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| The banks of
the Huon River at Huonville
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Huonville (including Ranelagh)
Small town on the Huon River surrounded by
fields of apples and hops
Located on the Huon River 39 km southwest of
Hobart, Huonville is a small but thriving
community serving the surrounding apple, timber
and hops industries. Although it is relatively
small Huonville is recognised as the major
centre in the Huon Valley.
The Huon River was first explored by the
French Admiral, Bruni D'Entrecasteaux, who named
it, a nearby island, a soft pine and the
Kermandie River, after the commander of his
support vessel, L'Esperance, Captain Huon de
Kermadec.
As far as can be determined the local
Aborigines didn't settle in the Huon Valley
although it is true that when d'Entrecasteaux
entered the river in 1792 his party did make
contact with an Aboriginal girl Oura-Oura near
the present site of Cygnet.
The establishment of the British settlement
at Hobart Town in 1804 led to the exploration of
the area by the botanist Robert Brown but he
dismissed it as unsuitable for settlement
because of poor soil. This did not stop the
timber getters and whalers from camping in the
area while searching for stands of timber and
schools of whales.
It is thought that the first white man to
settle permanently in the area was a 'bolter',
an escaped convict, who was found by timber
getters in early 1820s. The man, whose name was
Martin, had built a primitive camp near Price's
Creek.
Later, as settlement began along the banks of
the river, Martin became absorbed into the local
community. He owned two boats with the unusual
names of the Fighting Pig and the Crooked Eye
and was well regarded.
The first land grants in the district were
made to John Price at the present site of
Franklin in late 1834. He was followed by John
Clark who, in 1836, took up land north of
Price's Landing and the Kellaway family who
settled on the opposite shore at Woodstock.
In 1839 Lady Franklin bought John Price's
land and divided it into 50 and 100 acre blocks
which she had cleared and sold to poor, free
settlers. She had a vision of the kind of
settlement she wanted to create in the Huon
Valley and was prepared to back her commitment
with financial assistance. She did much to help
the settlers including, as she mentioned in a
letter to her sister in England, giving one
family a milk goat and the next year buying it
back because they were in such bad straits.
The district began to develop in the 1840s
and 1850s when both apples and hops were grown
with some success.
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| St James
Anglican Church, Ranelagh
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The development of Huonville started around
1847 when the Wharton family were granted 1644
acres (1 sq. mile) and built a brick house known
as 'The Inlet' near the site of the present
bridge. The house still stands (it is a private
residence) and is located at the end of Short
Street which runs beside the river. This is not
surprising as, before the first bridge across
the river was built in 1876, all the houses were
built facing the river because it was the only
available form of transportation. The bricks for
the house were hand made from clay dug next to
the house.
Since the land on which Huonville is now
located was originally privately owned the early
buildings in the town were built along Glen Road
and past Ironstone Creek. The construction of
the bridge in 1876 (it cost £4400 and was a toll
bridge charging 2 pence for walkers and 6 pence
for horses) ensured that a town would eventually
grow up where the road crossed the river. In the
early days the 'town' was nothing more than the
Picnic Hotel and a shop or two along the river.
The Picnic Hotel was burnt down and subsequently
rebuilt as the Grand Hotel which still stands
near the bridge. It wasn't until 1889 that the
town became known as Huonville.
The first bridge was timber with blackwood
arches and had a lift span on the northwest end
to let sailing ships through. Unfortunately the
animals which were driven across the bridge
tended to leave dirt and the lift span was
notorious for not working properly. The original
bridge was eventually replaced in 1926 and in
1959 the present steel and concrete structure
was completed.
At Ranelagh, which is only a few kilometres
from Huonville and is now almost a suburb of the
larger town, a farm was established on one
square mile of land which stretched from
Ironstone Creek to the river. This property was
originally known as Victoria and included the
present site of Huonville. It was here that one
of the largest hopfields in Tasmania was
established.
At the time it seemed that Ranelagh would
become the major centre in the valley. However
the construction of the bridge further
downstream ensured that Huonville prospered
while Ranelagh made little progress. It is a
comment on the changing fortunes of the two
settlements that Ranelagh has three churches
(Anglican, Roman Catholic and Uniting) while
Huonville, now the larger centre, has only one
(Congregational).
Things to see:
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| The hop
fields at Ranelagh |
Ranelagh and its attractions
The area around Huonville grows more than half
of Tasmania's apples. The town itself has little
of real interest and the major historical
buildings in the area are located at Ranelagh, a
delightful almost English village with an old
Oast House which was originally used for the
processing of hops. The Oast House is part of
the Frankcomb Estate which, as a major employer
in the area, processes both apples and hops.
Ranelagh is surrounded by hop fields. An
indication of how cold the area gets in winter
can be gleaned from the large wood piles beside
many of the houses in the village. St James
Anglican Church, on the right as you enter
Ranelagh from Huonville, is a delightful old
timber church with an interesting graveyard.
Ranelagh's only 'tourist attraction' is the
Tasmanian Antique Motor Museum' which has over
40 old vehicles including a 1934 Terraplane and
a 1923 Fiat 501 originally owned by Lady Jones
of IXL.
To the north of Huonville is The Huon Valley
Apple Museum and Heritage. It is a typical local
folk museum with memorabilia, gifts and, in
season, lots of apples for sale.
