Moonah, a suburb approximately 5 km north of the central business district of Hobart, along with its southern neighbour, New Town, occupies land along the banks of the New Town Rivulet that was originally granted to a number of free settlers. Large areas of the suburb are today residential. Industrial zones are found along Charles St, Sunderland St and Gormanston Rd. Moonah is home to a major office of the state water company TasWater.

The key transport axis of Moonah is Main Road, which runs between Derwent Park to the north and New Town to the south. Metro Tasmania routes run along this corridor with several stops in Moonah. The Moonah shopping district is located largely between Florence Street and Amy Street, and includes a range of retail shops, restaurants and cafes, offices, banks, service stations, a newsagent, an auction house and a post office.

Moonah was originally named South Glenorchy until 1894 when the name 'Moonah' was given to South Glenorchy's post office and railway station. The name is an Aboriginal word for the gum tree.

Albert Park was a housing subdivision within the suburb of Moonah which is now incorporated into the Glenorchy municipality. The area previously known as Albert Park was established in the mid 1890s. It took its name from a heritage listed two storey Georgian stone house which still stands (see below). The house is complemented by an old garden and is very much in its original condition. Charles Abbott purchased 15 acres of land, including the site where Albert Park House now stands, in July 1833 and the building dates from this period. The subdivision was created from the Abbott's property.


West Moonah

West Moonah experienced considerable growth in the early 1950s during a housing boom. The locality was once mistakenly known locally as Springfield because the electric trams serving the area terminated in Springfield Avenue, and is today fast becoming acceptable because of its closeness to the city. The West Moonah Community Centre is a hub for community activities in the community. Located next to a park, the Community Centre offers a community preschool, playgroups, community garden, community computer lab, craft classes, walking and other community activities.

Pioneers of Moonah

New Farm

John Dakers received a 100 acre land grant, part of one of the first land grants in Van Diemen's Land, which extended all the way from the New Town Rivulet to Princes of Wales Bay, in 1805. Dakers had arrived in Australia as a free settler with Lieutenant-Governor David Collins. The authorities considered it desirable to separate the free settlers from the convicts and so, after Collins established the main settlement at Sullivans Cove, arrangements were made for the free settlers to be given land grants 4 kilometres to the north, on either side of the New Town Rivulet.

George Gatehouse purchased the property from Dakers in around 1820. Gatehouse was a classic example of a convict who served his time and then, through enterprise and hard work, established himself as a wealthy and respectable citizen. Gatehouse had been convicted of stealing from a dwelling house in Britain in September 1803 and was sentenced to transportation for seven years. He served his sentence in New South Wales and then went back to Britain where he raised a considerable sum of money. Gatehouse then returned to Australia and in 1816 set up a merchant's business in Hobart. The venture was very profitable and three years later Gatehouse was able to retire from business.

Henry Widowson visited Van Diemen's Land in 1827 and published a comprehensive account of his travels following his return to Britain. This included the following description of Gatehouse's property - 'The last house before you leave New Town is that of Mr G Gatehouse, an extensive miller and brewer; and although this residence has no great claim to architectural beauty, it is nevertheless a very respectable good-looking house; the garden is extensive, and is well stocked with all kinds of fruit trees'.

George Gatehouse died in November 1838 and his widow advertised the lease of the property in February 1839. The notice in the Hobart Town Courier described - 'The Valuable Premises &c. at New Town … comprises an extensive Brewery, Water Mill, Malt House, large Dwelling Houses, splendid gardens, &c. &c. &c. … The Dwelling House, is sufficiently large, and has every convenience for a family of the highest respectability. … The Garden is without exception, the most complete one in the colony, expense in procuring the best trees, &c, having been no consideration with the late proprietor. … a fountain constantly playing is situated near the centre of the garden'.

In May 1848, John Mezger purchased 'the Dwelling House, Brewery, Water Corn Mill and other buildings' together with the rights to the mill-race which carried water from a weir on the New Town Rivulet. The weir was located about 100 metres west of Main Road and the mill-race fed into a reservoir on the property. Mezger was a successful publican who operated the Bird-in-Hand Hotel in Argyle Street, Hobart for many years. By the 1850s Mezger also owned: Lauderdale on Risdon Road, Cliefden on New Town Road, the Dusty Miller Inn in Glenorchy, Gatehouse's mill and brewery on the New Town Rivulet, and 129 acres of land surrounding Albert Park House.

Mezger installed a large and powerful bone crushing mill (Crushed bone was considered to be a cheap but effective manure for improving crops) . John Mezger died in 1854 but his son, John Mezger junior, continued to operate the bone mill until the mid 1880s. It seems that environmental concerns ultimately led to the closure of the mill - Council regulations meant that the carters who collected bones from the butcher shops to take to the mill were not to operate during the day when their smell might offend the public; and locals complained about discharges from the bone mill into the New Town Rivulet and the 'stench from the mill'.

Albert Park House

In July 1833, Charles Abbott purchased 15 acres of land, including the site where Albert Park House (4 Dorest Street) now stands. The building dates from this period. William Young, a ship owner, purchased the 'capital dwelling house' in January 1838 and lived there until he sold it to John Mezger in January 1852.

Although Mezger died in February 1854, the trustees of his estate continued to lease out the properties. In July 1882, Dr Harry Benjafield purchased Albert Park House and 144 acres of the surrounding land. Benjafield established extensive orchards in the area and went on to become a major figure in the development of Tasmania's fruit industry - introducing many varieties of pear and pioneering cold storage and export of fruit to Britain.

Pitt Farm

Richard Pitt (1765-1826) emigrated to Australia as a free settler with Lieutenant-Governor David Collins' expedition which arrived at the Derwent in February 1804. He and others settled four kilometres north of Hobart Town on the fertile land adjoining the New Town Rivulet. Pitt was formally granted 100 acres on the northern side of the rivulet by the Governor of New South Wales, Philip Gidley King, on 18 December 1805. He was one of the few early settlers to have any prior knowledge of farming and was the most successful.

Following Pitt's death in 1826, the property passed to his son, Francis, who rented it out to various tenants. In 1885 the 100 acres were being leased to Dr Harry Benjafield, owner of the nearby Albert Park property and its homestead, Dorset House (today's 4 Dorset Street). Benjafield developed orchards in the area and is a major figure in the history of Tasmania's fruit industry.


Main Road, Moonah. 1960

The introduction of a regular tram service along Main Road between the centre of Hobart and Moonah in 1893 made it possible for people to live in Moonah and commute to work in Hobart. The following decades saw the area's orchards gradually replaced with houses. Large tracts of land was subdivided in the 1920s with the creation of Peronne and Hamel Street, named in commemoration of two decisive victories by Australian troops towards the end of World War I. Hamel Street follows the alignment of the original access to Main Road that was established during Gatehouse's time. The connection with Main Road was severed when the Main Line Railway was built in the early 1870s, and the portion to the west of the railway became known as Brownell's Lane. A new street was created along the eastern side of the railway and it is now known as Gatehouse Street.