Taroona Hobart, Tasmania | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 42°56′53″S147°20′56″E / 42.94806°S 147.34889°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 3,070 (2016 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 7053 | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Kingborough | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Clark | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Clark | ||||||||||||||
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Taroona is a major residential suburb approximately 15 minutes drive from the centre of Hobart, Tasmania on the scenic route between Hobart and Kingston. Although on the edges of the City of Hobart, Taroona is actually part of the municipality of Kingborough. Taroona is bounded on the east by the Derwent River, and has several beaches along the shore, the main beaches with public access are Taroona Beach, Hinsby Beach and Dixons Beach. Past Hinsby Beach, the Alum Cliffs form a section of cliffed coast to the neighbouring suburb of Bonnet Hill.
The name Taroona is derived from the Mouheneener word for chiton, a marine mollusc found on rocks in the intertidal regions of the Taroona foreshore. [2] [3]
Prior to the British colonisation of Tasmania, the land had been occupied for possibly as long as 35,000 years [4] by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener people, a sub-group of the Nuennone, or "South-East tribe". [5] Mouheneener shell middens can be found scattered all along Taroona's foreshores. [2] [6]
This district was originally known as Crayfish Point and the diaries of Robert Knopwood contain reference to expeditions to catch crayfish there.
The first European settlement at Taroona took place in the early 19th century, when land was granted to settlers who had relocated from Norfolk Island. For the remainder of that century, the area was largely used for farming, and was sparsely populated.
In the mid 1890s, Clarendon James Cox Lord purchased an 18-acre property which he called Taroona, after an Aboriginal word for sea shell. Lord built himself a pretty homestead and also established tea rooms where visitors could indulge in delicacies such as strawberries and cream while overlooking the River Derwent, Hobart. [7]
In the first half of the 20th century, more large and elegant residences were built, as well as beach shacks and cottages which were used for seaside holidays by the residents of Hobart. [6] Taroona Post Office opened on 2 August 1906. [8]
On the foreshore above Taroona Beach there is the grave of a young sailor, Joseph Batchelor, who died on the sailing ship Venus in the Derwent Estuary in 1810, and was buried ashore on 28 January 1810. It is reputed to be the oldest European grave in Tasmania, and it is a declared Historical site.
After World War II, significant subdivision of Taroona was undertaken, and the suburb's population rapidly expanded. Having been developed mainly in the "era of the automobile", Taroona was from the beginning a commuter suburb, and it has a notable absence of commercial or retail premises, many of the early retail enterprises having lost the battle with larger supermarkets elsewhere. [6]
In February 1967, southern Tasmania was engulfed in the most vicious wildfires on record, resulting in many deaths. Taroona was the closest suburb to the city of Hobart to take the full brunt of the fires, which swept across the suburb in the mid afternoon, wreaking havoc, and destroying many homes. Children and residents fled to the river, and many people's survival was due to the refuge the safe waters provided. [6]
In 1958 a public high school was established on a large parcel of land on the Channel Highway central to the suburb, and with a frontage on to the foreshore of the Derwent River.
In 1960 the Taroona Primary School re-located to the same site, from an older building further south on the Channel Highway. Those original primary school buildings were adapted for kindergarten and pre-school but were burnt down by an arsonist in 1974. The kindergarten and pre-school were then re-built adjacent to the primary school.
Taroona High School and Taroona Primary school are completely separate educational institutions, although they do share one oval.
Originally the high school catered for grades 7 to 11, but with the establishment of the separate Matriculation College system in 1962 the grade 11 students were transferred to the Hobart Matriculation College. At its maximum the enrolments at Taroona High School were about 1200 in the 1960s, with students travelling from Ferntree, South Hobart, Sandy Bay, Battery Point, Kingston, Blackmans Bay, and several centres further south.
There are now approximately 1150 students in high school, now only drawing students from the southern suburbs of Hobart. The current principal is Matthew Bennell.
