New Norfolk, Tasmania
A picturesque Georgian town set idylically on the banks of the River Derwent, New Norfolk is centrally located and is a perfect base from which to explore the surrounding areas. Mount Field National Park with its rugged beauty and seclusion is only 30 minutes away. New Norfolk is a recommended day trip destination from Hobart. The stretch of Lyell Highway between Bridgewater and New Norfolk is particulary pretty, especially in the early morning with the river is calm and the reflection on the water of the hills is mirror-like.
Where is it?: Tasmania: South. 35 km from Hobart on the Lyell Highway between Hobart and Queenstown.
New Norfolk grew dramatically when settlers from Norfolk Island moved into the district after 1807. When Governor Lachlan Macquarie visited the township he named it Elizabeth Town after his wife. However, it was later decided to adopt the name New Norfolk, to acknowledge the large number Norfolk Islanders who moved there after the island's settlement was closed. New Norfolk is home to Tasmania’s oldest Anglican church with part of the building dating back to 1825. The town is also the location of Australia’s oldest continually used Methodist (Uniting) church which opened in 1836.
The Oast House
The building served as a working oast house from 1867 to 1969. It has now been converted into a museum, gift shop, craft market and tea room. It is located on a hill overlooking what were once the extensive hops fields that drove the economy of the town and surrounding district. The museum in the Oast House has interesting displays which explain how the hops were processed and the hop farming methods which were used throughout the Derwent Valley.
Toll House
Built on the northern side of the River Derwent, the Toll House (right) was erected in 1841 by private enterprise along with the first bridge over the river at New Norfolk. The toll keeper collected the toll, firstly from foot traffic in 1841 and in 1842 the bridge was opened to vehicles. for the display and sale of Tasmanian produce and local crafts.
Willow Court
A superb old stone building which was built as a military hospital in 1830-31 by Major Roger 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.
Willow Court is part of the former Royal Derwent Hospital and is the oldest mental hospital in Australia on its original site. It is a remarkable and simple building of great elegance and character. The Royal Derwent Hospital, (originally New Norfolk Insane Asylum and later Lachlan Park) was built to house mentally ill and mentally handicapped persons in 1827, soon after the separation of Van Diemens Land from New South Wales. Its name was changed on 27 March 1968 to the Royal Derwent Hospital, also absorbing the nearby Millbrook Rise facility on 1 July 1968 to house patients. It was open for more than 170 years, finally closing in November 2000.
Willow Court Asylum Precinct buildings
One of the oldest churches in Australia, construction commenced in 1823 and it was consecrated in 1828 by Archdeacon Scott from Sydney. 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. 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.
Glen Derwent
An early colonial convict built property classified by The National Trust. The property started life as an inn, being licensed as the King of Prussia Inn in 1829. The licensee was Oscar Davis who came to Van Diemen's Land as a convict sentenced to 14 years for forgery. Later it was known as Elwin's Hotel, where for two and a half years it was home to the exiled Irish revolutionary William Smith O'Brien. Smith O'Brien was the leader of the failed Irish uprising and rebellion in 1848, following the potato famines. Smith O'Brien spent some time at Maria Island, then Port Arthur for a few months, then came his time at Glen Derwent, where he rented a room with adjoining lounge for £6 per month. Although still a convict and in exile, he was permitted by the authorities to roam the district.
Bush Inn is claimed to be the oldest licensed hotel in Australia (1825). Dame Nellie Melba once sang on its balcony, Lady Franklin (wife of Governor) planted the pear tree in the garden. Location: Some sources say the building has operated as a pub since 1815. In April 1825, a Hobart newspaper noted that at New Norfolk "a widow lady named Bridger has just completed a very commodious two-storey house of public entertainment, which is deservedly well frequented." In October of the same year, Ann Bridger received a licence to sell spirits, wine and beer at the sign of the Bush Inn at New Norfolk. Location: 49-51 Montagu St, New Norfolk.
