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| Tinwald
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New Norfolk (including Plenty)
Fascinating historic town full of interesting
and unusual attractions
New Norfolk and Plenty are genuinely
fascinating. The richness and variety of their
historic buildings, the superb Salmon Ponds, the
old Oast Houses and the gentle undulations of
the countryside on either side of the Derwent
River make this one of the most attractive areas
in the whole of southern Tasmania. Mercifully
the town has not been over-developed and it is
still possible for visitors to wander through
the old Oast House, visit the historic asylum,
walk along the banks of the river, or inspect
the beautiful stained glass windows in
Tasmania's oldest church, The Anglican Church of
St Matthew.
Located 37 km north of Hobart and 30 m above
sea level, New Norfolk is one of the largest
centres in Tasmania. The townsite was first
explored by Europeans in 1793 when Lieutenant
John Hayes sailed up the Derwent River and, when
the river became too shallow, proceeded to row
to a point just upstream from the present site
of New Norfolk.
The first person to build a house at New
Norfolk was Denis McCarty, a larger-than-life
Irish rebel who had been transported to New
South Wales. In 1803 McCarty had been amongst
the first convicts to arrive at Risdon Cove. By
1808 McCarty had converted from convict to
police constable, been appointed to New Norfolk,
and built the first house in the district.
McCarty's appointment to the district was as
a result of an influx of Norfolk Islanders
(which is how the town came to be named New
Norfolk) in 1807-1808. By late 1808 544 people
(soldiers, convicts and free settlers) had
arrived in Van Diemen's Land from Norfolk
Island. They put an enormous strain on the
colony's fragile economy. However they did form
a basis for the settlement of the district.
In 1811 the erstwhile convict McCarty (in
fairness he was a political prisoner not a
common criminal) played host to Governor Lachlan
Macquarie when he visited the area. Macquarie
was so impressed with the gentle undulating
countryside and the fertile soil that he
established a township which he named Elizabeth
Town, after his wife. The name continued to be
used from 1811-1825 when the local settlers
changed it to New Norfolk.
McCarty was endlessly entrepreneurial. In
1812 he was granted 50 acres at Boyer just east
of New Norfolk and shortly afterwards he
successfully petitioned for a road between
Hobart Town and the New Norfolk district. He won
the construction contract and proceeded to build
it himself.
The establishment of a road into the area
combined with good river access meant that
throughout the next decade people settled in the
area in greater numbers. In 1819 John Terry
established the Lachlan River Mills downstream
from the present site of New Norfolk. By the
1860s the area around New Norfolk had become the
centre of hop growing in Tasmania and oast
houses had sprung up at strategic places in the
valley. The oast houses were used for the
processing and preparation of the hops which
were subsequently sent to the local breweries.
The hops were treated and pressed in the oast
houses.
Things to see:
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The Oast House
Entering New Norfolk from the south the visitor
should turn right into Tynwald Park where 'The
Oast House' and the gracious old home 'Tynwald'
are located.
The Oast House has been converted into a
museum, gift shop and tea room after serving as
a working oast house from 1867-1969. It stands
on a hill overlooking what were once the
extensive fields of hops. The museum in the Oast
House has interesting displays which explain how
the hops were processed. It also depicts the hop
farming methods which were used throughout the
Derwent Valley.
Beside the Oast House is 'Tynwald', the
Willow Bend Estate. It is one of the most
elegant rural residences in Tasmania. A huge
three storey house on the hill overlooking the
Derwent Valley. The site was first used by John
Terry, one of the district's earliest settlers,
who developed the Lachlan River Mill nearby. In
1898 the prominent politician, William Moore,
purchased the house, extended it dramatically -
he added the tower, bay window, verandah and
iron lacework, and renamed it 'Tynwald' after
the parliament on the Isle of Man. Both these
buildings are on the outskirts of town.
