Forth is a small village in north-west
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 ...
on the
Forth River, west of
Devonport and north-west of
Launceston via the
Bass Highway. It is mainly in the
Central Coast Council area, but with just under 25% in the
City of Devonport.
Forth has a population of about 738.
Previously known as Hamilton-on-Forth, the village predates the larger settlement of Devonport.
Forth
''The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'', 8 February 2004.
Nearby is the Forthside Dairy Research Facility run by the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research.
History
James Fenton
James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry.
Life and career
Born in Lincoln, Fenton grew up in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, the son of Canon Jo ...
, a young man of Irish descent came to the Forth estuary in 1839 in search of arable land. Assisted by his hired male companion, he erected the first European edifice in the district, and in 1840 returned to take up permanent settlement. He was soon to be followed by Andrew Risby, his wife and young family and a handful of other settlers seeking a new life.[F. C. Green]
Fenton, James (1820–1901)
''Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', Volume 4, Melbourne University Press, 1972, pp 162-163.
Fenton expended large sums of money attempting to drain the estuarine swamplands which he hoped would produce ideal cropping fields. This venture failed and he resorted to moving further inland to the rich, although heavily timbered soils of the sloping ground to the west. Fenton is attributed to introducing the practice of ring-barking the large eucalyptus trees to allow light to penetrate the forest floor where the first domestic crops were grown. The district produced fine crops of potatoes in those early years.
Notable people
* Bertha Southey Brammall (1878–1957), writer
* Mother Mary Xavier Dooley (1858–1929), Australian nun
* Alexander Rud Mills (1885–1964), barrister and author
References
Localities of Central Coast Council (Tasmania)
Towns in Tasmania
Populated places established in 1840
1840 establishments in Australia
{{CentralCoastTAS-geo-stub