February 2, 2014
Our port city of Mangalore in the State of Karnataka, India is blessed with many younger siblings notably in Australia, apart from few others around the world. Not long ago, in these very columns, I had narrated my experience of our ‘Drive to Mangalore’, approx. 125 km north-northeast of the city of Melbourne in the State of Victoria. This time, we went on a voyage to the State of Tasmania whereby we had the pleasure of visiting Mangalore, 34 km north-northwest of the State’s capital Hobart. Welcome to MANGALORE, Tasmania, Australia.
Voyage to Tasmania State, Australia
Our Ship … ‘Spirit of Tasmania in the high seas’ – nine hours sailing time separates the State of Victoria from the State of Tasmania
Come December/January, with summer vacation for the kids, it was time for the annual family holiday yet again. We finalised our plans to get away from the mainland and to explore the island State of Tasmania. Thence, we went on a voyage from the biggest island of the world to the smallest State of Australia, lying on the southernmost tip of this large Continent. We boarded the Ship ‘Spirit of Tasmania’ to make the day trip, sailing at 9.00 in the morning, reaching Devonport - the northernmost Tasmanian town at 6.00 in the evening covering a distance of 429 km (232 nautical miles), enjoying the innumerable facilities on board and relishing the beautiful scenic views the journey had to offer.
‘First glimpse of Tasmania’ - our Ship getting ready to dock in Devonport. Mangalore lies approx. 247 km southeast of Devonport
The biggest advantage of sailing is that you can take your vehicle along and whatever luggage you can fit in it, is an added bonus. Moving around and exploring the gigantic Finnish built Ship designed for 600 vehicles, with 222 cabins, 146 ocean recliners, games arcades, shops, restaurants and theatres was an experience in itself. By flight, Tasmania or ‘Tassie’ as the locals call it is just an hour and a quarter flying time from Melbourne to Hobart.
Welcome to Mangalore, Tasmania State, Australia
Mangalore is located in the southeast of Tasmania, which is also the southeast of Australia and is situated in the region of Oceania
On the fourth day of our eight day tour of Tasmania, we drove from Hobart to Mangalore covering the distance in half an hour. The State is beautiful and so is Mangalore. The suburb of Mangalore is on the Midland Highway, approx. 34 km north-northwest of Hobart, the State’s capital. Situated in between the suburbs of Bagdad and Brighton, it is located in south-east Tasmania at an elevation of approximately 80.3 m above sea level, the nearest ocean being the Southern Ocean that is about 110 km southwest. Mangalore of Tasmania covers an area of approx. 47.94 km² and is in the local government area of 'Southern Midlands' which is classified as a 'Municipality'. Mangalore is in the federal electorate of Lyons.
Mangalore, Tasmania from the southern entrance of the Midland Highway from the State’s capital Hobart. The name board ‘Mangalore’ can be seen on the far left
The post code of Mangalore is 7030 that is shared with 34 other suburbs with the approximate area sharing this postcode extending to 3530.9 km². Mangalore Post Office opened on 1 August 1891 but closed in 1969. Delivery Office postal code is Western Shore Delivery Centre with Barcode Sort Plan Number being 54.
Population, Demography
A view of Mangalore, Tasmania spreading across the suburb’s Ballyhooly Road
Mangalore of Tasmania being a small town had a population of 521 as per the 2011 Census that comprised of 48% females and 52% males. As per the 2006 census, the population was 983 that were made up of about 295 families. The dip to nearly almost half can be attributed to the fact that local residents are moving away in search of greener pastures, having their abode closer to their jobs or migrating to a bigger economy to nearby Victoria and elsewhere.
Mangalore with the population of 521 with a density of 11 persons/km² is slightly lower than the average for all cities and suburbs (One must remember Australia is one of the least densely populated country in the world with about 3 people/ km², with much of its outback not habituated and with two-thirds of the people living in five major cities, all located on the coast). The median/average age is 37 years old, which is moderately lower than the average for all cities and suburbs. 94% of the people living in Mangalore were born in Australia and their ancestors were mostly Australian. 95.4% of people speak English as their first language. The religious make up of Mangalore is 39.6% Anglican, 22.8% No Religion, 22.6% Catholic, 4.4% Uniting Church, 1.2% Australian Aboriginal Traditional Religions. The average resident in Mangalore has completed 10.52 years of schooling, which is slightly lower than the average for all cities and suburbs in Australia.
The main occupations of people from Mangalore, Tasmania are Technicians and Trades Workers 21.2%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 14.6%, Managers 12.3%, Community and Personal Service Workers 10.8%, Professionals 10.4%, Machinery Operators and Drivers 10%, Labourers 9.2%, Sales Workers 8.5%. Mangalore has an unemployment rate of 4.1%.
Of the 332 private dwellings in Mangalore – 33.7% are owned outright by their occupiers, 57% are in the process of being purchased by home loan mortgage and 9.3% are being rented. On average there are around 3.0 people per private dwelling in the area. The composition of occupied private dwellings in Mangalore is - 100.0% separate houses, 0.0% semi-detached houses (eg. townhouses, row or terrace houses), 0.0% flats (including units and apartments). In a nutshell, Mangalore is only filled with houses that comprises of a compound wall, front yard and a back yard.
Climate
‘Flora and Fauna’ - The land area is not cultivated; most of the natural vegetation is still intact. The landscape is mostly covered with rainfed croplands
Compared to the rest of Australia, Mangalore experiences far below average daytime temperatures, wind speed and humidity levels. Overnight temperatures, rainfall, numbers of cloudy days and numbers of clear days are below average. Mangalore has a humid (> 0.65 p/pet) climate. The land area is not cultivated; most of the natural vegetation is still intact. The landscape is mostly covered with rainfed croplands. The climate is classified as a marine west coast (no dry season, warm summer), with a cool temperate moist forest bio zone. The soil in the area is high in planosols (pl), soils in flat areas, with seasonal saturation caused by impermeable lower horizon.
