Coastal Curiosities

Given the convict history of Tasmania, we were intrigued by this stunning architectural feature :

Perhaps a punishment room for errant convicts? A control room for some early convict factory? Some other ingenious early settler invention? 

No. 

It's a toilet. 

More specifically at The Vault restaurant in Wynyard. 

As you may guess from the name, the building was an early bank, and vault has been converted into unisex facilities with a definite steampunk motif. 

The floor was also related to its earlier life, being thousands of pennies covered by clear resin. What was not bank related was the decor in one of the dining rooms, which had sections of one wall jammed with old books - along with a cautionary sign to please not try to remove any... 

What was even more remarkable was that the restaurateur developed the premises during the first stages of the pandemic. It must have taken enormous vision and courage to take such a leap of faith while lock downs were looming large. 

The earlier parts of Wednesday had been exploring all the small towns along the coast, stopping at various historic and scenic opportunities.  

A picnic lunch at Devonport required some speedy leg work from Richard to secure a picnic table as soon as an earlier party had finished and before the next party could claim possession... 

We did wonder at the purpose of some unusual flower sculpture overlooking the water at Wynyard , a conundrum solved by Mary when she unfolded one and discovered its true purpose...