About this site
This site is owned and maintained by
Justin McErlain and provided for the promotion of the Wynyard
Township
Here is an interesting article about Wynyard past (courtesy of The
Waratah Wynyard Council website)
IN THE BEGINNING...
IN THE BEGINNING some members of the Tommeginer aborigine tribe were living on the Fossil Bluff coastline until early 1841. These people did not move far inland as the area was heavily timbered so they relied mainly on seafood.
It was not until 1798 when George Bass and Matthew Flinders sailed in their sloop 'Norfolk" through Bass Strait, that it was discovered that Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) was not connected to New Holland (later Australia).
They
named the large promontory (170 metres) Table Cape, which has now
become the local landmark. The area had trees up to 12 metres in
diameter at the base and the area has now been stripped of these
huge stringybark eucalyptus gum trees. The beautiful red loam
uncovered has been most suitable for the growing of potatoes, peas,
onions and corn and the raising of sheep and cattle and more
recently has changed to the cultivation of poppies, pyrethrum and
tulips.
In 1853 the first of several timbermills were constructed and
trade was buoyant with Victorian ports during their gold rush,
providing much needed timber and produce which was exported from a
wharf in the river.
Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) the founder of the
universal Alexander Technique was born at Table Cape and attended
school there before gaining employment at Waratah.
The Table Cape Butter and Bacon Factory was formed in 1892 and has continually produced export butter, and later cheese, under the Table Cape brand.
The Municipality comprises 192,000 acres and was originally named the Table Cape Municipality. The town Wynyard, proclaimed 22 February 1861, was named after General Edward Buckley Wynyard, who arrived in Sydney as Commanding Officer of the British troops and had visited Van Diemen's Land in 1850 when the surveyor Peter Lette surveyed the town reserve.
Henry Hellyer surveyed the area in 1827 and the Inglis River was named after a Van Diemen's Land Company Director, John Inglis. The V.D.L. Company was a large landholder in the north west corner of Tasmania.
Our lighthouse, high on Table Cape, was constructed in 1888 and
converted to automatic acetylene in 1920. The last lighthouse keeper
was withdrawn in 1923 and the cottages were demolished in 1926.
Finally, in 1979 the beacon was converted to electricity.
Compilation and Research by C. Walker
