Collinsvale is a rural / residential locality in the local government areas (LGA) of Glenorchy (75%) and Derwent Valley (25%) in the

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

and South-east LGA regions of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The locality is about west of the town of Glenorchy. The 2016 census recorded a population of 630 for the state suburb of Collinsvale. Collinsvale has been known to snow.

History

Collinsvale was gazetted as a locality in 1961. The area was originally known as Sorell Creek, and was inhabited mostly by British settlers in the mid-nineteenth century.

Arrival of the Lutherans

In 1870, the arrival of the first immigrant ships to Hobart saw a large influx of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Danish migrants who settled in the area, attracted by the cheap land and an abundance of clean water. The settlement was proclaimed a town in 1881, and was named Bismarck after

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

, the then-

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

.Tasmania's Multicultural Heritage: Northern European Migration
, Heritage Tasmania, 27 April 2004. "The name Bismarck had been given to the place out of compliment to the German settlers." The Lutheran Church was very slow to establish in Tasmania. Due to the lack of a stabilising Lutheran presence, some of the Germans in Bismarck ended up joining the American fundamentalists, the Seventh Day Adventists, who arrived in the region in 1889. A Lutheran church was finally opened in Hobart on 11 August 1871 and remains active today but none was ever built in Bismarck. This led to a fracturing of the community and a loss of its German identity.

Change of name

At the start of the First World War, Bismarck was renamed Collinsvale after a

jingoistic Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...

letter-writing campaign. (

David Collins David Collins may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * David Collins (''Dark Shadows''), character in the television series ''Dark Shadows'' * David Collins (''EastEnders''), character in the television series ''EastEnders'' P ...

had been the Tasmanian colony's first governor.) This name change had been opposed by "a number of Bismarck residents... hopresented a lengthy petition setting forth reasons against the proposed name change." Opposing a previous petition that had instigated the called for the change, "Councillor G H Voss said isdeputation, which comprised himself, Misters Alfred Totenhöfer, H J Smith, Levi Newman, Walter Neilsen, W Brockman, Fred Gall, and F and H Fehlberg was composed entirely of residents in the postal area of Bismarck... The petition he had to present contained 120 names of settlers residing in the postal area... The petition opposed the proposal to alter the name on personal grounds, and the petitioners were practically all of Tasmanian birth, including descendants of the Danish and German settlers who had really founded the settlement... On general grounds it was urged that the change of name would create bad feeling amongst settlers who had hitherto dwelt in amity together... Mr Voss said that the produce of Bismarck would compare with any in the State and their griculturalshows had won a good reputation. Referring to a statement made by a speaker of the previous deputation that the produce of the district might be prejudiced owing to its place of origin, Mr Voss contended that there was no foundation in that argument. On the contrary it would be a serious thing if the name were changed seeing that the produce of Bismarck had an excellent reputation and always fetched top prices. The petitioners were not infatuated with the name of Bismarck as such and did not base their case on the fact that it had been borne by a German statesman but the name was a reasonable one and was not difficult to pronounce like so many German names. The settlers of Bismarck all spoke the British language and they had no differences on racial matters... Bismarck produce was branded with the name of the grower and the settlement and he had never heard of any objection on account of the name. As a tourist resort the name was an attraction and if the name were changed the traffic would suffer. Bismarck Shows had been famous for the quality of the produce exhibited... The deputation desired to retain a name under which they had built up a reputation for good produce." As they predicted, the town's reputation never recovered. "Collinsvale" was never to develop the reputation for quality produce that Bismarck had established and the area went into decline. This name change marked the beginning of the persecution of Tasmanians of German descent, who were the largest non-British national group in the local population. In one case Gustav Weindorfer was accused of being a German spy and using his chalet at Cradle Mountain as a radio station to contact German ships. He was expelled from the Ulverstone Club and his dog was poisoned."

Geography

Most of the boundaries are survey lines.

Road infrastructure

Route C615 (Molesworth Road / Glenlusk Road) passes to the north. From there, Collinsvale Road provides access to the locality.

References

{{Hobart suburbs Lutheranism in Australia Lutheran Church of Australia

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