Glenorchy is a suburb 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Australia. Glenorchy is bound by the
River Derwent to the east,
Mount Wellington to the west,
Hobart City to the south and to the north. The city officially begins at Creek Road New Town, in Hobart's northern suburbs, and includes, Moonah, Derwent Park, Lutana, Goodwood, Montrose, Rosetta, Berriedale, Chigwell, Claremont and Austins Ferry. It is the seat of the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of the same name, the
City of Glenorchy
Glenorchy City Council (or City of Glenorchy) is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Glenorchy local government area has a population of 50,411, covering the sub ...
.
Glenorchy draws its name from
Glen Orchy
Glen Orchy () is a glen in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It runs from Bridge of Orchy to Dalmally.
Geography
Glen Orchy is about 17 km or 11 miles long, and runs south-west from Bridge of Orchy () to Dalmally () following the River ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, meaning "Glen of tumbling waters".
Overview
Glenorchy was first occupied in the year 1804, being mostly agricultural land from the 1820s onward, with
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
s being the prime commercial industry for the area. Becoming a municipality in 1864 and then officially a city in 1964, Glenorchy is now a largely suburban, working class area, which grew quickly after
WWII
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
when a great number of returning soldiers settled in the northern suburbs.
Glenorchy has entertainment facilities including the Glenorchy Pool, a
Village Cinemas complex,
KGV Oval
KGV Oval is a multi-purpose sports stadium located in Glenorchy, Tasmania. It serves as the home ground for the Glenorchy Football Club and the Southern Football League, and it is also used by the Glenorchy Cricket Club.
The oval has a sea ...
which houses the
Glenorchy Football Club, and a bowls club. Glenorchy is also home to the
Tasmanian Transport Museum and
Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park.
Schools in the area include
Glenorchy Primary School,
Cosgrove High School,
Guilford Young College and
Dominic College.
Glenorchy is passed through by the
Main Road of Greater Hobart, and the Brooker Highway which is the main connection to surrounding councils. When the Brooker Highway was built in 1952, it extended from Hobart to Berriedale. During this time, areas of Glenorchy and Moonah undertook street widening works in order to cope with increased traffic from the south.
Significant areas of Glenorchy include:
*Elwick is the name given to the area east of the
Brooker Highway, including the
Elwick Racecourse (where the
Hobart Cup is raced) and the
Hobart Showground, which represents all of Southern Tasmania.
*Merton refers to the
Barossa Road area, and the surrounding bushlands between Glenorchy and
Lenah Valley.
*O'Brien's Bridge is the name given to the site of first settlement in 1809.
At the 2016
Australian census, the suburban Glenorchy area had a population of 10,828, with the Glenorchy City population totalling 46,397.
Retail
The Glenorchy
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 ...
has three major indoor shopping centres,
Northgate Shopping Centre, Glenorchy Central and Glenorchy Plaza. Leading retail stores in Glenorchy include
Best & Less,
Coles,
Woolworths,
Big W
Big W (stylised as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of the Woolworths Group and as of 2024 operated 179 stores, with around 18,000 emp ...
, and
Target, as well as a
Bunnings
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Per ...
located on the eastern edge of the Hobart show grounds on the Brooker Highway near Goodwood, with access via Howard Road.
Glenorchy has the second largest shopping district in Tasmania, following the
Hobart central business district. Glenorchy CBD is one of the three main commercial districts in Glenorchy City, as well as those in Moonah and Claremont.
Smelter contamination
The
Risdon Zinc Works (trading as Nyrstar Hobart) at nearby
Lutana, which has been in operation since 1917, continues to produce heavy metal contaminants affecting the air, land and estuary waters surrounding
Greater Hobart.
Drawing from data complied in the
National Pollutant Inventory, a report by the
Australian Conservation Foundation placed Hobart at number 6 of Australia's most polluted cities in 2018. The data identified medium levels of
air pollution
Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
in postcodes 7009 (Lutana,
Derwent Park,
Moonah,
West Moonah) and 7010 (Glenorchy,
Rosetta
Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799.
Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...
,
Montrose,
Goodwood,
Dowsing Point) with average air contaminate readings of 40% (
nitric oxide
Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide, nitrogen monooxide, or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes den ...
() and
nitrogen dioxide
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . One of several nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide is a reddish-brown gas. It is a paramagnetic, bent molecule with C2v point group symmetry. Industrially, is an intermediate in the s ...
()), and
sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...
(SO
2) contributing 57% of airborne emissions.
The Tasmanian Planning Scheme does not mandate the
Glenorchy City Council to notify prospective buyers about potential land contamination within the City of Glenorchy.
References
External links
Australian Places (Monash University): Glenorchy, Tasmania
*http://profile.id.com.au/glenorchy
{{Hobart suburbs
Working class in Australia
Localities of City of Glenorchy
Populated places on the River Derwent