Summer in Mangalore is between December and February and maximum daily temperatures average between 21.9 and 23.1°C with overnight minimums averaging between 10.9 and 11.7°C. Summer days are moderate but can be moderately cool if windy, averaging around 23.1 °C in the hottest months.
Winter is between June and August and maximum daily temperatures average between 10.5 and 12.2°C with overnight minimums averaging between 3.1 and 4.5°C. Winter days in Mangalore are moderately cold but can be chilly if windy, dropping to around 10.5 °C.
The annual rainfall of Mangalore is about 569 mm. The most rain received by Mangalore in a day was 134 mm. Mangalore can have low impact (v or less) earthquakes (on average one every 50 years), with occurrences at <5 Richter.
In and around Mangalore
A horse stable in Mangalore, Tasmania on the Black Brush Road
As we drove along the Mangalore section of the Heritage Highway, we had a look at the gracious, private, magnificent old homes on the side of the road with its garbled outbuildings, historic Shene stables at a distance - an excellent example of the skill of convict stonemasons. All these are testament to the wealth of early European settlers in the area, who experienced great prosperity from wheat-growing to feed the burgeoning colonial population in the early nineteenth century. There is a Chauncy Vale Wildlife Sanctuary near Mangalore, one of Tasmania’s oldest private conservation areas and a favourite haunt of bushwalkers, field naturalists and birdwatchers. It is only open on the first Saturday of each month from 2pm to 4pm, or by appointment. We were around that area on a Wednesday and ths we could not make it. Alternatively, farther south at Bonorong Park near Brighton, one can watch Tasmanian devils, wombats, echidnas, quolls and a range of other native animals at close quarters which we had the privilege to visit the following day.
The Wybra Hall in Mangalore was initially a private residence in 1860, a Government run home during 1956-1988 and now again a private residence
Wybra Hall, was a government run home that opened in 1956. It was a training institution in Mangalore that housed boys aged between 9 and 14. From 1979, Wybra Hall also accommodated girls. It also catered to Adolescent Care and Reformatory. However, it closed in 1988 and at the time of closure only 12 teenagers lived there. The government sold the building and used the funds to provide accommodation for girls at Ashley Home for Boys and to improve its facilities. Wybra Hall staff was transferred to the suburb of Ashley. Now, Wybra Hall is again a private residence. Wybra Hall was built about 1860 and the owner then returned to England where he got married. He and his wife were on their way back to this beautiful and elaborate home full of dreams, when their ship was wrecked and they both perished.
‘The luxury your pet deserves’ - Mangalore Kennels & Cattery is located on Midland Highway in Mangalore, Tasmania
Mangalore Kennels and Cattery on 1164, Midlands Highway in Facebook has nearly a 1000 likes and if you are a lover of animals especially dogs, just like the Aussies are, please visit this page on Facebook for some beautiful photos of animals and get an instant feel of Mangalore in Tasmania.
Tasmanian Mangalore is named after our Kudla
This is a matter of pride to us all to know that the ‘Mangalore of Tasmania’ is named after our own Kudla (Tulu) / Kodial (Konkani) / Mangalooru (Kannada) / Maikala (Beary Basha) / Mangalapuram (Malayalam) / Manjarun (Sanskrit).
‘One of the younger siblings’ - Mangalore of Tasmania, as seen from the northern entrance of the Midland Highway is named after the port city of Mangalore, Karnataka, India
The term Mangalore was introduced somewhere in the year 1799 by the British when Sir Thomas Monroe became the first Collector of the Canara district that included Mangalore, Kasaragod, Udupi and Karwar, after the colonial forces marched into this coastal city after the defeat of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore. It is widely believed the British found it challenging to pronounce the town’s original name and thus the term Mangalore was ‘coined.’ Hence, the coining of the name ‘Mangalore’ led to its copying and naming elsewhere wherever the British went, especially here in Australia as they have had a tendency of naming other places from their original coinage. Mangalore of Karnataka was ‘original’ and the rest naming of the places with the same name around the world were ‘duplicates’ as they were all named after the year 1799. Mangalore in the States of Tasmania and Victoria were named in the first half of the nineteenth century. Unlike India which is a Republic, Australia is a constitutional monarchy, the Queen of England its head who is represented in Australia by a Governor-General.
Conclusion
Back home, people would remember Tasmania for reasons of cricket – the long association of former Australian cricket captain (2002-2012) Ricky Ponting who hails from Launceston approx. 167 km from Mangalore, Tasmania. In the last IPL season, he captained the Mumbai Indians which won the championship, though if my memory is correct, he was not in charge of the team when they actually went on to win it. He represented Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2008 season. George Bailey, who led the Australian one day cricket team to India in the absence of Michael Clarke, during Oct/Nov. 2013 tour of India and who represents Chennai Super Kings in IPL is also from this State. The other batsman worth mentioning from this State was David Boon, the short man with a big moustache who in the past has many times frustrated the Indians by his superb batting display.
Superseding all of the above, we can associate ourselves with this State of Tasmania for this evergreen reason – for there is another ‘Mangalore’ thousands of miles away from our home town.
A scenic view of Mangalore, Tasmania from the town’s Mountford Drive
Named after the Port City of Mangalore …
On the south-east of Tasmania, Australia I lie
I am small but beautiful, sparsely populated
Clean, green, seldom dry; super cool am I!
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