before they left Hannah handed us an envelope containing a postcard and a woollen representation of the old lighthouse.
Winter 2019
Hannah & Grant
ALL SHIPS - ALL STATIONS - ALL WONDERFUL TAS MARITIME OPERATORS - T*H*A*N*K*Y*O*U!!!!
We cannot tell you how wonderful and friendly each and every one of your voices were to hear those times each day. We would look forward to your lovely chats, a special connection to the wider world (whatever weather you delivered us!). Thank you each and every one of you for your countless hours with your feet on the pedal and your voices filling our lounge room. You truly made our experience here in isolation feel in fact incredibly connected and surrounded and supported by such a friendly community. Hope to hear those voices soon.
The summer caretakers, Kate and Bruce Frankcombe, arrived on Maatsuyker Island last Thursday for the summer session. Kate and Bruce spent the winter of 2014 on Maatsuyker and provided Tas Maritime with lots of photos from the island. You can see these in the Photo Gallery on this website.