Launceston's TREVALLYN

1/ Trevallyn is just north west of the Launceston CBD. In Victorian times it was called the "Captains' Suburb". Professional people set up lovely homes here within walking distance of the CBD. Their homes had great views of the Tamar River. Walking through here is a delightful experience to those interested in Victorian home architecture. This house shows all the flourishes of Victorian home architecture. It has a heritage listing.

2/ This image shows the northern end of Trevallyn from Kings Park on the east bank of the Tamar River. Note the plethora of large historic houses and the church on the hill. All of these houses have great views of the Tamar.

3/ This is the view from the walkway on the Trevallyn edge of the Tamar River. On the middle left are the old silos, which are now being converted into a luxury apartment complex. To the right is the Seaport luxury apartment complex and on its right is Launceston CBD.

4/ This large single storey house at Trevallyn had an impressive Victorian style verandah. Besides size, you can easily count wealth in Victorian times by the number of chimneys.

5/ These houses on West Tamar Road, Trevallyn have grand views of both Launceston and the Tamar River.

6/ This double storey and double verandah house speaks of real wealth in Victorian times.

7/ These houses on Forest Road, Trevallyn show a variety of styles.

8/ This strange house seems to have a Scandinavian style. It is one of a number of unique houses in Trevallyn.

9/ This house is a great example of the new Art Deco style. There a few other, lovely Art Deco houses in Trevallyn.

10/ Near the old King's Bridge is a stairway up the hill to the heart of Trevallyn. This is the view to the south.

11/ On the hill of Trevallyn are a number of streets facing the Tamar River, where there are many great examples of Victorian house architecture.

12/ In Bain Terrace, Trevallyn you get a strong feeling of timeless, as the houses are all great examples of Victorian architecture.

13/ In the heart of Trevallyn on the hill is the Trevallyn Reserve. Here you can relax and look down on the Tamar.

14/ Looking down from the hill of Trevallyn, you see many old houses bedecked by healthy old gardens, while beyond is the gently Tamar River.

15/ This cute but tiny house is aberrant to the other houses in this area. I am sure it has a story to tell.

16/ Looking down on the Tamar are many grand old homes. They exude a feeling of quiet superiority that makes Trevallyn so unique.

1/ The Penny Royal Theme Park is adjacent to Cataract Gorge on the edge of Launceston CBD and Trevallyn. It is a theme park that offers visitors: a cafe, restaurant, wine cellar and ice creamery. It also offers visitors a variety of adventures including: a rock wall to climb, a cliff top walk, a flying fox ride, plus a sail boat ride and a dark, mystery cruise. This is the entrance to Penny Royal.

2/ Penny Royal also has the "Powder Mill" guest apartments. Patrons staying here are very close to both the Launceston CBD, as well as the facilities of Penny Royal.

3/ Penny Royal is an old quarry. The floor of the quarry has been flooded to make a sail boat coarse. The guns on this boat are regularly fired. Children are allowed to hold the steering wheel, as the boat travels on a guide rail. This image shows some of the main features of Penny Royal. On the left is the cafe and restaurant in the middle ground is Sarah Island and beyond it is the waterfall. At the top right you can see the flying fox.

4/ This is the rock climbing wall at Penny Royal. Climbers are in a safety harness, so there is no danger of falling.

5/ This is the flying fox at Penny Royal. Those brave enough to take this ride, sail in a safety harness 20 metres above the lake of Penny Royal.

6/ This image shows the cafe at Penny Royal. Above it is the cliff walk and to the left is Sarah Island. This image was made at the lake level from a boat of the Dark Ride.

7/ This image shows the waterfall. Water is pumped from the Tamar River to gush down into the lake. This creates an exhilarating noise and effect. Next to the waterfall is part of the cliff top walk.

8/ This is one of the boats that takes you on the Dark Ride. The ride is actually much darker, but the flash of my camera has lightened it up.

