Oatlands - Midlands, Tasmania.
A walk down High Street Oatlands in the heart of Tasmania’s Midlands’s district is truly like stepping back in time.
Another of Tassie’s wonderfully quaint colonial towns Oatlands boasts the largest number of sandstone buildings anywhere in Australia, 87 in High Street alone and another 50 within the town boundary.
Governor Lachlan Macquarie passed through the Oatlands area in 1811but it was another ten years before consideration was given to establishing a settlement there. That came about through Macquarie’s decision to build a road between George Town and Hobart. Oatlands was one of a number of sites selected as military outposts along the route. Settlers followed and the area became known as a centre for the production of wheat which was milled in Oatlands.
Though the town abounds with buildings of historical interest there are two clear standouts.
The Oatlands Flour Mill built by John Vincent in 1837 is the third oldest windmill in Australia and the only building of its type remaining in Tasmania. The mill site includes the original Millers Cottage and Granary together with an exhibition of over 2,000 dolls from all corners of the globe.
Today most of the visitors to Oatlands are drawn by its colonial heritage and the local fishing which is outstanding at either Lake Dulverton, right adjacent to Oatlands, or at the nearby and world-renowned Great Lake Conservation Area, comprising Great Lake, Arthurs Lake and Lake Sorell among others.
Nearby Parattah is of considerable historical significance as the site of the former home of Hudson Fysh, co-founder of QANTAS.
This Tassie Local snapshot was produced by Footloose Photographic & Media Solutions
Things to see around - Oatlands
Oatlands - Midlands, Tasmania
