Historic Richmond Village,
Tasmania
History and Information
The Historic Village of Richmond is a 20 minute drive (24km) from Tasmania’s Capital City, Hobart. This Georgian-style Village is the oldest historic town in Tasmania and is home to a number of ‘historic firsts’, including the oldest Roman Catholic Church, the oldest bridge and the oldest former postal building in Australia as well as the oldest gaol in the State. The host of sandstone buildings and cottages make Richmond a photographer’s dream.
Richmond was first explored in 1803 by Lt Bowen, a few years later when settlers came, the area was called ‘sweetwater’. The river become known as the Coal River following the discovery of coal along its banks. The town itself was named Richmond because of its establishment on 90 acres of the Richmond Park property. The town was officially named by Lt Gov William Sorell on February 23 1824.
In the early years Richmond was an important police district. The first part of the gaol was built in 1825, five years before Port Arthur. The bridge when built in 1823 enabled easier movement of goods, military, police and convicts between Hobart and Port Arthur. When the Sorell Causeway opened in 1872, this traffic no longer passed through Richmond, which is why the town remains today much as it was then.
Finding Your Way Around www.richmondvillage.com.au
This site has been organised into a number of sections to make finding your way around easier. The sections are:
Naturally some businesses will appear in more that one location. To make finding your way easier there should always be a menu either to the left or on the top of the page. If you have any trouble finding anything please contact us at [email protected]
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Last Updated July 14, 2020