The Old Colony Inn is another early hostelry. It now is used for B&B accommodation. Location: 21 Montagu St, New Norfolk.
The Methodist Chapel is the oldest church of that denomination in Tasmania (1837). Methodist activity at New Norfolk began in the early 1820’s. Two preachers, Benjamin Nokes and Samuel Dowsett, have rival claims as to having been the first who gathered the Methodist-minded residents together for a service. In 1821 Reverend William Horton, the Methodist minister at Hobart Town, extended his ministry to the Derwent Valley, preaching in the homes of settlers throughout the scattered district. As the number of Methodist worshippers grew, temporary accommodation was obtained in one of the New Norfolk inns, where regular services were conducted until the old courthouse at New Norfolk was made available.
In 1835 construction of a chapel began but it was not officially opened and dedicated until November 2, 1837, by Reverend Joseph Orton. The church was built by James Turnbull and the simply design in the fashion of 19th century English Methodist chapels has remained mostly unaltered (although there was no porch on the original church). The furnishings were of cedar and the pews were fitted with doors with the original seating plan providing for family pews. In the early days the church Trust charged a rent of 1s. 3d. a sitting for pew seats, seperated from the “poor seats” at the rear of the church. In 1885 the church trustees decided to build a gallery in the church as a memorial of the Wesleyan jubilee.
The Catholic presence in New Norfolk predates the St Peter’s Catholic church by over 60 years. The reason for the delay in building a church is largely a result of the poverty of the early the Catholic community, many of whom were assigned convicts or had qualified for a ticket of leave. The first Catholic Mass to be held in the township was performed by Father Philip Connolly in 1821. In the mid 1850s, the former Court House in the High Street was purchased by the Catholic Church and was converted for use as a presbytery and chapel but it would be another 21 years were to pass before the foundation stone for St Peter’s was laid In March 1885.
The church was completed two and a half years later and officially opened in November 1887 on the Prince of Wales birthday, a popular public holiday. A feature of the new Norfolk parish was its size which covered Hamilton, Bothwell, the Highland Lakes, Ellendale, Hamilton and Ouse. In later years a convent school, St Brigid’s, was opened and a presbytery was built next to the church.
The Derwent Valley Railway was established in 1990 to preserve the Derwent Valley railway line. The Derwent Valley railway line, from New Norfolk to Mt Field National Park, links many existing tourism operators in the Derwent Valley. They are a not for profit, volunteer based organisation. Currently, the Railway is working closely with the state government to resume services from New Norfolk to Mt Field National Park.
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Events: The Derwent Valley Community Market operates on the 3rd Sunday of each month in the old hospital grounds - lots of bric-a-brac, fresh produce and crafts.
Pulpit Rock is a 'must visit' for anyone coming to the area. The locality offers wonderful views of the Derwent Valley and only a short drive from centre of town. The road to the lookout is gravel, it is also very narrow. A signpost marks the way to Pulpit Rock Lookout, and a large area provides safe parking for vehicles just a very short distance from the lookout itself.
Surrounding Area
Bushy Park
Bushy Park is a quaint village of old houses, deciduous trees, moral fervour, and hop fields which seem to envelop every building and road. The tall wooden and metal frames holding up the hop vines are broken by lines of Lombardy Poplars, with neat and unusually shaped oast houses scattered in the fields away from the road. The Derwent Valley Community Market operates on the 3rd Sunday of each month in the old hospital grounds - lots of bric-a-brac, fresh produce and crafts.
Text Kiln was constructed by Ebeneezer Shoobridge in 1867. On the walls of the Text Kiln are quotations from the Bible, such as 'And these words that I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thy shall write them on the posts of thine house and on thine gate'. Inspection by appointment only.
Text Kiln
Hawthorn Lodge (1869), the original home of Robert Shoobridge (son of Ebenezer) and his family. It has been turned into a guest house.
