Weldborough

Weldborough (including Moorina)
Tiny village near one of Australia's most spectacular displays of tree ferns
This tiny settlement which is located 124 km north-east of Launceston is notable, more than anything else, for its exceptional pub - the Weldborough Hotel - and the Weldborough Pass where huge tree ferns grow on either side of the road.

Weldborough was first known as Thomas Plains. It was named after an early surveyor. The original plan was to open the area to rural development but the discovery of tin resulted in a sustained mining boom.

The mining boom saw a service town of pubs, general stores, butcher's shops and the like. Later a hotel (with good accommodation) and a racecourse were built.

'The Centenary of Portland' describes the town in the 1880s as 'The Chinamen came and set up a local Chinatown, carrying on as tin scratchers everywhere. All tin and goods went and came from Georges Bay by pack track and slab roads ... crops were put in, with good results, as Christmas time, while a few cows arrived upon the scene. This marks the earliest decade ... In the roaring days of the Weldborough Mine the lights were never dimmed, and with three shafts to every bed the trade 'roared on' continuously, and every prospect bore a pleasant smile. Having exhausted its importance as a going concern, the Weldborough petered out.'

It is widely recognised that this was the largest Chinese community on any tin field in Australia. They are said to have outnumbered the Europeans.

Things to see:

Weldborough Hotel
The heritage listed Weldborough Hotel, originally built in 1886 and previously known as the All Nations Hotel, is situated in the picturesque rainforest of the northeast of Tasmania. Check out: http://www.weldborough.com.au/new/ for more information. The hotel was mostly burnt down in 1928 and rebuilt by the then owner Maurice Russell.The area is perfect for bushwalking, fishing, mountain cycling, off road biking and driving.

Weldborough Pass
A few kilometres to the east of Weldborough is one of the most spectacular fern displays that you will see anywhere in Australia. For kilometres beside the road huge ferns are on either side of the road. They are interspersed with stands of blackwood, sassafras and myrtle. This is Weldborough Pass which rises 595 m and offers excellent views on either side of the road and the range.

The Chinese section of the Moorina Cemetery
10 km west of Derby on the Tasman Highway is the tiny settlement of Moorina. Once known as 'Krushkas Bridge' (after the Krushka brothers who settled in the area and opened the Derby mine) it was renamed Moorina, after Truganini's sister. Moorina was originally a tin mining centre. It now has a virtually non-existent population. The only interesting landmark in the town is the solitary Chinese headstone and small 'oven' in the cemetery (turn off the main road - it is clearly signposted) which recall the fact that in the late nineteenth century hundreds of Chinese arrived in the area to work in the tin mines.