We had spent the morning at a community garden, at markets, and then in a civilised tea room with the freshest of refreshments. It was time to head back to Hobart but first we allowed ourselves one final excursion. We followed a narrow winding gravel road up to the Pulpit Rock lookout. It was worth the short drive.

Stunning views extended across the town and east and west along the Derwent River, a body of water which started inland near Lake St Clair in central Tasmania and was on its way to emptying into the ocean past Hobart.

(If you love the look of this river, then you might want to wander through another of my blogsites recording my experience of Walking the Derwent from mouth to source; at least I imagine that some of my photos will make you want to take a closer look at the real thing.)

The Tasmanian News published in Hobart on Wed 8 July 1885 on page 4 printed a poem ’The Pulpit Rock’s Farewell’.

However this poem referred to the Pagoda Rock, a natural formation part of the nearby Derbyshire Rocks which was demolished to develop the railway line below. That a second high point is then named Pulpit Rock is an indication of the influence and impact of various Christianity sects in the first century of New Norfolk’s existence.