New Norfolk - Derwent Valley, Tasmania.
New Norfolk lies on the beautiful Derwent River 32 kilometres north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Highway.
Steeped in history New Norfolk is more “English” than many English villages, so much so that it is frequently described as “Kentish”.
The township was established in 1804 when land grants were made to settlers displaced by the abandonment of the Norfolk Island colony – many of them “First Fleeters”.
The district was originally known as “The Hills”, was renamed Elizabeth Town by the visiting New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie after his wife and finally named New Norfolk in 1825 by its new residents.
New Norfolk and its surrounds are a rich hop growing area, the crop being introduced in 1846, and a number of Oast Houses or kilns add great character to the region.
Historic buildings abound and include St Andrews Anglican Church, Australia’s oldest and built in 1823. The most famous building in the area is the Bush Inn. The oldest continuously licensed premises in Australia the inn became famous in the 1920’s when Dame Nellie Melba performed on the balcony. The first telephone trunk call made in Australia was connected from Hobart to the Bush Inn in 1888.
But one of the most noteworthy pieces of history to be found in New Norfolk lies in the Methodist Chapel at Lawitta. Buried here is Betty King (nee Hackery), a first fleet convict who married Sam King at New Norfolk on 28 January 1810. Her headstone reads in part “The first white woman to set foot in Australia”.
This Tassie Local snapshot was produced by Footloose Photographic & Media Solutions
Things to see around - New Norfolk
New Norfolk - Derwent Valley, Tasmania
