On the edge of Princes Park there’s a semaphore station and signal mast that had been used to signal when ships were entering the harbour. The station also relayed messages via a chain of stations to Port Arthur.
Moving on from Princes Park, we started the climb that took us onto Hampden Road, moving almost immediately into a world of restored cottages and fine Georgian styled sandstone homes that dating from the earliest stages of European settlement.
Around the top of the hill, a right hand turn took us into Arthur Circus, a circle of period cottages originally constructed for the officers from the garrison. On the way in we passed The Grand Old Duke, formerly the Duke of York Tavern built in 1850 and restored as serviced self-contained apartments.
The ring of cottages built around a circular park takes its name from Governor Arthur, whose role in developing one of the earliest sub-divisions in Australia in 1837 is reputed to have involved some dubious practice. During his term of office between 1824 and 1836 he bought 15,048 acres (6090 ha) of land, for £9765, and sold most of it when he left in 1836. In 1839, the total value was nearly £50,000.
Arthur Circus seems to have been part of his holding, and the original cottages are still here. Refurbished, they are now expensive and highly sought after residences, and it’s claimed Arthur Circus is the only street with Circus in its name in Australia.