Orford

The original inhabitants of the area were the Tasmanian Aboriginal people from the Oyster Bay tribe who lived a peaceful hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Following European settlement, many died from introduced disease, displacement from their native home or conflict with settlers.
During the Black Line wars of 1830, Edward Atkyns Walpole captured a man and a boy and was granted 1000 acres south of the Prosser River. He named his grant “Strawberry Hill” in honour of the London home of Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford.

In 1837, Walpole sold his land and the area was recorded as Orford, a Post Office Town. Early settlers managed farms, were fisherman or worked in the local timber industry with very basic infrastructure around them.

The town was first established as a mainland port for the convict settlement on Maria Island. However, the marine infrastructure never consisted of more than a few short jetties in shallow waters just inside the mouth of the river which still remain today. The narrow channel at the river's mouth is flanked by a substantial sandbar, rendering the river unsuitable for larger vessels. The main source of supplies were shipped by steam vessel or small trading vessels because the road to Hobart on the south bank of the Prosser River was reported to be one of the worst tracks in the colony. It was sarcastically named “Paradise Gorge”. The Prosser River was named after Thomas Prosser, an escaped convict, who escaped in 1808 and was recaptured in the area.

In 1844, convicts started work on what is known as the “Convict Road” on the north side of the river and built the Paradise Probation station to house the convicts during construction of the road. Three years later, work ceased and the station was abandoned. Most of the buildings were destroyed by a bushfire in 1856 although a few remains can still be seen along the walking track.

By 1861, improvements were made on the south side of the river to the road and a punt began operating across the river until it was replaced by the Meredith River bridge in 1866 and further two bridges since.
From 1869, a small community grew up around a quarry near east Shelley beach. The quarried sandstone was used in buildings in Hobart and also in the construction of Melbourne’s Post office & Town Hall. With the closure of the quarry in 1882, many people left the area although Orford remained popular with campers from Hobart and nearby districts.

In the early 1900’s, Orford became known as a pleasant holiday resort with several boarding houses and holiday shacks dotting the landscape. Since the dam was completed on the Prosser River, more permanent homes and holiday houses have been built, existing infrastructures such as shops and the school have been improved and new recreational ventures commenced.

Residents and visitors continue to enjoy the river, beaches and many activities this peaceful area offers including walking the various tracks along the beautiful coastline.

Information sourced from local history signs around the Orford area

Cygnet

The first mention of the Huon area of Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land, was made in 1788 when Captain Cook landed at Adventure Bay on Bruny Island. Eleven years later, Lieutenant Bligh in the Bounty visited Adventure Bay and planted some apple trees - the beginning of an industry. In 1793 Bruni D'Entrecasteaux visited the area and named Kermandie, Esperance Bay and Recherche Bay after his two ships, D'Entrecasteaux Channel and Port du Cygne (place of swans). In 1802 Commodore Baudin visited Port Cygnet and named the Fleurieu River (later Anges Rivulet). One of his party, Peron, wrote of meeting a beautiful young aboriginal girl - Oura Oura - and her family.

The first settler was William Nichols who sailed around the coast from Browns River (Kingston) where he had a property. He liked the area and in 1834 brought his wife and children to settle along the river valley through which a stream later named Nicholls Rivulet, flowed on toward the bay. Until recent years the remains of the old Nichols house could be seen. It was claimed that Nichols could build his own vessel, rig it and sail it anywhere in the world.

In 1835 the Cowen family came and settled nearby. They were followed by the Bleeze, Poole and Pursell families. In 1838 Matthew Fitzpatrick came from Ireland with his wife and sisters and settled at Petcheys Bay, where he eventually planted an orchard. In 1840 the town at Port Cygnet was divided into building blocks and in 1841 land allotments were for sale at Garden Island Creek. In 1841 William Nichols' daughter married Richard Wilson. Their son, John, was born the following year and became the founder of the boat building firm of John Wilson and Sons. He built vessels in various parts of the bay and for some years located his yards at Martins Point. The gradual silting up of the bay made it necessary to shift his yards to Robleys Point on the opposite side of the bay. Some members of the family still build boats today.

By 1843 there was a thriving community at Port Cygnet. In 1845 Probation Stations for convicts were established at Port Cygnet, Lymington and Nicholls Rivulet and Huon Island. The clearing of land and building of huts continued. There were 333 convicts stationed in the district and a hospital was being built at Lymington where the staff were based. Of the convicts there were blacksmiths, boat crews, brick makers, charcoal and lime burners, carpenters, coopers, carters, gangs for clearing and cultivating, erecting barracks, splitting timber, sawing, fencing timber cutting, rolling logs and hard labour! There were also servants for officers and others and storekeepers. In 1848 the number of convicts began to decline - probably by pardon and ticket of leave.