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| Willow Court,
the oldest mental hospital in Australia
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Old Colony Inn
Entering the town the visitor is immediately
struck by the sharp contrast between the old and
the new. The Lyell Highway crosses the Lachlan
River and winds up the hill into town past the
Old Colony Inn (1835), once a private home and a
hotel and now a coffee and craft shop. It has a
charm which is decidedly English. It was almost
certainly built to cater for the coaches which
started passing through the town in the mid
1830s.
Further up the road, although not as charming
as the Old Colony Inn due to some very
unsympathetic modernisation, is the famous Bush
Inn (1815) which claims to be the oldest
continuously licensed hotel in Australia. The
hotel's one great claim to fame is that during a
visit to New Norfolk in 1927 Dame Nellie Melba
stood on the balcony and sang to the crowds
below.
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| The Old
Colony Inn (built 1835) now a Coffee Inn
and Craft Shop |
Willow Court
Turning into Burnett Street the visitor passes
through the main shopping centre, which is
modern and has little connection with the town's
historic past, before arriving at 'Willow
Court', a superb old stone building which was
built as a military hospital in 1830-31 by Major
Kelsall. Only one room wide, with wide verandahs
and gabled two storey sections at the corners
and in the centre, Willow Court was originally
conceived by Governor Arthur as a location where
invalid convicts could be housed. It was named
'Willow Court' because Lady Franklin planted a
willow in the courtyard.
Willow Court is now part of the Royal Derwent
Hospital and is the only, and reputedly the
oldest, mental hospital in Tasmania. It is a
remarkable and simple building of great elegance
and character. Its military antecedents are very
obvious.
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| Stained glass
windows in St Matthews Church
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Anglican Church of St Matthew
If the Bush Inn is reputed to be the oldest
continuously licensed hotel in Australia it is
probably fitting that the country's oldest
church also exists in New Norfolk. The Anglican
Church of St Matthew in Bathurst Street opposite
the delightful Arthur Square was built in 1823.
The church was built as a response to the
rapid expansion of population in the district.
By 1822 there were 600 people living in the
area.
The church, which has been changed
significantly over the years, was consecrated in
1828 by Archdeacon Scott from Sydney. It has
been the subject of numerous alterations. In
1833 extensive additions made it a much more
impressive building. A tower was added in 1870
and in 1894, after a period of energetic fund
raising, the chancel was added and the windows,
roof and transepts were altered. It is clearly
not the same church which was built on the site
in 1823. All that is left of the original church
are the walls and flagged floor of the nave and
part of the western transept. Perhaps the most
interesting feature of the church are the
excellent stained glass windows.
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| Australian
Newsprint Mills at Boyer
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Australian Newsprint Mills
About 3 km downstream from New Norfolk are the
huge Australian Newsprint Mills at Boyer which
were opened in 1941. The mill claims to be the
first in the world to manufacture newsprint from
hardwoods. It can be inspected. Details are
available from the Visitors Historic and
Information Centre adjacent to the Council
Chambers.
The Salmon Ponds at Plenty
Some 11 km upstream from New Norfolk is the tiny
settlement of Plenty with its famous salmon
ponds. This delightful fishery can claim to be
the first rainbow and brown trout farm in
Australia having been in operation since 1864.
The original trout and salmon ova were exported
from England. There is a detailed history of
Salmon Ponds and the establishment of trout
fishing in Tasmania titled Origins of the
Tasmanian Trout which is available from the
kiosk.
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| The salmon
ponds at Plenty |
The Salmon Ponds setting is quite
extraordinary with mature gardens, well tended
lawns and a hatchery which looks more like a
collection of backyard goldfish ponds than a
commercial operation. There is a poem by
Margaret Scott which captures the magic of the
Salmon Ponds perfectly:
'This formal garden with its lakes and lawns
gleams against the dim autumnal marsh
like an album portrait framed in weeping haze.
We linger on a rustic bridge to gaze
through smoked-glass gold of elm and beech to
where
the full-fed salmon cruise the lily-beds.
