Eaglehawk Neck, officially Teralina / Eaglehawk Neck, is a narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

that connects the

Tasman Peninsula The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart. The Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsula ...

with the

Forestier Peninsula The Forestier Peninsula is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart. The peninsula is connected to mainland Tasmania at East Bay Neck, near the town of at its norther ...

, and hence to mainland

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

, Australia. The locality of Eaglehawk Neck is in the local government area of Tasman in the South-east region of Tasmania. The locality is about north-east of the town of

Nubeena Nubeena is a town and fishing village on the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia a township of Tasman Council, and seat of the municipality. At the 2016 census, Nubeena had a population of 481. It is the largest settlement on the peninsula. ...

. At the , the settlement of Eaglehawk Neck had a population of 385.

Location and features

Locally known as "the Neck", the isthmus itself is around long and under wide at its narrowest point. The area features rugged terrain and several unusual geological formations. These include the

Tessellated Pavement In geology and geomorphology, a tessellated pavement is a relatively flat rock surface that is subdivided into more or less regular rectangles, blocks approaching rectangles, or irregular or regular polygons by fractures, frequently systematic jo ...

, an area of flat rock that looks to be manmade but is in fact formed by erosion. A short walk further via Lufra Cove leads to Clyde Island, accessible for crossings at low tide, which sits at the northern entry to Pirates Bay. The island hosts two grave sites, and a rumbling blow hole cleaves the island. Eaglehawk Neck is a well-known local holiday destination. On the eastern side, a beach that stretches around Pirates' Bay is a popular surfing area. In summer the population rises as people return to their holiday homes.

European history

Eaglehawk Neck was gazetted as a locality in 1967. It was dual named as of March 2021 to represent its original name Teralina.

The Dog Line

As Eaglehawk Neck forms a natural thin gateway between the peninsulas, it was used by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

as a place to stop

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

attempting to escape from Port Arthur and other penal institutions on the Tasman Peninsula. A system was developed where a line of dogs were chained to posts across the "Neck" to warn of any

attempting to escape. The Dog Line was first implemented in 1831 and was used until the closure of Port Arthur in the 1870s. Thomas J. Lempriere, a commissary officer at Port Arthur, declared the Eaglehawk Neck as "impassable". Despite this, many attempts were made by convicts to escape from the Tasman Peninsula via Eaglehawk Neck, including Martin Cash and

William Bannon William Bannon ( – 27 February 1904) was an Irishman who served in the British 65th Regiment of Foot in the New Zealand Wars in the 1840s. In 1849 he was found guilty of desertion and theft and was sentenced to transportation for seven years to ...

. The area was heavily patrolled by soldiers, and the guards' quarters still remains as a museum. The isthmus now provides road access via the

Arthur Highway The Arthur Highway (A9) is a Tasmanian highway which runs from Sorell in the near south to Port Arthur in the far south-east. Route description From its intersection with the Tasman Highway in Sorell the highway runs east, crossing Iron Creek ...

to Port Arthur, part of the

Australian Convict Sites Australian Convict Sites is a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips at Sydney, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, ...

, a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

that comprises eleven remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips. Collectively, these sites, including Port Arthur, now represent, "...the best surviving examples of large-scale penal transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts".

Post office

The first Eagle Hawk Neck post office was open from 1875 until 1877. It reopened on 11 January 1895 and closed in 1974.

Geography

The shores of

Norfolk Bay The Norfolk Bay is a body of water in the south east of Tasmania, Australia. The north west aspect of Norfolk Bay is continuous with Frederick Henry Bay. The north east aspect of Norfolk Bay is continuous with Blackman Bay via the Denison Can ...

and Eaglehawk Neck form the western boundary, while the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

forms the eastern.

Road infrastructure

The A9 route (

) enters from the north and runs through to the south-west, where it exits. Route C338 (Blowhole Road / Tasmans Arch Road) starts at an intersection with A9 in the centre and runs south-east until it ends at Tasman Arch.

References

External links

Eaglehawk Neck
at walkabout.com.au
Eaglehawk Neck
{{authority control Towns in Tasmania Forestier Peninsula Localities of Tasman Council Isthmuses of Oceania