coastal – Tasmanian Towns

Beauty Point developed as a port for Beaconsfield. It’s seen a resurgence lately with developments like Seahorse World. The pub got upgraded to a swanky drinking place, which is where the first three photos are taken from.

Orford

March 28, 2015 by Xenith

Orford is just south of Triabunna. The population for most of the year is 400-500 people, but rises to something like 3000 over summer. Want to guess what sort of town it is?

Coming in from the north, just after the bridge, the highway turns inland and heads towards Hobart and the towns of the south east. I guess that makes it the last town on the east coast.

Swansea

March 25, 2015 by Xenith

This is Swansea, part historic town, part beach resort.

The first British settlement in the area was a grant given to George Meredith in 1821. Actually, he was one of a group of partners who took up grants in the area. He was also heavily involved in early colonial politics, but if you’re interested in that, follow the link.

Swansea is on top corner of Oyster Bay, which is the large bay on the east coast that shows up on any map with some level of detail, with Freycinet Peninsula forming the other side.

Ulverstone

March 25, 2015 by Xenith

Ulverstone, on the north-west coast. Population about 10K. Established mid/late 19th century. IIRC main industries timber cutting & farming. Much modernised mid/late last century. Park

Rocket park

Turners Beach

March 25, 2015 by Xenith

Turners Beach, on the north west coast between Devonport and Ulverstone. I thought it was more of residential area, but on investigation we found a service station, a fire station, a tennis club, a hall and a football team (although it seems they didn’t win any games this year). I think any place that has a hall and a football team must have enough of an identity to be considered a town for the purposes of this exercise. Also there is a phone box.

Photos aren’t the best (it was a bit bleak) and I won’t bother captioning (there’s a service station, a fire station, a tennis club, a hall and a football club.)

Stanley

March 8, 2015 by Xenith

Back in the early 19th century, speculators in the UK thought they could make money of all that unused land in the new colonies without actually having to travel out there, by establishing agricultural companies to grow fine wool that would be sold back home. One of these, the Australian Agricultural Company set themselves up in northern NSW. Another, the VDL Company, went to VDL. The colonial government wasn’t too happy about this intrusion, so they found themselves shoved up into the far, distant corner of the island.

So in 1827, a boatload of livestock, indentured servants and other necessities were dropped at Circular Head, where they proceeded to farm sheep for wool and the sheep proceeded to die. You might have noticed from the photos that the climate up that way is a tad different to the climate down through the Midlands, where the successful wool properties are.

(The whole process is all rather interesting in the complicated way of money & politics, and ideas on paper meeting reality, but the only half-decent account I can find online is the ADB listing for Edward Curr, the manager.)

So that’s why Stanley, which is one of the oldest towns on the island, is sitting up there among towns that didn’t develop until the following century.