Oatlands, Tasmania

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Oatlands
Tasmania

Population:

540 ^[1]

Postcode:

7120

Elevation:

406 m (1,332 ft) ^[2]

Location:

82 km (51 mi) N of Hobart
117 km (73 mi) S of Launceston
50 km (31 mi) S of Campbell Town

LGA:

Southern Midlands Council

State District:

Lyons

Federal Division:

Lyons

Mean Max Temp	Mean Min Temp	Rainfall
15.5 °C ^{60 °F}	5.0 °C ^{41 °F}	549.1 mm ^{21.6 in}

Oatlands is an important historical village in the centre of Tasmania, Australia, halfway between Hobart and Launceston on the Midland Highway. At the 2006 census, Oatlands had a population of 540.^[1]

Oatlands is considered to have the largest number of colonial sandstone buildings in any town in Australia, and many of them were built by convict labour.

It is the largest town in the Southern Midlands Council area and is surrounded by rich agricultural land.

Oatlands is one of Tasmania's oldest settlements and was named by Governor Macquarie after an English town in the county of Surrey in 1821. It was developed as a military base for the control and management of convicts because of its equal distance from Hobart and Launceston. Convicts were assigned to nearby farms and properties, and also worked on public buildings, roads and bridges.

Much of the Black War (early settlers against local aborigines) took place in the surrounding districts, and Oatlands was also the home of the ex-convict Solomon Blay, Tasmania's most feared hangman.

There are a number of unique landmarks in Oatlands, including the Callington Mill and St Pauls' Church. The mill was built in 1837 and is slowly being restored to working order, and the Catholic church was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, the father of Gothic Revival architecture.

For some years after 1848, Oatlands was the place of exile of the Irish nationalist leader Kevin Izod O'Doherty, where his stone cottage still stands.

Oatlands was generally a relatively prosperous town in the 20th century but by the 1990s the Tasmanian economy slump, the highway bypass and a Tasmanian Midlands rural drought had a very negative effect on the town. Much of Tasmania's economic renewal, like the highway, has bypassed Oatlands which today is a lot quieter than it used to be. The residents are attempting to grow the town once more by making it a peaceful local centre with a tourist friendly image.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Oatlands (L) (Urban Centre/Locality). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
^ Bureau of Meteorology. - Retrieved on 2007-11-11.

[edit] External links

Wild, Blue and Free TV Series Oatlands and surrounds: Online photo album, art gallery, facts, map and video clips (locally produced in Oatlands/Parattah)

This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007)
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Coordinates: 42°18′S, 147°22′E