Avoca is a rural locality in the local government areas (LGA) of

Northern Midlands Northern Midlands Council is a local government body in Tasmania, extending south of Launceston into the northern region of the Tasmanian central midlands. Northern Midlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a populatio ...

(99%) and Break O'Day (1%) in the Central and North-east LGA regions of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The locality is about south-east of the town of Longford. The 2021 census recorded a population of 192 for Avoca. It is a small village located south-east of Launceston in Tasmania. Avoca is situated on the banks of the

South Esk River The South Esk River, the longest river in Tasmania, is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Location and features The South Esk springs from the eastern foothills of the Ben Lomond plateau near Mathinn ...

near the confluence of the St. Paul's river in the parish of Avoca and county of Cornwall, and was first settled in the 1830s. It was originally named ''St. Paul's Plains'' by

John Helder Wedge John Helder Wedge (1793 – 22 November 1872) was a surveyor, explorer and politician in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia).G. H. Stancombe'Wedge, John Helder (1793 - 1872), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition Wedge was ...

during a 1833 survey of the area. The area was officially settled in 1834 as a farming,

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

village.

History

Avoca is a confirmed locality. In the 19th century, the town had a small Anglican church (St. Thomas', designed by James Blackburn), a school, and a police station. St. Paul's river was crossed by a small stone bridge. St. Paul's Plains Post Office opened on 1 June 1832 and was renamed ''Avoca'' in 1837. Today, mines in the area have closed and Avoca serves only as a farming community.

Geography

Almost all the boundaries are survey lines. The South Esk River flows through from north-east to south-west.

Road infrastructure

Route A4 (Esk Main Road) runs through from south-west to north-east.

Landmarks

A number of historic buildings exist in the small town, including the St Thomas Anglican Church completed on 8 May 1842, the parish hall completed around 1850, and the Union Hotel built in 1842. Nearby locations include Rossarden, Fingal and Storys Creek.

References

{{authority control Towns in Tasmania Populated places established in the 19th century Localities of Northern Midlands Council Localities of Break O'Day Council