By 1853 many new settlers were attracted to Port Cygnet, the Probation Stations were gone, streets were named, and in 1862, the town of Lovett was proclaimed. The name of Port Cygnet was retained for the bay. There is confusion as to whether the town was named for the Surveyor General or for one of the early settlers. In 1853 the Hobart Town Advertiser reported of the increasing importance of Port Cygnet. The first District Constable appointed was Edward Chancellor. In 1854, an order was made saying that only free men could be employed in the Police Force. Convicts on Ticket of Leave had been enlisted previously.

Quite a few of the settlers had boats - sailing ketches were used first for transport and these then gave way to steam. Captain Gourlay brought a paddle steamer, the "Culloden" from England in 1853. In 1854 a load of miners arrived on the  "Culloden" when gold was discovered on Mt. Mary. Captain Gourlay also had the S.S. Cobra, 46 tons, and obtained a packet licence. This enabled liquor to be served on board. In 1871 it was reported that ketches etc. had lifted 15,120 tons of produce (£43,000) and timber (£12,500), and by 1875, 37 vessels were handling £77,000 of freight per annum. Thomas Nichols, son of William, traded between Hobart and Lovett in "Lady Palmerstone" There were no lights or beacons then and often direction was found by gun shots. In later years still, Reginald Thomas Nichols traded on the river and gave personalized service to all.

At first the only communication, except by water was by bush road to Kingston and then by coach to Hobart Town. The rough track had been made by William Nichols earlier. By now in 1862, roads were being built in the district. By 1872 a money order Post Office was operating and by 1878, the building of a court house was underway. Coal was discovered at Gardners Bay and Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Richard Hill (his father-in-law) had much to do with the development of the mine. In 1882 a Post Office Savings Bank was introduced. Women could bank but had to have the permission of their husbands to draw money out! Military pensioners settled in the district around 1887, many in Slab Road, and by then there was a Post Office, Money Order Office, Electric Telegraph and a Savings Bank.

A new school was erected in 1886 (now the Play Centre). Attendance at school was sometimes low. Once when asked by an Inspector why a certain family, who lived nearby, missed so much school, the teacher replied, "The mother complains of the state of the road in winter". "But I observe that it is no better in the summer", said the inspector. "The father says there are too many snakes about", said the teacher.
The brick State school was erected in 1925 and in 1937 became the first Area school in Southern Tasmania. Children were brought in by bus from all the small schools and enrolment increased to 370 pupils. Subjects ranged from the basic subjects to sewing, cooking, woodwork, blacksmithing, tinsmithing, care of fowls, growing of vegetables aid fruit, apple i.e. picking and pruning etc.

As many as 32 vessels a month passed through the area. There were jetties at Crooked Tree, Deep Bay, Coal Jetty, Herlihys Bay, Petcheys Bay, Wattle Grove, Lymington, Glaziers Bay, and Randalls Bay - these apart from Port Cygnet. All produce had to be carted by dray to these points. In 1895, Mr. Devereaux, owner of the Huon hotel built a hall on the site where the Health Centre is now. This filled a gap in the social life of the town and gatherings there were a plenty. In 1898 the top recreation ground was made.
By this time fruit exports were increasing and shipments to London had already begun. Interstate supplies were increasing also. The fruit season saw most of the towns population working in or about the orchards, while the millers provided the case materials.

Mr. Fitzpatrick imported the first motor car at the turn of the century and later became the first Warden when the Council took office in 1908. Due, probably to confusion caused by the names of "Port Cygnet" and the town of "Lovett", it was decided in 1915 to change the name "Lovett" to "Cygnet". Cygnet became the first district to buy bulk power from the Hydro in 1924. The Court house was completed in 1912 and the Town Hall in 1913. In 1927 a deep water pier at Lymington was suggested - this came about in 1936. In 1932 a second storey was added to the Court house and the buildings of the Town hall and Court house became one. Before the Town Hall and Devereaux's hall were built, the hotels were the meeting places for social and business gatherings.

Today Cygnet is something of a local mecca for artists and creative types in the region, and the local area also has a farming population and there are many second homes (largely owned by Hobart residents). About a mile south of the town centre is a safe anchorage for pleasure craft with easy road access to Cygnet. Cygnet is also the site of the popular annual Cygnet Folk Festival which has developed a reputation as one of the premier cultural events in Tasmania

Main Text & Information Source: http://tww.id.au/cygnet/history.html

Cygnet Folk Festival: http://cygnetfolkfestival.org/

Geeveston

Geeveston is a small village located 62 km south west of Hobart on the Huon Highway, making it Australia's most southerly administrative centre. The economy of Geeveston is basically driven by apple growing and timber. In season, the fields beside the road are thick with apple trees sagging under the weight of their fruit and it is commonplace to be caught behind a timber truck hauling huge logs from the nearby forests to the local mills and pulping operation.