Taroona was the childhood home of Tasmanian-born Queen Mary of Denmark, who attended the river-side Taroona High School before completing her high schooling at Mount Nelson's Hobart College and embarking on her tertiary degree at the University of Tasmania. [9]
In the arts, lead vocalist of The Seekers, Judith Durham (born Judith Mavis Cock, 3 July 1943) lived in Taroona as a young girl, and attended the Fahan School in Sandy Bay before moving back to Melbourne in 1956. She joined The Seekers in 1963. Gwen Harwood, poet and librettist, lived in Taroona with her family for a number of years in the nineteen fifties. Louise Lovely, Australia's first actress to achieve fame in Hollywood, spent her later years in Taroona until her death in 1980. [10]
David Bartlett, former Tasmanian premier (2008), was also raised in Taroona.
Situated on the Channel Highway just south of Taroona is one of the State's most unusual historic buildings, the Shot Tower. The Shot Tower is a 48 m (157 ft) tall, 10 m (32 ft) in diameter cylindrical sandstone tower constructed by Joseph Moir in 1870 from locally quarried sandstone blocks. Lead shot was made by dropping molten lead through a sieve at the top of the tower and by the time it hit the water at the bottom it was cold and spherical in shape. A climb up the 259 steps to the top of the tower gives a wonderful view of the Derwent Estuary. [11]
Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the southernmost and least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest if territories are taken into account, before Darwin, Northern Territory. Hobart is located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, making it the most southern of Australia's capital cities. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
The River Derwent is a river located in Tasmania, Australia. It is also known by the palawa kani name timtumili minanya. The river rises in the state's Central Highlands at Lake St Clair, and descends more than 700 metres (2,300 ft) over a distance of more than 200 kilometres (120 mi), flowing through Hobart, the state's capital city, before emptying into Storm Bay and flowing into the Tasman Sea. The banks of the Derwent were once covered by forests and occupied by Aboriginal Tasmanians. European settlers farmed the area and during the 20th century many dams were built on its tributaries for the generation of hydro-electricity.
Kingston is a town on the outskirts of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Nestled 12 km south of the city between and around several hills, Kingston is the seat of the Kingborough Council, and today serves as the gateway between Hobart and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel region, which meets the Derwent River nearby. It is one of the fastest-growing regions in Tasmania. The Kingston-Huntingfield statistical area had an estimated population of 13,473 in June 2021.
Clarence City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a population of 61,531, covering the eastern shore of the Derwent River from Otago to the South Arm Peninsula and the smaller localities of Cambridge, Richmond, and Seven Mile Beach.
Kingborough Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. Kingborough is classified as an urban local government area and has a population of 37,734, it covers the transition from the southern urban areas of Hobart through Kingston, as well as encompassing Bruny Island.
Sandy Bay is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, located immediately south of the central business district, and adjoining the suburb of Battery Point. Sandy Bay is bounded on the east by the Derwent River, and has several beaches along the shore, the main beaches with public access are Short Beach, Nutgrove Beach, Long Beach and Lords Beach.
Rosny College is a government comprehensive senior secondary school located in Rosny Park, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1973, the college caters for approximately 1,000 students in Years 11 and 12. The college is administered by the Tasmanian Department of Education.
Taroona High School is a government co-educational comprehensive junior secondary school located in Taroona, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1958, the school caters for approximately 1,100 students from Years 7 to 10. The school is administered by the Tasmanian Department of Education.
Woodbridge is a semi-rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Kingborough in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of the town of Kingston. The 2021 Census recorded a population of 547 for the state suburb of Woodbridge, with the median age being 54. There are 180 families living in Woodbridge, with a mean of 1.8 children per household. It is located 38 kilometres (24 mi) south of the state capital, Hobart.
Cornelian Bay is a small suburb in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It lies just north of the urban parkland, the Queens Domain. The bay itself is a safe anchorage for yacht owners.
Rose Bay is a suburb of the City of Clarence in greater Hobart, capital city of Tasmania, Australia. Rose Bay is a small suburb, making up only approximately 0.9 square kilometres with nearly one fourth of that area (23.2%) being parkland. At the 2016 Census the suburb recorded a population of 1,102 people.
Bonnet Hill is a residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Kingborough in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania, Australia. The locality is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the town of Kingston. The 2016 census recorded a population of 505 for the state suburb of Bonnet Hill.
