The three arch Red Bridge at the southern end of the town was built by convicts between 1836 and 1838 while The Fox Hunters Return (1840), a two-storey rubble stone building, is considered to be one of the most substantial hotel buildings of the period. Close to the RHTS in King Street is St Michael's Church (1857) with the initials of the Bishop of Tasmania, Bishop Wilson, engraved into the south east wall.
The Campbell Town Railway Station is reputedly the site of Australia's first telephone conversation which was recorded by Alfred Biggs. The telephone is made of Huon Pine and is now on display at the Heritage Highway Museum. Campbell Town is also the birthplace of Harold Gatty, who was navigator during the American pilot Wylie Post's round-the-world aeroplane flight in 1931. Gatty also designed the navigational system used by the US Airforce during the Second World War.
Campbell Town has a world-class reputation as a major sheep farming centre. Saxon Merino sheep were introduced into the area in about 1823 and by the 1830s, had established Campbell Town as the centre of the Van Diemen's Land fine wool industry.
The Campbell Town Railway Station is reputedly the site of Australia's first telephone conversation which was recorded by Alfred Biggs. The telephone is made of Huon Pine and is now on display at the Heritage Highway Museum. Campbell Town is also the birthplace of Harold Gatty, who was navigator during the American pilot Wylie Post's round-the-world aeroplane flight in 1931. Gatty also designed the navigational system used by the US Airforce during the Second World War.
Campbell Town has a world-class reputation as a major sheep farming centre. Saxon Merino sheep were introduced into the area in about 1823 and by the 1830s, had established Campbell Town as the centre of the Van Diemen's Land fine wool industry.
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The Wood Carving History of the Town
Carved from three trees by Eddie Freeman from Ross these unusual sculptures depict the history of the town. The first tree depicts a British soldier guarding a convict labourer during the construction of the Red Bridge. Below is a carving of the bushranger, Martin Cash. Seated near a telescope is Dr William Valentine who viewed the Transit of Venus in Campbell Town in 1874. The aeroplane and globe honour Harold Gatty, the aviator, who circumnavigated the planet in 1931. The sheep and wool acknowledge the fact that the Campbell Town Show is the longest running in the southern hemisphere and the third tree depicts the wildlife found along the Elizabeth River.
Carved from three trees by Eddie Freeman from Ross these unusual sculptures depict the history of the town. The first tree depicts a British soldier guarding a convict labourer during the construction of the Red Bridge. Below is a carving of the bushranger, Martin Cash. Seated near a telescope is Dr William Valentine who viewed the Transit of Venus in Campbell Town in 1874. The aeroplane and globe honour Harold Gatty, the aviator, who circumnavigated the planet in 1931. The sheep and wool acknowledge the fact that the Campbell Town Show is the longest running in the southern hemisphere and the third tree depicts the wildlife found along the Elizabeth River.
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The Convict Brick Trail
Along the west side of the main street (the Midland Highway) there is a long, single line of bricks extending along the footpath for a number of blocks. Each of the hundreds and hundreds of bricks records the life of a convict. They are not all convicts who ended up in Van Diemen’s Land. They are bricks recording the lives of every convict that reached Australia and the information was wonderfully succinct … and devastating.
The name of the convict; their age when they arrived in Australia; the ship they were transported on and the year of its arrival; their crime; their sentence; and a small piece of personal information. Thus (and this was the most heart-rending):
Elizabeth Hayward
Age 13 years
Lady Penrhyn 1787
Stole Clothing
7 Years
Youngest 1st Fleet Female
By slowly walking the length of the street, and quietly reading each of the bricks, you will learn about the kinds of people who were transported as convicts. Here are lives of great poverty – most of the crimes are a result of starvation or theft of property – recorded in start simplicity. Here are the stories, told with such brevity, of people like Elizabeth Bickford who, at the age of 17 stole some butter and was transported for seven years to Van Diemen’s Land where she met and married Thomas Myers, aged 19, who had stolen a handkerchief and been transported for seven years. He never returned to England and died in Hobart.
Along the west side of the main street (the Midland Highway) there is a long, single line of bricks extending along the footpath for a number of blocks. Each of the hundreds and hundreds of bricks records the life of a convict. They are not all convicts who ended up in Van Diemen’s Land. They are bricks recording the lives of every convict that reached Australia and the information was wonderfully succinct … and devastating.
The name of the convict; their age when they arrived in Australia; the ship they were transported on and the year of its arrival; their crime; their sentence; and a small piece of personal information. Thus (and this was the most heart-rending):
Elizabeth Hayward
Age 13 years
Lady Penrhyn 1787
Stole Clothing
7 Years
Youngest 1st Fleet Female
By slowly walking the length of the street, and quietly reading each of the bricks, you will learn about the kinds of people who were transported as convicts. Here are lives of great poverty – most of the crimes are a result of starvation or theft of property – recorded in start simplicity. Here are the stories, told with such brevity, of people like Elizabeth Bickford who, at the age of 17 stole some butter and was transported for seven years to Van Diemen’s Land where she met and married Thomas Myers, aged 19, who had stolen a handkerchief and been transported for seven years. He never returned to England and died in Hobart.
Campbell Town was one of the early coaching stops on the main route between Launceston and Hobart and is still a popular place to stop today with good eateries for snacks or lunches, plus antique and specialty shops of all sorts and lovely picnic spots by the river.
The town on the banks of the tranquil Elizabeth River and was named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie after his wife’s family name during a visit in 1821. He also named the river and lots of other things after her on his trip. (The name Elizabeth pops up repeatedly across southern and central Tasmania.)
Campbell Town has an impressive collection of colonial buildings including The Grange – designed by convict architect James Blackburn in the late 1840s, the Foxhunters Return – a lovely example of a 19th century inn built in 1834, and the convict-built Red Bridge built in 1836.
Campbell Town is a 45-min drive (70 km) from Launceston.
The town on the banks of the tranquil Elizabeth River and was named by Governor Lachlan Macquarie after his wife’s family name during a visit in 1821. He also named the river and lots of other things after her on his trip. (The name Elizabeth pops up repeatedly across southern and central Tasmania.)
Campbell Town has an impressive collection of colonial buildings including The Grange – designed by convict architect James Blackburn in the late 1840s, the Foxhunters Return – a lovely example of a 19th century inn built in 1834, and the convict-built Red Bridge built in 1836.
Campbell Town is a 45-min drive (70 km) from Launceston.
Red bridge as its known in Campbell town
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This town is between Launceston and Hobart its right on the highway and as you see from photos loads of History and I found some interesting info about the phots. As you do this you are learning more and more our past and its the best .
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