Triabunna - East Coast, Tasmania.
A scenic 88 Kilometre drive north-east of Hobart, Triabunna was Australia’s first rural municipality, originally established as a whaling station and a military garrison overseeing the Darlington penal settlement on nearby Maria Island. Today it is primarily a fishing port, known for its scallops and abalone, and home to a major wood-chipping mill at nearby Point Home.
Triabunna itself is fairly rustic in appearance but the surrounding area offers great recreational fishing and sailing on sheltered Prosser Bay, snorkeling and diving on the nearby coastline and off Maria Island, pristine beaches and a multitude of invigorating bush and coastal walks.
The first European to pass this way was Abel Tasman who sighted and named Maria Island in December 1642 after Maria, the wife of Anthony Van Diemen. Tasman was followed by Nicholas Baudin, the French explorer who sailed his vessel, Le Geographe, into Spring Bay in 1802.
In 1825 the Maria Island penal settlement was established and its Commandant, Major Thomas Lord established a mainland property called Okehampton near the present site of Triabunna. At around the same time the area became popular with whalers and the latter half of the 1820’s saw four whaling stations operating along this stretch of coastline.
Along with the whalers and the military came free settlers who set up farms and by 1860 the Spring Bay Municipality had been declared. The local Council Chambers were constructed in 1862.
“Triabunna” is the Aboriginal word for a local flightless and fast-running native hen, still prevalent throughout the area and capable of reaching speeds of up to 50 KPH.
This Tassie Local snapshot was produced by Footloose Photographic & Media Solutions
Things to see around - Triabunna
Triabunna - East Coast, Tasmania