Kingston Beach is a residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Kingborough in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-east of the town of Kingston. The 2021 census recorded a population of 2305 for the state suburb of Kingston Beach.
Sandy Bay Road is a road in Tasmania that connects the southeastern edge of the Hobart CBD with the southeastern suburb of Taroona. It is two-way over its entirety and is 12 kilometres in length. It begins as a continuation of Harrington Street near where it intersects with Davey Street. From there, Sandy Bay Road travels southwards alongside the western edge of St. Davids Park, bypassing Battery Point. It then turns slightly to the west again, before descending a small hill towards the south-east once more, into Sandy Bay proper. Sand Bay Road then continues south-easterly, hugging the western shore of the River Derwent. Passing Wrest Point Hotel Casino it continues to the south-east along Sandy Bay Beach through Lower Sandy Bay. At the point where the Alexandra Battery overlooks Long Beach, Sandy Bay road follows the coast bending in a more southwards direction. The road then begins to climb uphill towards the suburb of Taroona where it becomes the Channel Highway. The road is allocated route code B68.
The Shot Tower is a historic sandstone shot tower situated in Taroona, Tasmania, Australia. The tower held the title of tallest building within the Australian colonies between 1870 and 1875 and remained the tallest structure in Tasmania until 1960, when it was surpassed by the Mount Wellington broadcast tower. The Shot Tower is recognised as the tallest cylindrical sandstone tower in the Southern Hemisphere. The building is listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register and was previously listed on the former Register of the National Estate.
Nutgrove Beach is a popular beach destination along the River Derwent in Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania. The north facing beach has views of kunanyi / Mount Wellington, Lords Beach, Wrest Point Hotel Casino, the Tasman Bridge, and the City of Clarence on the eastern shore. Nutgrove Beach neighbours Long Beach and Red Chapel Beach, and is within close proximity to the Sandy Bay Sailing Club and Lower Sandy Bay shops. The beach is dog-friendly and has bathroom facilities.
Bellerive Beach is a popular beach destination along the River Derwent in Bellerive, Hobart, Tasmania. The south facing beach neighbours the historic Kangaroo Battery coastal defences to the west and Howrah Beach to the east. The beach has views of the Derwent estuary, Howrah, Tranmere and Sandy Bay on the western shore. Bellerive Beach has an adjoining parkland with play equipment, barbecues and bathroom facilities and is backed by the Bellerive Oval, a narrow tree-lined reserve and private properties.
Taroona Beach is a popular beach destination along the River Derwent in Taroona, Hobart, Tasmania. The south facing beach looks directly out to Storm Bay and the Tasman Sea, with views of the Derwent estuary, the City of Clarence on the eastern shore, Opossum Bay, South Arm, the Alum Cliffs and northern tip of Bruny Island. Taroona Beach is situated between Hinsby Beach and Crayfish Point, home of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre for the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. Taroona Beach contains a boat ramp and is backed by Taroona Park which contains bathroom facilities, a skate park, scout hall, the Taroona Tennis Club, and the Taroona Bowls and Community Club.
Hinsby Beach is a beach along the River Derwent in the Hobart suburb of Taroona, Australia. The south facing beach looks directly out to Storm Bay and the Tasman Sea, with views of the Derwent estuary, the Alum Cliffs, Taroona Shot Tower, the City of Clarence on the eastern shore and Opossum Bay, South Arm. Hinsby Beach is situated between the Alum Cliffs and Taroona Beach. A naturally secluded section of the beach, beyond the rocky south-western outcrop is a zoned naturist beach.
The Alum Cliffs are a section of cliffed coast facing the Derwent Estuary and Storm Bay along the suburbs of Taroona, Bonnet Hill, and Kingston Beach, Tasmania, Australia. Composed of Permian mudstone, the cliff formation stretches for 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) between Hinsby Beach and Tyndall Beach at Kingston Beach. The cliff face reaches heights of up to 30 metres (98 ft) above sea level and has vistas of the Derwent Estuary, Storm Bay, South Arm and Bruny Island.