Although the area was explored as early as 1804, only months after the establishment of the colony at Hobart Town, it was deemed unsuitable for development. It wasn't until Lady Jane Franklin established the community at Franklin that any serious attempt to settle the Huon Valley occurred. Life in the early Franklin settlement was extremely hard and many of the early settlers were forced to move away. The town takes its name from William Geeves, an English settler who was given a land grant by Lady Jane Franklin in the area then known as Lightwood Bottom (after a type of timber prevalent in the area). William and his family, which included his son, John, had migrated to Australia in 1842. The town's name was changed to Geeves Town in 1861 and this eventually became Geeveston in the late 1880’s.

Geeveston styles itself as “Tasmania’s Forest Town”. Timber getters moved into the area in the 1820’s and the town grew from humble beginnings in the early days as timber-getters moved along the waterways in search of high quality timber. They discovered Huon Pine which proved perfect for ship building due to its resistance to rot.

Geeveston broke new ground in terms of machinery and ideas. The first steam driven timber mill, the Speedwell Mill, was built in 1874 and was owned and established by John Geeves. It was capable of cutting 40,000 feet of timber per week.

Around the same time, he built “Cambridge House” across the road from his sawmill which provided the timber to build the house. The building went on to become the social hub of the growing settlement. Cambridge House has been lovingly restored and exudes the warmth, charm and comfort of the twenty first century in its current guise as a bed & breakfast. Cambridge House is bordered by the Kermandie River where platypus can be seen playing in the river.

When the timber cutters took down the forests, the cleared areas were planted with potatoes, fruit trees, wheat, hops, corn & oats. Early settlers discovered that apples grow wherever gum trees flourish. By the late 1890’s, there were over 500 orchards in the district.

The construction of the Speedwell timber mill in 1874, and its subsequent sale to the Huon Timber Company in 1902 provided Geeveston with an industrial base, the Timber Workers Union ensuring that workers were well organised. Following a violent strike in 1921/22, the Company closed its Geeveston mill in 1925 and Geeveston suffered population loss, but the start of banking (1926) and arrival of electricity (1928) assisted slow but steady progress, based on apples and timber.
A pulp mill was opened in the town in 1962, and was Geeveston's largest employer until the plant closed in 1982, devastating the area economically. The opening of a branch of the Bendigo Bank, and a major tourist attraction in the district, the Tahune Airwalk (2001), brought new optimism.

The Forest & Heritage Centre, a tourist centre which details the history of the timber industry in the area, is also located in Geeveston.

It is not surprising that the town's largest symbol (it is impossible to miss as you drive through town on the Huon Highway) is the huge trunk of a Swamp Gum (eucalyptus regnans) logged in Arve Valley on 10 December 1971. A sign on the side of the trunk proudly declares that the length is 15.8 m, the girth 6.7 m, it weighs 57 tonnes and its volume 56.7 cubic metres. It was established as a tribute to the timber workers of yesteryear as the “Big Log – Big Job” memorial in School Rd. A special circular saw had to be custom made to enable the tree to be felled and ultimately dragged out of the forest.

Further along the road is the The Geeveston Community Church (1880s) which is the most prominent building on the highway. It is notable for its tiny steeple which seems out of proportion to the rest of the building.

It is worth visiting the town centre for the sheer unusualness of the main street which actually seems to get narrower from one end to the other. Geeveston is a reminder that the notion of a major centre (and Geeveston is the administrative centre of the Esperance Municipality - the southern most council in the country) in Tasmania is not the same as that on the mainland.
Originally cast as a Congregationalist settlement, Geeveston was a temperance town and to this day, no hotels have been established with the town borders. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way. In the early days, the locals would beat a path to the nearby Kermandie Hotel at Port Huon to quench their thirsts!

Wherever you stand in Geeveston, you have striking views of the mountains all around the town. The locals have enjoyed these beautiful surroundings since European settlement began.
A beautiful town to visit and from here you can access the Hartz Mountains National Park and the Tahune Airwalk

Information gathered mainly from information boards located around Geeveston 

About the Forest & Heritage Centre - Forest & Heritage Centre

Tahune Airwalk - http://tahuneairwalk.com.au/

Huonville

The Huon River was first explored by the French Admiral, Bruni D'Entrecasteaux, who named it, a nearby island, a soft pine and the Kermandie River, after the commander of his support vessel, L'Esperance, Captain Huon de Kermadec.
As far as can be determined the local Aborigines didn't settle in the Huon Valley although it is true that when d'Entrecasteaux entered the river in 1792 his party did make contact with an Aboriginal girl Oura-Oura near the present site of Cygnet.

