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Main photo gallerys are below Information.
CAMPBELL TOWN
Cleveland, Conara, Meetus Falls & Kirklands
SMALL PHOTO & INFORMATION PAGE
CAMPBELL TOWN is a large, historic town with many facilities and much accommodation. It has a number of important heritage buildings including; the Red Bridge, St Lukes, the Fox Hunters Return and the Grange. All are well worth seeing. It is half way between Launceston and Hobart and is a good place to base yourself for touring central Tasmania. It is also quite close to LAKE LEAKE, one of the best fishing lakes in Tasmania.
- CONARA is just north of Campbell Town.
- CLEVELAND is just north of Conara.
- MEETUS FALLS is east of Campbell Town
- KIRKLANDS is west of Campbell Town
From Campbell Town you are 5 minutes from ROSS, 20 minutes from AVOCA, 30 minutes from OATLANDS, EVANDALE, FINGAL and LONGFORD. Nearby places are described in the MIDLANDS REGION.
View Midlands in a larger map
HERITAGE HIGHWAY: Campbell Town is one of a number of towns on the A1 Midland Highway, which is called the Heritage Highway by the tourist industry. The other historic towns are: ROSS, EVANDALE, LONGFORD, CARRICK, DELORAINE, OATLANDS, KEMPTON, WESTBURY and PONTVILLE. For further information telephone any visitor information office or see www.heritagehighway.com.au
FACILITIES: There is a shopping precinct at Campbell Town. There is accommodation at CAMPBELL TOWN and at ROSS.
SIGHTS: Campbell Town dates from the 1820s and was one of five garrison towns built on the Midland Highway that connects HOBART to LAUNCESTON. The town has a number of significant historic buildings, but, unfortunately, lacks a consistent heritage street like ROSS and OATLANDS.
The town boasts of being the centre of Tasmania. You are close to the centre of Tasmania in Campbell Town, but realistically you are only close to the places listed above. It also boasts of its ice cream, which is highly recommended. Campbell Town is a convenient place to stay, if you are intending to visit other towns on the Heritage Highway. The sights include the:
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RED BRIDGE is one of the oldest in Australia and was built from a million bricks in 1838. It's on the town's southern edge.
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FOX HUNTERS RETURN built in 1838 is rated as the best preserved of this early Colonial style in Australia.
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ST LUKES CHURCH built in 1835 is one of the oldest in Australia. It is on the northern edge of the town.
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HAROLD GATTY MEMORIAL to the first man to fly around the world in 1931. It is on the northern edge of the town.
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OLD WATER WHEEL is on Franklin St just south of the Elizabeth River.
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GRANGE a gentleman's house built in 1847. It is just south of Valentine Park, which is in the centre of the town.
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CATHOLIC CHURCH in King St is east of the main street.
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CLEVELAND is a hamlet 15 kilometres north of Campbell Town with some interesting heritage assets.
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CONARA is a hamlet about 12 kilometres north of Campbell Town. It has a church with a beautiful stain glass window.
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KIRKLANDS is a historic church, manse and graveyard. It is on C522 Macquarie Road west of Campbell Town
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MEETUS FALLS is a lovely waterfall east of Campbell Town. It is near Lake Leake.
ROUTE: Campbell Town is on the A1 Midland Highway south of LAUNCESTON. The Highway runs through the town.
The alternate route to the East Coast, B34 Lake Leake Road exits from the east side of the town just south of the Elizabeth River.
To LARGER CAMPBELLTOWN PHOTOS
- CAMPBELL TOWN
- Cleveland
- Conara
- Meetus Falls
- Kirklands
1/ The Fox Hunters Return Inn in Campbell Town was built in 1838 and is rated the best preserved inn of its type in Australia.
2/ The Campbell Town Red Bridge was built in 1838 out of a million locally made bricks. It is one of the oldest brick bridges in Australia. Note the sculptures to the right of it.
3/ Old trees near the famous Campbell Town Red Bridge were recently turned into sculptures. I thought that these modern sculptures looked out of place next to the bridge.
4/ St Lukes Anglican Church was built in 1835. It is one of the oldest churches in Tasmania.
5/ St Lukes looks ancient, English and grand when you see it from this view point.
6/ St Lukes School was built in 1843. It comes from a time before public education, when all schools were run by the different churches.
7/ The Catholic Church of Campbell Town was much more modest, but it had a charm of its own.
8/ The inside was a simply, but elegant decor.
9/ The Uniting Church of Campbell Town was a grand building, but it was in need of maintenance.
10/ In profile, like St Lukes, it also looks very ancient and very English.
11/ The attractive town hall is in the Art Deco style. It has a memorial display of Harold Gatty.
12/ This is the Eliza Forlonge commemoration. In the 1820s Eliza walked 1500 kilometres throughout Saxony in Germany (Sachsen) buying the best merino sheep. She then brought out a flock of these prize sheep to Van Diemen's Land and started a very successful property at Kenilworth near Campbell Town. Many of the sheep of Tasmania are descended from her flock.
13/ This photo shows an interesting, combined teacher residence and classroom of the Victorian era. This building even has its own bell tower. It was obligatory in the 19th Century to provide country teachers with a residence. I have not seen a combined building like this example before.
14/ This photo shows the historic "Grange". This was a Victorian era gentleman's residence and was built in 1847. This mansion was built in unusual English Tudor style.
15/ This photo shows the main section of the Grange Mansion. Note how it is replete with chimneys. In the 19th Century you could count the chimneys to measure a man's wealth. By this reckoning the owner of the Grange was a very rich man indeed.
16/ This is the Harold Gatty memorial. It is located on the northern edge of Campbell Town. Gatty was the navigator for the famous, American flyer, Wiley Post. In 1931 Post and Gatty made a record breaking flight. Gatty later served with distinction with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War Two. He was born in Campbell Town and he always called Tasmania Home.
17/ This is the Lockheed Vega that Gatty flew around the world. He deserves to be much better known as a flight pioneer like Kingsford Smith.
18/ This is Quorn Hall, which was first known as Geddesden where Sir Richard Dry went to school in 1829. It shows what a restored estate can look like.
19/ This is the Mona Vale mansion of Robert Kermode. He was a leading figure in 19th Century Tasmania. In the days of the stage coach important people would stop here overnight. Later a railway station was added to the estate.
20/ This is Campbelltown High School.