Water Race (3km) built by William Shoobridge, son of Ebenezer, which takes water from a dam on the Styx River and runs it to the Oast House.
Magra
A town of just under 1,000 people, Magra is situated in the Derwent Valley a few kilometres north of new Norfolk. It consists mainly of dwelling houses and farmland. Accommodation is also available as the area is popular with tourists. Notable features of Magra itself include the surrounding hills and the plantation of Lombardy Poplars. In the graveyard of the Methodist Church at Magra (22km south east) is the grave of Betty King, the first white woman to set foot on Australian soil.
The area now known as Magra was originally called Back River after the small river near Stanton homestead, the home of one of the earliest white settlers, Thomas Shone. A typical rectangular symmetrical Georgian house, it was built in 1817 from convict bricks produced on the property. Stanton is a Tasmanian Heritage Listed property noted as being significant to the history of Tasmania. Thomas Shone arrived in the Derwent Valley in December 1816 from Sydney, having served four years of a sentence for passing a forged note in Shrewsbury, England, where he worked in a solicitors' office. His pardon came gift-wrapped with a 60 acre land grant and three convicts, and with the Van Diemen's Land hierarchy trying to 'domesticate' the areas outside of Hobart Town, Shone was given a wooded tract of land just outside of the fledgling township of New Norfolk.
This area had been settled largely by free settlers from Norfolk Island, displaced by that island's closure as a convict depot in 1808. The area still is home to the descendants of these rugged individuals. The name 'Stanton' was chosen by Thomas as an acknowledgement of his home village of Stanton-upon-Hine, in the old county of Salop, England. Stanton is today a Bed and Breakfast accommodation establishment.
The Shones' success as farmers did not escape the attention of bushranger Martin Cash. This Irish convict had been at Norfolk Island, escaped from Port Arthur, and ranged around the southern parts of the Midlands and Hobart with his gang members Jones and Cavanagh.
Cash's Cave remains in the heavily bushed gully in the hills behind Stanton, and it was from here that he watched the property until, in February 1843, during an afternoon social gathering, he and his gang kidnapped a neighbouring farmer, James Bradshaw, and used his identity to gain entrance to the house. Once inside, they herded the family, servants and friends into the living room, until 16 people were at gunpoint. Removing valuables from their person and from the house, the Cash gang made off back into the hills, eventually being captured finally in August of that year, after a celebrated foot chase through the streets of Hobart.
Mt Field National Park
Mt Field National Park (16km west) is one of Tasmania's most loved national parks. The park has a wide variety of scenic features and wildlife and offers a great range of facilities for day visitors. Few other national parks in Australia offer such a diversity in vegetation, ranging from tall swamp gum forests and massive tree ferns at the base of the mountain, through rainforest along the Lake Dobson Road, to alpine vegetation at the higher elevations.
Features: Russell Falls, Marriotts Falls; Lady Barron Falls; Horseshoe Falls; Lake Dobson, Tarn Shelf walk, Wylds Craig walk; Florentine Valley walk; Tall Trees walk.
Russell Falls
Brown Mountain Broad River region near Ellendale is the last remnant of pristine wilderness, the last biologically diverse and stable ecosystem in this area. The area adjoins and is a continuation of the glacial valley that begins in the Mt Field National Park. There are extensive areas of tall Eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey together with pure rainforest in association with rivers and creeks, marshes and moss beds together with the great diversity of plant communities make this area unique and of very high conservation value.
The eastern slopes of Mt Field and Brown Mountain are a natural backdrop to Ellendale township, the northern slopes are clearly visible from the Lyell Highway. A large proportion of the region is visible from Mt Field National Park, all of which are of high aesthetic values. Community needs for the present and future generations will be decimated if this area is to be clearfelled. Clearfelling will result in the ecological genocide of a unique part of our environment.
