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The Bridgewater Jerry

‘Jerry’ is a specific type of fog, which affects the Derwent estuary during autumn and winter.

At night-time, during these cooler months, cold air drains down the mountains of southern Tasmania as katabatic winds (type of drainage or downslope wind that flows downhill due to gravity) and collects in the Derwent Valley.

If the air is moist and cool enough, fog will form. The following morning, the air drains out of the valley, blowing the fog with it.

The name was apparently coined by convicts who were transported from London, where it was slang local thieves used for ‘fog’ or ‘mist’.

This phenomenon was first recorded in 1821 when Governor Macquarie’s travel plans to Hobart were disrupted by the Jerry whilst he was staying at Austins Ferry.

Of course, this natural weather phenomenon no doubt had a number of Aboriginal names and explanations that were known to the Big River, Oyster Bay and other clans whose ancestral homelands included sections of both sides of Timtumili Minanya, the river down which the Jerry snakes at specific times of the year.

In 2008, the Bridgewater Jerry was the inspiration for a sculpture created by Tasmanian artist Tony Woodward, who was well known for his humorous and playful mosaic tile sculptures.

Using mosaic craft techniques developed during his residence with the Alcorso Foundation in Italy, Woodward crafted a personification of ‘Jerry’ cradling a miniature town. Text on the side of the sculpture reads “The lingering breath of a cold and seeping sky… a liquid marble stream of silver, blue and gold.”

Originally located at the Green Point shopping complex in Bridgewater, ‘Jerry’ was taken off display in 2021.The Brighton Council is currently undertaking conservation works on the sculpture, with the assistance of Tony Woodward’s sister Margaret Woodward.

Bridgewater Jerry
Bridgewater Jerry, 2013. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/esereth/9252562361

Lachlan Macquarie, 9 June 1821

“We got up rather late – the morning being very dark and foggy – and did not Breakfast till 11, O’clock. —The Fog continued heavy till ½ past 12, O’clock; and having resolved on going by Water to Hobart Town, we set out in the Naval Officer’s Boat at ¼ before 1. P.M”

On the Derwent, near Hobart Town Clifford
On the Derwent, near Hobart Town Clifford Photo, 1869. Clifford, Samuel, 1827-1890. Source: State Library of Tasmania, 136193752

Bridgewater local, 1946

“the reflection is a libel, since the icy blasts originate much farther up the Derwent Valley, yet Bridgewater seems to get the blame… having the misfortune to travel through a particularly good one recently, I reached New Norfolk and found it well planted there as well, a townsman describing it as a ‘Bushy Park blizzard’.”

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