Avalon Coastal Retreat, Swansea, Tasmania. The house, which comes with its own secluded beach, has three bedrooms with queen-size, Stuart Houghton-made Tasmanian oak beds. Avalon costs $770 a night for a maximum of six people.
Located 134 km from Hobart, 133 km from Launceston and 67 km from Campbell Town, Swansea sits on Great Oyster Bay and gazes across at the rugged mountains of the Freycinet National Park. It is a pretty setting and it boasts a very substantial number of historic homes and buildings which give this fishing and holiday destination a distinctive charm.
The first European to explore the Swansea area was a Captain Cox sailing the brig Mercury from England to Sydney Town. He sailed up the eastern coast of Tasmania and, having heard rumour of vast colonies of seals, on 3 July 1789 sailed along the western shore of Maria Island and into a stretch of water he named Oyster Bay. He described the bay as 'being quite landlocked and sheltered from the wind in every direction.' Cox noted that the area was already inhabited by Aborigines who, from the evidence of their middens, were obviously living off the oysters and shellfish. They disappeared into the hinterland but Cox observed smoke from their fires.
Numerous sailors passed through the bay over the next twenty years but it wasn't until the 1820s that Europeans settled in the district. In 1821 there were three families in the area. It wasn't until 1827 that any sort of substantial community was established in the area. It was in that year that Captain George Hibbert of the 40th Foot Regiment established a military outpost at Waterloo Point (near the present site of the Swansea Golf Club). It was a typical military post with accommodation for the soldiers, a guard house and a commissariat. By 1852 it had hardly developed. One observer wrote that it was little more than 'One struggling street, its chief feature a long wooden pier, erected by the inhabitants with government aid, the white cottage of an English clergyman on the point to the south ... and a few whitewashed buildings.' None of these buildings now remains.
The town remained under military control until 1860 when the Glamorgan municipality, the first rural municipality in Tasmania, was established.
In spite of this Swansea started to grow. By 1830 there were 150 free residents and 170 convicts and assigned servants. The most common access from Hobart at this time was via Campbell Town. Between 1835-45 convicts worked on a road north through the mountains to Avoca and on a road south to Hobart. In 1831 the post office was established and in the late 1830s a number of substantial buildings - Morris's Store, Schouten House, the Black Swan Inn - were all built showing an increasing prosperity.
The town continued to grow. It eventually became the most important service centre on the lower eastern coast of the island and, in recent times, it has proved to be a popular holiday destination.
Things to see
Swansea Bark Mill and East Coast Museum
Located at 96 Tasman Highway the Swansea Bark Mill and East Coast Museum was built by the Morey family in the 1880s (circa 1885). Now a Tavern and Bakery, this historic machinery plant originally processed black wattle bark which was the basic ingredient used for tanning leather. It is possible to see the machinery working today. The East Coast Museum, which is attached, has extensive displays recording the early history of the district. It is open from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. Contact (03) 6257 8094 or check out:http://www.barkmilltavern.com.au/ for more information.
Morris' General Store
Now an impressive three-storey building on the main road through the town, Morris' General Store started life as a single-storey building in 1838. The two additional storeys were added as business expanded. It is a simple rectangular structure with hipped iron-clad roofs and 12-pane windows.
Council Chambers
Located in Noyes Street the Council Chambers was constructed by James Hurst in 1860. It is characterised by a lean-to verandah, a hipped iron roof, arched windows and the foundations and main walls are constructed from painted rubble with brick quoins and opening surrounds. There is some evidence that the materials used to construct the Council Chambers came, in part, from the military outpost at Waterloo Point.
Meredith House
Now an attractive 'colonial accommodation' destination, Meredith House is located at Noyes Street. The land originally owned by Charles Meredith, husband of noted colonial artist and poet, Louisa Anne Meredith, was subsequently purchased by J.A. Graham who had the existing two-storey Georgian House built in 1853.It was variously known as Laughton House and in the 1930s it was called Canberra. At one time it was used as school. For more information check out: http://www.meredith-house.com.au/
All Saints Church
All Saints Church on the corner of Noyes and Wellington Streets was completed in 1871. It is a Gothic church and was designed by H. Hunter. It was constructed of roughly coursed fieldstone, it has dressed sandstone trimmings to buttresses and gable copings.
Schouten House
Schouten House was built by a Mr Champion of Hobart Town in 1845 as a wedding gift to his daughter Theresa. It became known as the Swansea Hotel and the southern wing was used as a brewery. When Theresa died in 1855 it was sold and became a Grammar School. By 1860 it had become a private residence.
Resthaven
Now known as Oyster Bay Guest House and located at 10 Franklin Street, Resthaven was built in 1841 and operated initially as the Black Swan Inn. In 1870 it became a store and then became a private residence which was occupied by a number of different doctors.
Spiky Bridge
Located 7.5 km south of Swansea, Spiky Bridge is a convict bridge which was built in 1843. It was constructed from fieldstones which were laid without mortar or cement. The parapet features fieldstones laid vertically which gives the bridge a spiky appearance. It has been claimed that the spikes were designed to prevent cattle falling over the sides.
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