Perth - North East, Tasmania.
There is a tree on the outskirts of Perth, northern Tasmania which it’s said wild animals avoid and where domestic dogs growl and raise their hackles if forced to pass nearby. Known as “Gibbet Hill” it was here in 1837 that the body of John McKay, a convicted murderer, was “gibbeted” or left hanging on public display to deter other criminals. It was the last case of “gibbeting” in the British Empire, conducted five years after the practice was ended in England.
A significant historic town with no less than forty-one heritage-listed buildings, Perth is just 19 kilometres south-west of Launceston. The first settler in the area was Launceston’s Chief Constable, Thomas Massey who took up land in the area in 1814. Massey became a victim of the infamous bushranger Matthew Brady who raided the property and burnt down a barn in 1824.
Present day Perth was ear-marked as the sight of a future settlement by Governor Macquarie in 1821, resulting in a military post and inn being built and a ferry service established across the South Esk River.
The ferry was replaced by a convict built bridge in 1836. It was damaged by floods and replaced in 1839. The new bridge was damaged by flood in 1841 and totally destroyed by another in 1929. Rebuilt in 1931 it was again destroyed, and replaced by the present structure, in 1971.
The oldest building in Perth is the Leather Bottell Inn. Now a restaurant it was built in 1831 and named after a hotel in Cobham, Kent often frequented by the novelist Charles Dickens.
Often overshadowed by towns such as Ross and Campbell Town, Perth is well worth the time taken to visit.
This Tassie Local snapshot was produced by Footloose Photographic & Media Solutions
Things to see around - Perth
Perth
Wooden Statue - Perth, Tasmania
