Wednesday, February 22, 2012

ARTHUR RIVER

THURSDAY 16.2.2012: "The Edge of the World" - Arthur River is the name of both a river and a small township on the northern part of the West Coast of Tasmania. It is south of the town of Marrawah. Named after Sir George Arthur, Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemens Land (1824-36), the river is fed by several tributaries including the Frankland River, which was named after its discoverer, then the colony's surveyor-general. The region has been exploited commercially for timber and fisheries, but today is mostly a centre for tourism. On the coast near the mouth of the Arthur River is a plaque titled The Edge of the World. North West Coast Tasmania, and a poem by tourism pioneer Brian Inder, who coined the term, referring to the coastline at Arthur River which is regularly lashed by the gales of the Roaring Forties.

"EDGE OF THE WORLD"
By Brian Inder
I cast my pebble onto the shore of Eternity.
To be washed by the Ocean of Time.
It has shape, form and substance.
It is me.
One day I will be no more.
But my pebble will remain here.
On the shore of Eternity.
Mute witness for the aeons.
That today I came and stood
At the edge of the world.

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