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

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 ...

(64%) and Kingborough (36%) in the

region 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 south-west of the city 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, Tasmanian 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 ...

'' (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 Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...

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, often shortened to the Huon, is a rural region and river valley in southern Tasmania, Australia. Centred on the lower reaches of the Huon River, it was historically renowned for its apple orchards. Today the valley’s econ ...

, 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 A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

) 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 was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

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