| Launceston | |
Location: | 204 km north of Hobart by the Midland Highway |
Councils: | City of Launceston West Tamar Meander Valley Northern Midlands |
Population: | 68 779 |
Postcode: | 7250 |
Australia's third oldest city and Tasmania's second major city, Launceston lies where the South and North Esk rivers join to become the Tamar River. It is a pretty city of parks and gardens nestled into a landscape of wide river valleys surrounded by mountains.
Launceston is a centre for commerce, industry and agriculture. The central business district boasts modern shops, interesting malls and restaurants integrated into the historic facades of the old town. Yorktown Square, a collection of 26 speciality shops, was built in 1984 in the style of the past. On weekends it is the venue for a lively market. The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Wellington Street also houses the Launceston Planetarium, one of only four such theatres in Australia. Two local woollen mills attract many visitors to watch the manufacturing processes and visit the factory shops.
Of the city's many parks and gardens, City Park stands out. Lawns and flowerbeds are shaded by English oaks and flourishing elm trees and the John Hart Conservatory has a wonderful display of begonias, cyclamen and other hothouse blooms. A duck pond and a monkey island are among other interesting features.
Built entirely of Tasmanian blackwood in the 1860s, the Old Umbrella Shop at 60 George Street is the
last genuine period shop in Tasmania. Now preserved by the National Trust as a gift shop and
information centre, this unique shop was operated by three generations of the Shaft family whose
collection of umbrellas spanning one hundred years is on display.
Close to the city centre is Launceston's famous Cataract Gorge, a naturally beautiful gorge on the
South Esk River that has been turned into a major tourist attraction without spoiling the original
scenery. Gardens and recreation areas on each side of the river are connected by a chairlift that passes
above the huge basin filled with the surging waters of the river. A suspension bridge built in 1940 also
crosses the river.
One of the most impressive tourist developments in Australia is Penny Royal World, set in an old quarry in the centre of Launceston. The attraction features an early 19th century gunpowder mill, a cannon foundry and an arsenal in a beautifully landscaped setting of streams and waterfalls. Barges take visitors on a unique canal system through a working museum showing how gunpowder was made. There is an underground armoury with magazine and jails on Fort Island, a windmill and a cornmill and a paddle steamer and tram to ride along with many other attractions.
Reminders of the past are evident in the many historic buildings in and around Launceston. Macquarie House in Civic Square was built as a warehouse in 1830, its displays depict Launceston and surrounds through convict history. Three beautiful National Trust houses are all well worth a visit: Franklin House, in the suburb of Franklin, is a twostorey Georgian settler's house built in 1838 and now fully restored, Entally House, the home of Thomas Reibey, a former Premier of Tasmania and son of Mary and Thomas Reibey of Sydney, at Hadspen, 18 km southwest of Launceston and magnificent Clarendon House on the banks of the South Esk River near Evandale.