Pontville is a rural locality in the local government areas (LGA) of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and Southern Midlands 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 Central 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 north-west of the town of

. The 2016 census has a population of 623 for the state suburb of Pontville. It is a small rural community north of

, in the south-east of Tasmania.

History

Pontville was sited by Governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

in 1821, and was an early garrison town, where convicts built the bridge over the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

. During World Wars I and II the area had a major army camp. There is an old sandstone bridge in Pontville that lies on the Jordan River. The bridge is part of the Midland Highway. A railway line connected the town with Hobart from 1891 until 1947. Additional excursion trains operated from Hobart, bringing riflemen to the nearby range. Pontville was gazetted as a locality in 1970. Brighton Post Office opened on 1 June 1832, was renamed Pontville in 1895, and closed in 1973.

Historic buildings

Epsom House is an historic building originally built as a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

, The Blacksmith's Arms, around 1831, by retired sergeant James Bunyip. In the 20th century, it was run by the Johnson family as the Epsom Store. It was restored in the 21st century as an entertainment venue, with the ballroom hosting the Australian String Quartet in 2006 in what may have been the first public performance there in 100 years. , it is one of the regular venues of the Seraphim Trio.

Geography

The

flows through from south-west to south.

Road infrastructure

The Midland Highway (National Route 1) passes through from south to north-west. Route C195 (Brighton Road) starts at an intersection with Route 1 and runs south until it exits.

Immigration detention centre

The Federal Government announced in April 2011 that it would spend $15 million on converting the army rifle range to an asylum-seeker detention centre, housing 400 people, mainly single adult men, although the Pontville Immigration Detention Centre was also used to house under-age males. In February 2012 it was announced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship that the centre would be closed, which it did in September 2013.

References

{{authority control Towns in Tasmania Localities of Brighton Council (Tasmania) Localities of Southern Midlands Council