Franklin

Franklin is a long, thin town, running alongside the Huon River. Population about 300. (Compared to 3400 in 1891 census.)

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The tourist information board says:
Franklin became a busy river port and the cultural and commercial centre of the region. Franklin’s foreshore was reclaimed in 1922 to provide housing and recreation facilities in anticipation of greater population growth and ambitions that Franklin would become the third town of importance in Tasmania, after Hobart and Launceston. However, the replacement of river transport by roads led to Franklin’s relative decline especially in the second half of the 20th century. The River was no long the road.

Most of the buildings are on the inland (western) side of the highway.

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On the eastern side of the road is the river, sports grounds, jetties and the Wooden Boat Centre.

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Hadspen

Along the fifty kilometre stretch between Launceston and Deloraine there are five towns, Hadspen, Carrick, Hagley, Westbury and Exton. Each town originated a coach stop on the road west, or so we were told. I don’t know if that’s true, but this is the old coaching inn at Hadspen.

Red Feather Inn
The Red Feather inn, built in the 1840s. At the time I took this photo, November 2006, it looks like it has fallen out of use, but according to the website it was refurbished and reopened late in 2008.

I’ve seen a couple of mentions that Hadspen was “established” in 1820, but I haven’t found anything that says where that date comes from. Possibly something associated with Entally, which was built the previous year. Most of the buildings in the town date from the 20th century, except for this stretch of street.

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Deloraine & Alveston

Fifty kilometres along the Bass Highay, almost directly west of Launceston, is Deloraine. Here the highway turns north and heads up to the north west coast.

I have to admit, I don’t know much about the history of the Deloraine (which might not seem that unusual except um…) other than somewhere back in the dark ages, one of the governors, I’m thinking Sorell, said, “We need more agricultural land. Go west and see what you can find.” What they found was a land of brown soil and good rainfall, that is very good for growing potatoes and other vegetables, and poppies it seems. Also dairy cows and fat lambs.

Railway
In 1870-71, the first railway line on island was put through from Launceston to Deloraine. The following decade the line was extended up to Devonport, up on the coast. (This bridge is from the 1880s.) Judging by the amount of late Victorian architecture, the town obviously benefited from the railway. There are still a lot of the older boxy Georgian buildings here though.

A few years back, the highway was redone and the towns along this part all by-passed. It doesn’t seem to have hurt the town though. The main road always seems to be busy, lots of cars and lots of people, and quite a bit of tourist orientated businesses. At least on one side of the river.

The main road that used to be the highway rans through the town, crosses the river and then runs through the main shopping area.

First part
This side of the river, there was the small town of Alveston. Possibly older than Deloraine, but it has now been absorbed. There are a number of buildings still remaining from that area though, including shops and the Plough Inn.

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Buckland

Town Sign
HotelYe Olde Buckland Inn. I’m not sure that putting “Ye Olde” on the front is really going to have much effect on visitor numbers though. Obviously it was a coaching inn on the Hobart to East Coast road, built in the 1831 (it says, everywhere else says 1840s). At one time, probably an attractive little sandstone building.

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St Marys

Not a lot of photos from here, because we just stopped to post something and get a milkshake.

Settlements were established in the Fingal Valley in the 1820s and 1830s for mining and farming, but access was unreliable due to flooding and there’s not much point mining and farming if you can’t get goods out (or in). So the government decided to build a pass through the mountains to connect the valley to the coast. In the early 1840s, a probation station was built near here, and another one on the coastal side and, from memory, about 400 men put to work building St Marys Pass. In the years that followed, a settlement grew up at the base of the mountains and eventually became a town that took its name from the nearby pass. In 1857, the tourist information kiosk in the photo says.

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Avoca

The Fingal Valley was a mining area, tin, coal and one large gold area. Now it’s just coal, that I’m aware of. There are a lot of mineral deposits through here, but nothing substantial enough to support a large scale mining operation. Despite the name, the river that runs through here is the South Esk.

The Esk Highway (A4) runs through here, connecting the Midlands to the East Coast. There are three towns along the highway, and the first of these is Avoca.

Avoca
I really should know more about this town than I do and I have lost my local history book so you’ll have to make do with looking at the pictures and making up your own descriptions.

Avoca was first settled in the 1830s. The population now is about 200 or less.

Hotel
The Union Hotel built 1842. You can see the typical Georgian hotel lines behind the additions.

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