Fern Tree is a rural / residential locality in the local government areas (LGA) of

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

(64%) and

Kingborough Kingborough Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. Kingborough is classified as an urban local government area and has a population of 37,734, it covers the ...

(36%) in the

LGA region 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-west of the town of

. The 2016 census recorded a population of 726 for the state suburb of Fern Tree. It is an outlying suburb of Hobart. The name Fern Tree is adapted from the common name of the plant ''

Dicksonia antarctica ''Dicksonia antarctica'', the soft tree fern or man fern, is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania. Anatomy and biology These ferns ...

'' (Tasmanian tree fern), which grows abundantly in the area. Set beneath Mount Wellington, whose summit is at 1270 metres above sea level, Fern Tree is 9 km by road from Hobart's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

History

Fern Tree was gazetted as a locality in 1963. It was originally a postal station on the road to the

Huon Valley The Huon Valley, or simply the Huon, is a valley and geographic area located in southern Tasmania, Australia. The largest town is Huonville, with other smaller towns spread across the area. It includes Australia's most southern permanent settle ...

, and later the site through which Hobart's water supply passed. Settled from the mid 19th century, Fern Tree and its environs have always been a major recreational area for Hobart residents. Its many walking tracks (most notably the Pipeline Track) see tourists and locals alike appreciating the diverse flora and fauna. The first Fern Tree Tavern was built in 1861 by John Hall. It was soon replaced by the Fern Tree Hotel, which was established by Alfred Totenhöfer, a Collinsvale farmer of

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

n descent. Totenhöfer's hotel burnt down in the 1967 bushfires but was subsequently rebuilt as the modern Fern Tree Tavern.

Geography

Browns River forms part of the south-western boundary, while its tributaries Long Creek and Dunns Creek form parts of the south-western and north-eastern boundaries respectively.

Road infrastructure

Route B64 (Huon Road) runs through from north to south-west.

References

External links

Fern Tree Community Association
Suburbs of Hobart Localities of City of Hobart Localities of Kingborough Council Towns in Tasmania {{Hobart-geo-stub