Ross
The most beautiful historic town in Tasmania.
Tasmania has an excess of beautiful and fascinating 19th century
colonial towns. Places like Campbell Town and Richmond are famous
for their gift shops, their pretty vistas and their overt tourist
appeal. But, of all the early 19th towns, there is nothing quite
the equal of Ross.
Brighton (including Bagdad and Broadmarsh)
Historic town on the road between Hobart and Launceston
Some Australian towns have the strangest names. Brighton, a
pleasant seaside resort town on the southern coast of England, can
surely have very few similarities with Brighton, a military post,
27 km north of Hobart. Yet, Governor Macquarie, in 1821 when he
visited Van Diemen's Land, decided that this military post should
be named Brighton 'in honour of our present gracious Sovereign's
favourite place of residence'. So, today, on the Midland Highway
between Hobart and Launceston, a world away from the England of
King George IV and the English southern coast, there is a township
named Brighton.
Sorell (including Midway Point)
Service township for the surrounding farming communities
Located 26 km east of Hobart on the Arthur Highway, Sorell is a
service town for the surrounding farming communities. It lies in
the heart of an area which was once the grain capital of Van
Diemen's Land and which now specialises in sheep, mixed farming and
dairy produce.
Pontville
Tiny historic village north of Hobart
The tiny village of Pontville is located 35 km north of Hobart on the Midlands Highway. Just a few kilometres from Brighton it became an important stopping point on the road from Hobart to Launceston in the 1830s and effectively replaced Brighton which, at one time, had been promoted as a possible future capital of the island. From this time on it became one of the major suppliers of stone for the whole southern region of Tasmania.
Snug
Small town now a commuter belt settlement
Located 30 km south of Hobart on the Channel Highway between Kingston and Kettering, Snug is another small town on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel which has attracted city dwellers and people interested in alternative lifestyles. Once a centre for fruit growing and timber cutting it has become urbanised in the last few decades.
Rokeby
Interesting commuter suburb of Hobart
Located only 14 km from Hobart, Rokeby is an independent and
fascinating settlement which is currently feeling the pressures of
urban sprawl - pressures which were greatly exacerbated by the
completion of the Tasman Bridge in 1965.
Saltwater River
Fascinating penal colony ruin - as interesting as Port
Arthur
'Westward from Eaglehawk Neck and Woody Island lay the dreaded Coal
Mines. Sixty of the 'marked men' were stationed here under a strong
guard. At the Coal Mines was the northernmost of those ingenious
series of semaphores which rendered escape almost impossible', such
was Marcus Clarke's description of the penal settlement at
Saltwater River in his famous book For the Term of his Natural
Life.
Bronte Park
Once a construction village, now a base for activity-based
holidaymakers.
Located midway between Hobart and Queenstown (147 km north west of
Hobart and 115 km east of Queenstown), Bronte Park is close to the
geographic centre of Tasmania. It was once a Hydro-Electric
Commission village. In recent times this tiny village, which is
surrounded by excellent trout fishing lakes, has become a base for
fishermen, canoeists and bushwalkers. The old HEC huts have been
turned into a 'highland village' with chalet accommodation and, in
turn, they have attracted other specialist accommodation to the
area.
Search pagination
