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Norfolk Plains
The Norfolk Plains area spans from the junction of the South Esk and Liffey Rivers, south to Brumby’s Creek. For many thousands of years the local Panninher group traversed these Plains. In 1813 the region was chosen by Governor Macquarie to resettle people from Norfolk Island and became known as the Norfolk Plains. The government gave out land grants of multiple acreages to the settlers, establishing a farming district. Agriculture and cropping became the main industries of the area. Flour from seven or eight mills was exported as well as providing for the region. Intensive farming during the early decades left the land less prosperous. Travel was also an issue for the settlers with the journey from Norfolk Plains to Launceston taking up to two days. Over time the area developed. The central towns became Longford, Perth, Bishops-bourne and Cressy. The Norfolk Plains is now full of many grand properties and grand historic houses.  Longford
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Longord Business Centre from 'The Leader' 20 May 1923 |
Longford, first settled in 1831, was originally called Latour, but renamed soon after. The name of Longford is believed to have stemmed from that of Longford, in County Longford, Ireland.
Longford was a central area used by people from the Norfolk Plains. Many of the goods produced on the Norfolk Plains were taken to Longford. Breweries and flourmills that could process these goods became an important part of Longford’s economy.
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The Masonic Hall - from "The Leader" |
The Blenheim hotel hosted the first Longford show in 1857. The advent of rail transport was important to Longford. The railway line was constructed in the early 1860s. Trains were then able to transport people and produce from the Norfolk Plains to Launceston and Hobart.
Longford is well known for its beautiful nineteenth century buildings including the Christ Church, Jessen Lodge, and Belmont.
The town was greatly affected by the 1929 floods, which devastated much of Northern Tasmania.
Perth
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From a postcard featuring the Perth Bridge spanning the South Esk river |
Perth was originally known as ‘The Punt’, where travellers between Hobart to Launceston were carried across the Esk River. The first land grantee in the area was Thomas Massey. Massey was also the Chief District Police Constable at Launceston.
Governor Macquarie later named the township Perth. Several early land grantees originated from Perthshire, Scotland. One such grantee, David Gibson, who was given land in 1821, called his property ‘Pleasant Banks’.
The first bridge built across the Esk at Perth was in 1835. This was later washed away in 1842.
The earliest buildings in Perth were associated with a convict probation station and included military barracks, Commandant’s residence, Officers and Sergeants quarters, a jail, an inn and a chapel. The military barracks were built in 1836 and housed 200 convicts.
Another early land grantee was Captain John Ritchie R.N. Ritchie also originated from Perthshire, Scotland. Ritchie built the property ‘Scone’, which was left it to his brother Lieutenant Thomas Ritchie R.N. in 1821. ‘Scone’ was bought by Wiliam Gibson in 1867, re naming it ‘Eskleigh’. It is now a place of care for people with disabilities.
Cressy
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Richmond Hill c.1823 |
Cressy was built as the main centre for the Cressy Company. It was named by the first company director Captain Bartholemew Boyle Thomas, a descendant of a war hero at the battle of ‘Crecy’ in the fourteenth century. The company was named after this battle. The Cressy Company, also known as ‘The Cressy Establishment’, was a large agricultural company. The company owned a significant portion of the Norfolk Plains including land from the Lake River to the Liffey River.
William Brumby built the first building in the area, the Cressy Hotel, in 1845. Cressy did not become an official town ship until 1848. The last director of the Cressy Company, James D. Toosey Senior, sold ‘The Cressy Establishment’ in 1855, for a large profit. After the sale he bought two properties ‘Richmond Hill’ and ‘Cressy House’ and later set aside land from ‘Richmond Hill’ for a church and burial ground.
Cressy was a flourishing agricultural village by 1887. The town is still a significant centre in a productive agricultural district and the gateway to trout fishing in the streams that flow across the Norfolk Plains from the lakes in the high country.
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1856 sketch of Christ's College Bishopsborne, H.B.Stoney - courtesy State Library of Tasmania |
Bishopsbourne
Bishopsbourne’s early history is based around the establishment of the Church of the Nativity and Christ College. The building of the Church and College was a long running government project. The purpose of the college was as a place of further learning for those who completed education at the Launceston Grammar School and the Hutchins School in Hobart.
The government bought 1,218 acres of the property ‘Vron’ from Mr William Walker in 1845. Bishop Francis Russell Nixon opened the Church and School on October the 1st 1846. In honour of the opening, Mr Walker renamed his residence ‘Episcopal House’. The college only lasted for 11 years, closing in 1857 after a lack of finance.
Bishopsbourne was named after the association with the church and ‘bourne’, which means, ‘by the river’, in this case the Liffey River. A town was originally planned out in 1845 but was not officially declared a town until the 3rd of July 1866.
Bishopsbourne became an important agricultural centre with public and private schools, Methodist and Anglican Churches. The 1930 Tasmanian Cyclopedia mentions Bishopsbourne as a place where agriculture flourishes with sheep and dairy farms.
Pateena & Illawarra
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William Saltmarsh Buildings during a flooding of the South Esk river |
Muddy Plains, north of Longford is the historic name for the small district of Pateena. Another name for the area, stretching north of Longford along the South Esk River towards Hadspen was Norfolk Plains East. The children of successful land grantee, Edward Dumaresq at ‘Mount Ireh’, are said to have named Pateena, after they travelled on the SS Pateena from their schooling across Bass Strait in Melbourne.
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Salem Church, 1840 - courtesy SLT |
Edward Dumaresq, army officer, surveyor of Tasmania and brother in law of Governor Ralf Darling, took over a land grant in 1835. He was also granted land at Illawarra, across the river from Pateena. Edward attempted to establish a village at Illawarra, setting aside parcels of land for residents, building the Christ Church, a school and a shop. This settlement was not successful.
Another early settler in the Pateena district was William Saltmarsh junior, son of a convict, settling in 1813. He is responsible for building an inn, as well as one of the first schools in the district.
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The convict built Pateena Bridge - courtesy SLT |
Other remains of Pateena’s history can be still seen today including ‘Jessiefield‘, ’Bowthorpe’, ‘Salem Chapel’, the Rob Roy Inn and the convict built bridge. The remains of coal mining are situated on ‘Norwich’, mined by Henry Mason during the 1890s.
