New Norfolk, Tasmania
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New Norfolk is a town on the River Derwent, in the south-east of
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. At the 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west 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 ...
on the
Lyell Highway The Lyell Highway (Route A10) is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. It is the one of two transport routes that passes through the West Coast Range, the other being the Anthony Road. Name The name is derived from ...
, New Norfolk is a modern Australian regional centre which retains evidence of its pioneer heritage. Two examples of this heritage are Tasmania's oldest Anglican church, St. Matthews (built in 1823) and one of Australia's oldest hotels,
The Bush Inn (Tasmania) The Bush Inn is an Australian pub located within New Norfolk, Tasmania. It is one of the oldest pubs in Australia, and is thought by some to be the oldest continuously operating pub in Australia. It is particularly notable as it has achieved Aus ...
, trading continuously in the same building (built in 1815) since issue of the first licence on 29 September 1825. Many private homes from the 1800s to the early 1820s have also survived, such as Glen Derwent, Stanton, Valleyfield, and Woodbridge.


History


Resettlement of Norfolk Islanders

Approximately 163 of the pioneers who settled around the town were from the 554 folk resettled when the first
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
settlement was closed, most arriving during the period between 29 November 1807 and 2 October 1808. These Norfolk Islanders were mainly farming families, who were offered land grants in Tasmania as compensation for their relocation. The climate was colder than sub-tropical Norfolk Island, which proved a challenge for the hardy pioneers during the first few years, but eventually the district became self-supporting. In 1825 the original name of the town, Elizabeth Town, was changed to New Norfolk in honour of their former home. Many founding folk were "First Fleeters", transferred from Sydney to
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
when it was settled just a few weeks after Sydney. Ten First Fleeters are buried in the Methodist Chapel at Lawitta, New Norfolk. Notable is Betty King, née
Elizabeth Thackery Elizabeth Thackery (1767 – 7 August 1856) is the last known survivor of the First Fleet, male or female, and was generally known throughout her long lifetime as the first female convict to land in Australia. Her husband, Samuel King, is thou ...
, a first fleet convict girl who married at New Norfolk on 28 January 1810. The headstone on Betty's well-tended grave reads, "The first white woman to set foot in Australia" from the First Fleet at Sydney Cove. She is also believed to be the last surviving First Fleeter, male or female, when she died at 89 years of age on 7 August 1856. Her husband was Marine Private Samuel King of the First Marine Regiment, another First Fleeter who arrived aboard the warship "Sirius". Sam King was the last male "First Fleeter" to survive until 21 October 1849, aged 86 years. Nine other First Fleeters were Ellen Guy (née Wainright), James Bryan Cullen, William Dempsey, William Edmunds, William Foyle, Abraham Hand, Stephen Martin, John Ruglass, and Edward Westlake. The pioneers were successful farmers of the rich land around the town. Initially cattle and sheep were predominant, with some cropping as land was cleared. Hop plants were introduced in 1846, and became an important crop. A number of hop drying kilns or
oast house An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. They can be found in most hop-growing (and former hop-growing) areas and are often good examples of vernacular architecture. Many re ...
s remain in the area including those a
Glen Derwent
(built by Cullen) and Valleyfield.


Later history

The first road connecting the town to Hobart was built in 1818. On 19 April 1827, Governor
George Arthur Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet (21 June 1784 – 19 September 1854) was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras from 1814 to 1822 and of Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania) from 1823 to 1836. The campaign against Aboriginal Tasmania ...
issued an order to create the Willow Court infirmary, later known as Lachlan Park and most recently the Royal Derwent Hospital, as an asylum to accept sick and invalid convicts from Hobart, Launceston and outstations. Willow Court is now a large antiques centre. The New Norfolk Post Office opened on 1 June 1832. For some years after 1848, New Norfolk was the place of exile of the Irish nationalist leader
Terence MacManus Terence Bellew MacManus (born 1811 or 1823 – 15 January 1861) was an Irish rebel who participated in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Sentenced to death for treason, he and several other participants were given commuted sentences in 1 ...
. His cottage "Kilburn Grange" still stands. Later he was joined by his fellow Irish rebel,
William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...
, who lived at Elwin's Hotel (now known a
Glen Derwent
. In 1887, the railway, now preserved as the Derwent Valley Railway, was built. In 1888, Australia's first telephone
trunk call In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...
was connected from
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 ...
to the Bush Inn Hotel in New Norfolk. The 500-seat Plaza Theatre was constructed on a corner lot on High Street and opened its doors in 1932. Seating increased to 650 after renovations in 1940, however capacity was heavily reduced to 250 in 1971, with the venue utilising only the balcony seating. By March 1986, a new projection box was built and a side entrance was added to an auditorium wall, with the rear stalls and the previous foyer utilised for shopping. In 2016 the building is a Terry White Chemist. During the 1940s, a newsprint mill was established at nearby
Boyer Boyer () is a French surname. In rarer cases, it can be a corruption or deliberate alteration of other names. Origins and statistics Boyer is found traditionally along the Mediterranean (Provence, Languedoc), the Rhône valley, Auvergne, Limou ...
, boosting industry in the local area.