The establishment of the British settlement at Hobart Town in 1804 led to the exploration of the area by the botanist Robert Brown but he dismissed it as unsuitable for settlement because of poor soil. This did not stop the timber getters and whalers from camping in the area while searching for stands of timber and schools of whales.
It is thought that the first white man to settle permanently in the area was a 'bolter', an escaped convict, who was found by timber getters in early 1820s. The man, whose name was Martin, had built a primitive camp near Price's Creek. Later, as settlement began along the banks of the river, Martin became absorbed into the local community. He owned two boats with the unusual names of the Fighting Pig and the Crooked Eye and was well regarded.

The first land grants in the district were made to John Price at the present site of Franklin in late 1834. He was followed by John Clark who, in 1836, took up land north of Price's Landing and the Kellaway family who settled on the opposite shore at Woodstock.

In 1839 Lady Franklin bought John Price's land and divided it into 50 and 100 acre blocks which she had cleared and sold to poor, free settlers. She had a vision of the kind of settlement she wanted to create in the Huon Valley and was prepared to back her commitment with financial assistance. She did much to help the settlers including, as she mentioned in a letter to her sister in England, giving one family a milk goat and the next year buying it back because they were in such bad straits.

Despite its closeness to Hobart, Huonville was not permanently settled until 1839 when Thomas and William Walton took up a land grant. The area had seen a few escaped convicts and timber cutters, but dense bush, lack of arable land and difficulty of access proved impediments to permanent settlement.

The development of Huonville started around 1847 when the Wharton family were granted 1644 acres (1 sq. mile) and built a brick house known as 'The Inlet' near the site of the present bridge. The house still stands (it is a private residence) and is located at the end of Short Street which runs beside the river. This is not surprising as, before the first bridge across the river was built in 1876, all the houses were built facing the river because it was the only available form of transportation. The bricks for the house were hand made from clay dug next to the house.By 1853 a hundred people, mostly convicts, lived at Huonville. Over the next few decades better transport via a track to Hobart in 1855, a coaching service in 1869, a bridge over the Huon River in 1876 and the growing apple industry led to steady development. By 1866 Huonville believed it merited a railway link to Hobart, and there was a widespread belief that the Huon provided much of the economic impetus for Hobart.

Since the land on which Huonville is now located was originally privately owned the early buildings in the town were built along Glen Road and past Ironstone Creek. The construction of the bridge in 1876 (it cost £4400 and was a toll bridge charging 2 pence for walkers and 6 pence for horses) ensured that a town would eventually grow up where the road crossed the river.

In the early days the 'town' was nothing more than the Picnic Hotel and a shop or two along the river. The Picnic Hotel was burnt down and subsequently rebuilt as the Grand Hotel which still stands near the bridge. By the 1880s Huonville, with a hotel, shops, wharf and bridge, was the main town north of Franklin. But there was confusion over nomenclature. Government plans called the area Victoria, but both Huonville and Ranelagh were known as Victoria, and there was even confusion with the state of Victoria. It wasn't until 1889 that the town became known as Huonville.

The first bridge was timber with blackwood arches and had a lift span on the northwest end to let sailing ships through. Unfortunately the animals which were driven across the bridge tended to leave dirt and the lift span was notorious for not working properly. The original bridge was eventually replaced in 1926 and in 1959 the present steel and concrete structure was completed.

At Ranelagh, which is only a few kilometres from Huonville and is now almost a suburb of the larger town, a farm was established on one square mile of land which stretched from Ironstone Creek to the river. This property was originally known as Victoria and included the present site of Huonville. It was here that one of the largest hopfields in Tasmania was established.

At the time it seemed that Ranelagh would become the major centre in the valley. However the construction of the bridge further downstream ensured that Huonville prospered while Ranelagh made little progress. It is a comment on the changing fortunes of the two settlements that Ranelagh has three churches (Anglican, Roman Catholic and Uniting) while Huonville, now the larger centre, has only one (Congregational).
By the 1920s Huonville was the Huon's administrative centre. Banking services from 1917, a short-lived high school in 1921, a new bridge and the arrival of electricity in 1926, and the ever-growing apple industry added further impetus to its importance.

Until the 1960s its prosperity was based on apples, timber, small fruits and hops. Britain's entry into the European Economic Community in 1973 was a severe setback, and many orchards were wiped out. Recently a more specialized apple industry, salmon farming and the wine industry have seen a resurgence in Huonville's prosperity.

Huon Valley Apple & Heritage Museum

Website: www.applemuseum.huonvalley.biz