Orford, Tasmania

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Orford is an attractive coastal hamlet situated on the east coast of Tasmania, some 73 kilometres northeast of Hobart. The village is centred around the mouth of the Prosser River, on the southern margin of a substantial coastal inlet called Prosser Bay. Beyond this bay are the waters of the Mercury Passage, with the strong relief of Maria Island providing a spectacular backdrop to the view.

[edit] Origins and role as a minor harbour

The town was named by Edward Walpole, who was granted 1,000 acres (4 km²) in the area in 1831. He named his grant “Strawberry Hill”, after the London residence of his relative Horace Walpole who was the Second Earl of Orford. The town was first established as a mainland port for the convict settlement on Maria Island. However, the marine infrastructure never consisted of more than a few short jetties in shallow waters just inside the mouth of the river and that is all there is today. A few yachts are moored there but it is totally unsuitable for larger vessels. These use various facilities on the northern side of the bay, around the village of Triabunna. There is therefore no ferry service between the foreshore at Orford and Maria Island. Today one must travel a little further north in order to catch the boat across Mercury Passage.

[edit] Population and character of the town

Orford has a permanent population of a few hundred people, many of them being pensioners. A fair proportion of the residences are owned by people who do not live permanently in Orford but who come down for weekends or school holidays and so on. Australians call such dwelling "shacks", although the vast majority of them are anything but shanties. The town is popular with tourists and in the summer months of December and January the population swells to a few thousand.

[edit] Climate, geography and economic activity

The weather in summer is generally warm but during winter it can be quite cold and bleak. Rainfall is not very high but can occur at any time of the year. The surrounding areas are generally hilly, with poor, leached soil. These tracts are in the main covered in dry eucalyptus forest. Where the soil is better, the land had been cleared and these paddocks are used to graze sheep and, to a lesser extent, to grow wheat, oats or barley. The production of grain has decreased steadily over the past fifty years, because profits have dwindled. Sandstone from this area was quarried for use in buildings in Hobart and Melbourne, including the Melbourne General Post Office. A quarry still operates at the nearby town of Buckland.

Coordinates: 42°33′S 147°52′E