Transport

New Norfolk is located on the
Lyell Highway The Lyell Highway (Route A10) is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. It is the one of two transport routes that passes through the West Coast Range, the other being the Anthony Road. Name The name is derived from ...
the main east-west highway in the southern half of the state, running from
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 ...
to Strahan on the west coast. It is in fact the only major east-west road in the southern half of Tasmania. A rail link was opened in 1887 but was closed in 1995 when floods and declining usage made repairs uneconomic. The line has been used for tourist trips by the Derwent Valley Railway but that has not been possible since 2005 due to lack of funding for track maintenance. New Norfolk is from
Hobart International Airport Hobart Airport is an international airport located in Cambridge, north-east of Hobart. It is the major and fastest growing passenger airport in Tasmania. The Federal government owned airport is operated by the Tasmanian Gateway Consort ...
.


Tourism

New Norfolk is a central location for tourism in the upper Derwent Valley and near the tourist attractions of Mount Field,
Lake Pedder Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the ...
, Strathgordon,
Gordon Dam The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across the Gordon River, located in South West Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Gordon. ...
hydroelectric site, and the
South West Wilderness The South West Wilderness of Tasmania, Australia is a remote and inaccessible region of South West Tasmania containing unspoilt scenery, rugged peaks, wild rivers, unique flora and fauna, and a long and rugged coastline. Parts of the wilderness ...
. The Tourist Information Centre staffed by volunteers is located in Circle Street next to the Council Chambers at the top end of High Street. In 2013 Martin Cash Pizza was voted best pizza maker in Tasmania. Many of the historical farm house mansions, such a
Glen Derwent
an
Tynwald
operate as bed and breakfast accommodation, tea rooms, restaurants and wedding venues. The 1825 Heritage-listed Woodbridge on the Derwent, on the river next to the bridge, operates as a small luxury hotel, and is presently one of more than 10 5-star hotels in Tasmania, although the building is located only 6 metres from a major highway carrying log trucks 24 hours a day. It draws a clientele from all over the world. It has a long and interesting history. Built by hand by convicts for Captain Roadknight, the first Constable of the then Elizabeth Town, it was later owned by William Sharland, assistant surveyor of Tasmania, and his descendants. William Sharland constructed the wooden bridge across the Derwent next to Woodbridge - this was the first bridge across the Derwent, and the original Tollhouse still stands today. By the 1950s, Woodbridge was derelict, and was converted into 7 flats. Again, by 2003, it was again derelict, and It was completely restored between 2003 and 2005. The restoration won the 2005 Tasmanian Restoration of the Year Award, and the 2006 Australian Restoration of the Year Award The building is unique in that it was built in the prevailing simple Georgian style, but it has an octagonal three storey central tower, reminiscent of French chateau. New Norfolk is colloquially known as “the antiques capital of Tasmania” home to many antique shops, including various shops in or off the town’s High Street and the large complex in the historical Willow Court precinct.


Climate

New Norfolk is the warmest area of Tasmania during summer afternoons and has a
cool temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
that is classified as ''Cfb'' under
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
.


See also

*
New Norfolk High School New Norfolk High School is a government co-educational comprehensive secondary school located in , Tasmania, Australia. The school caters for approximately 350 students from Years 7 to 12 and is administered by the Tasmanian Department of Edu ...
*
Derwent Valley Council Derwent Valley Council is a local government body situated in southern-central Tasmania, west of Hobart. Derwent Valley is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 10,290, it includes the localities of Bushy Park, Ma ...
*
Norske Skog Norske Skog ASA, formerly Norske Skogindustrier ASA, which translates as ''Norwegian Forest Industries'', is a Norwegian pulp and paper company established in 1962. The company has long been one of the world's leading manufacturers of newsprint ...
*
New Norfolk District Football Club The New Norfolk District Football Club, nicknamed ''The Eagles'', is an Australian rules football club currently playing in the Southern Football League, in Tasmania, Australia. History Origins The club was founded in 1878 with the first p ...
*
Derwent Valley Railway (Tasmania) The Derwent Valley Railway is an inoperational heritage railway in Tasmania, Australia. Its base is in New Norfolk. It is 3' 6" narrow gauge. History Tasmanian Government Railways opened the Derwent Valley Line in 1887.Stokes, H.J.W. (1975)''Th ...
*
Royal Derwent Hospital 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 ...
*
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...


References


Further reading

*''Fellowship of First Fleeters''. *Cowburn, Joe; Cox, Rita (1986). ''New Norfolk's History and Achievements''.


External links


New Norfolk, Tasmania - Capital of the Derwent Valley - Australia
has extensive local information, history, photographs, resources and attractions {{authority control Localities of Derwent Valley Council Towns in Tasmania Southern Tasmania