Mt Bethune Conservation Area
Meadowbank Lake
Mt Bethune Conservation Area is 362ha. reserve of natural bushland, located 4km east-south-east of Ellendale. The majority of the 43 ha property comprises beautiful dry inland Silver peppermint (Eucalyptus tenuiramis) forest. Adjacent to Mt Field National Park, it is a popular spot for campings and bush walks.
Bethune Camping Area, beside Meadowbank Lake, is a grassy camping and picnic area witg sites that can accommodate big rigs. Perfect for waterskiers and anglers, there's a launching ramp close by on the eastern side of Dunrobin Bridge. The lake is the final section of the Derwent River Hydro-electricity Scheme and the last of the catchment's 10 power stations is at the foot of the Meadowbank Dam downstream. As the campground is on Hydro land, campers can stay for a maximum of 7 days. Access is through a gate on Ellendale Road, just west of Dunrobin Bridge, 2 km from the Lyell Hwy. Bring water and firewood.
Plenty
Plenty (11km south east of New Norfolk), situated on the main road between New Norfolk and Bushy Park, is a small village, formely a location of hop growing. Plenty Salmon Ponds is the oldest trout hatchery in the Southern Hemisphere - in operation since 1864. It includes Museum of Trout Fishing and Hall of Fame. The settlement was first known as River Plenty, but by 1895 its post office had been renamed Plenty. The town is notable as it was the location of the first introductions of brown trout outside their native range.
To the European immigrants in the mid 1800's, the Australian environment was very different to the land they had left behind. To make their new surroundings more like home they introduced European plants and animals. Salmon was one of the many species chosen for introduction, largely because of the popularity of fishing but also because of the unexpected economic benefits.
After a number of failed attempts to transport them, the first live salmon and a small number of trout eggs arrived at these ponds in May 1864. 300 of 1500 brown trout eggs from the River Itchen survived a four-month voyage from Falmouth, Cornwall to Melbourne on the sailing ship Norfolk. By 1866, 171 young brown trout were surviving in a Plenty River hatchery. By 1868, the Plenty River hosted a self-sustaining population of brown trout which became a brood source for continued introduction of brown trout into Australian and New Zealand rivers.
Atlantic salmon, although successfully reared in the Plenty River hatchery and introduced at the same time under the sponsorship of the Acclimatization Society of Victoria, failed to establish themselves in Tasmania or Australia. Salmon are migratory fish, spending part of their life at sea. It was expected that once released, the fish hatched at Plenty would return to the Derwent River. Several releases were tried, but the Salmon never returned.
Redlands Estate
Redlands, on the banks of the Plenty River alongside the plenty Salmon Ponds, is one of Tasmania's most well-known rural estates. Once a thriving hop and grain farm, the estate contains an astonishing collection of heritage buildings and magnificent gardens featuring some of Australia s oldest European trees. The property has a remarkable history, with many overlays of stories from its convict past to modern times. There are intriguing links to the royal family and the emergence of colonial Tasmania s new-landed elite, our first banks, the development of trout fisheries and irrigation, and the property also holds a primary place in Tasmania s hop farming history.
At its peak the farm employed as many as 200 hop pickers with their families living on the estate, and many Tasmanians still hold fond memories of working at picking hops. In those days there were pickers' huts, a bakehouse, general store and even a butcher s shop. Only one of the pickers huts has survived but most of the other buildings are intact, though in disrepair. Now, after years of decline and neglect, the property is undergoing a modern transformation as a family residence, working farm, whisky distillery and tourism development.
Boyer
The town of Boyer (2km east) sits on the eastern side of the River Derwent opposite and slightly downstream of New Norfolk. It is named after a family who first settled in the area in the early 19th century. It is the site of Australian Newsprint Mills' plant in Tasmania. For many decades paper was shipped by tug and barge from the plant to the port of Hobart, Tasmania but all freight is now sent by road or rail. Tours of the Norske Scog Boyer Newsprint Mill are available Tuesdays and Thursdays for groups to see the papermaking process from start to finish.