9/ On the Dark Ride you meet a number of very life like puppets. I was very impressed by the skin texture of this puppet. A voice recording recounts some of the historic incidents that are illustrated on the Dark Ride. This puppet was so life like that I thought, at first, that it was an actor.

10/ This very life like puppet shoots at an escape convict named Matthew Brady. Brady made a very clever escape from Sarah Island and survived by robbery for some time before he was recaptured.

11/ This is one of the ghost puppets, who tells you about some of the horrible things that happened in the old Vandiemensland. The actual scene was much darker than it appears here, because of the flash effect of my camera.

1/ This gallery takes you on a tour of Elphin Road. It begins at the end of City Park and can be continued all the way to the Newstead Shopping Centre. Here there are cafes and a hotel. This image shows you a Victorian era house at the corner on Elphin Road and High Street. The houses on High Street are shown in the next tab.

2/ As you start your tour you pass by this modern apartment complex, which has been built in an older style. The area near City Park has many apartments.

3/ On Elphin Road you will encounter a very wide range of Victorian era houses. The houses reflect a prosperous time in the 1890s, when Launceston benefitted from the northern Tasmanian mining boom. At this time Elphin Road had a tram to take people quickly into Launceston.

4/ The housing density in this part of Launceston is quite high, as this is a very popular area. There is also a wide range of attractive styles including: Victorian, Georgian, Federation and Art Deco.

5/ This is one of many well renovated, Victorian era homes on Elphin Road.

6/ This is the Marsden apartment complex. It reflects the new Art Deco style of the 1930s.

7/ I found the fences on some of the houses to be just as interesting as the homes themselves.

8/ The streets connected to Elphin Road are also worth visiting. This is a very well restored Georgian era home. There would be a great view from the second storey.

9/ This is another well restored, Georgian era home. The builders were wise to have included shutters, as this house faces the morning sun.

10/ This house is a great example of the Federation style of about 1900. Long verandahs are a key feature of this style.

11/ This is an impressive, two storey Federation style house. It has a great view down to Newstead.

1/ Launceston was the administrative centre of the northern Tasmanian during the mining boom of the late 19th Century. It has many impressive buildings and houses from this period. This gallery shows stately homes in High Street, which is just east of the Launceston CBD. This photo shows the top of Brisbane Street. In the distance is City Park and beyond this park to the right is High Street.

2/ There is an enormous variety of late 19th Century and early 20th Century architecture in High Street. This image shows a well kept Georgian style home. The well developed hedge and tree shows the great age of the property. In Tasmania you can see many old houses that really look like the "Old England" the settlers had recently left in the mid 19th Century.

3/ This Federation style home of the early 20th Century is now used as offices. In the past you could assess the wealth of the owner by the number of chimneys and balconies possessed by the house. Thus, this house must have been built by a wealthy man. The house also has a great view down the hill to the east behind the house. This house follows the rule that the rich lived on top of the hill and the poor lived lower down.

4/ This Georgian house, called Eurella, shows the simply clean lines of the style. The Georgians loved shutters and porticos. There was also a lovely garden beyond the privacy wall.

5/ This lovely home was probably built in two different periods. The style facing this way is the Art Deco style of the 1930s. Note too the large wall and hedge.

6/ This Victorian style house has now been converted into the Ashton Gate B&B.

7/ This house is a good example of the Scandinavian style that was popular in Tasmania in the 1920s. This style emphasizes simple clean lines and a minimalist approach to architecture.

8/ This Federation style house shows enclosed verandahs and a later addiction. It is a good example of how these houses developed over the decades. It is now the Kurrajong House B&B.

9/ This early 20th Century house had a great view down the street.

10/ This Victorian era shop, now called Design Inn, sells a huge variety of Christmas decorations. It is at the edge of a small shopping precinct with a cafe and it is opposite a large park.

11/ This Victorian era house shows the classic features of the time with its balcony and verandah. It is now the Windarra Guest House.

12/ I was intrigued by this house as it shows both modern and ancient features.

13/ There were many Victorian era houses with great views like this one.

14/ This attractive home shows the minimalist style of the 1930s known as Art Deco.