Bridgewater Jerry is a fog formation that occasionally appears over the River Derwent in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...

and down the Derwent Valley. It is named after the suburb of Bridgewater, and the word "jerry" may have come from convict slang for 'fog' or 'mist'. It was probably first described in 1821, when Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

was stranded at

Austin's Ferry Austins Ferry is a residential suburb of the local government area (LGA) of City of Glenorchy, Glenorchy in the greater Hobart region of Tasmania. It is a suburb of Hobart. Geography Austins Ferry is about north of the centre of the City of Gl ...

because of fog. The Bridgewater Jerry forms at night during the cooler months when cold air comes down the surrounding hills as

katabatic wind A katabatic wind (named ) is a downslope wind caused by the flow of an elevated, high-density air mass into a lower-density air mass below under the force of gravity. The spelling catabatic is also used. Since air density is strongly dependent o ...

s and collects in the Derwent Valley. During winter, the Bridgewater Jerry occurs once or twice a week.

Community responses

The local community has a strong appreciation for the Bridgewater Jerry, which is expressed through online community groups dedicated the phenomenon, as well as photography competitions, sculptures and performances. In 2008 a sculpture dedicated to the fog, by Tasmanian artist Tony Woodward, was installed at Greenpoint Plaza in Bridgewater. The mosaic-based sculpture depicts a human figure - the fog personified - cradling a miniature town. In July 2023, Hobart-based artist Hannah Foley presented a series of contemporary performances on the river's commuter ferry boat, during its early morning services. These ritualistic performances, titled ''Wet Breath Exchange'', were said to be created in collaboration with the Bridgewater Jerry, and aimed to draw attention to the material exchange between human bodies and the body of fog through breath. At this time, Foley also launched a participatory online artwork called
Aeriform Archive
': a website which acts as a platform for a community generated archive of embodied experiences with the fog, and also provides a 7-day Bridgewater Jerry forecast. The forecast was made with the assistance of meteorologist Michael Conway of the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

References

{{reflist Hobart Fog River Derwent (Tasmania)

Community responses

See also

References