Railton is a town situated 20 km inland from Devonport on the north-west coast 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 ...

's island state. In the , Railton had a population of 997. The locality is in the

Kentish Council Kentish Council is a local government body in Tasmania, situated in the north-west of the state, to the south and inland from Devonport. Kentish is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 6,324, the major towns of ...

area, but with about 1% in the Latrobe LGA.

History

Railton was first surveyed in 1853 and a railway line through the town from Deloraine to Latrobe was completed in 1885. Early settlers who were mainly farmers and timber workers lived in slab huts. The new settlers quickly drove out the traditional owners of the area. The wider main street was built for the drovers mustering cattle to the railway station to be loaded for export. By the 1900s Railton had a flourishing timber trade with 2 sawmills. Railton has several

topiaries Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants ...

in various locations around the town. Visit the "Town of Topiary" website for information on how to find them. Railton promotes itself as the "Town of Topiary".Railton
''Kentish Council'' Railton is home to a

Cement Australia A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...

plant which began operations in 1923.Manufacturing Operations – Railton, Tasmania
''Cement Australia'' It was previously known as Goliath Cement.
''The Companian to Tasmanian History''

Facilities

Railton is very popular for mountain bike riding with many tracks around the entire area, a playground park with bbq areas, squash courts, lawn bowls, a neighbourhood centre, a caravan park, public toilets, a town hall and a primary school. Railton Primary School is a campus of Sheffield School. (years P-4).

Sykes Sanctuary

Sykes Sanctuary is of bush land bequeathed by Norman Sykes to the Railton community with the instruction that it be conserved as a bird and fauna sanctuary. Sykes was an eccentric conservationist who gave up city life to live in a small shack, close to nature.Sykes Sanctuary
''Kentish Visitor Information Centre''

References

Localities of Kentish Council Towns in Tasmania {{Tasmania-geo-stub