Sheffield, Tasmania
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Sheffield, also affectionately known as "the town of murals", is a town situated 20 kilometres inland from Devonport on the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia's island state. The township has a population of approximately 1000 inhabitants. Cradle Mountain is located approximately 1 hour south west of the township.
The town, named after a famous town in Yorkshire, has successfully turned itself into a tourist destination. The town has huge and fascinating murals, most depicting the early history of the area, on almost every available blank wall.
Sheffield is nestled under Mount Roland in an area of rolling hills and gentle valleys which produces fat lambs, pigs, beef, milk, potatoes, timber and a number of vegetable crops.
The area was explored by the surveyor Nathaniel Kentish in 1842 who was given the task of finding a route from Deloraine through to Tasmania's north west coast. Kentish's last name has led to the area being called the Kentish District and the area around Sheffield being called Kentish Plains. This area was opened up to settlement but was neither surveyed nor settled until 1859. This was probably due to the dense forest which existed in the surrounding area.
By 1862 thirty lots of land had been sold and the settlement of Sheffield had been named. It is now widely accepted that 'Sheffield' as a name was probably chosen by Edward Curr, the manager of the Van Diemen's Land Company, who was a native of Sheffield in England.
The area grew slowly but the commencement of the Mersey-Forth Power Development Scheme in 1963 saw the town grow dramatically. The completion of the power scheme - seven dams and seven power stations - in 1973 saw the town's population decline. Today it has grown to become the centre of the surrounding Kentish district.
Things to see:
Since being painted in the 1980s, the Sheffield murals have attracted an estimated 120 000 people to the town every year and changed the style of the town. The town had become somewhat run down after a boom period during the construction of Lake Barrington. Against this background, the local business community, inspired by the Canadian town of Chemainus, decided on a program of murals. The result was extraordinary. Not only are the murals a very obvious tourist attraction but they have given the town, a sense of purpose and self-esteem and provided a visual insight into the history of the region. The murals have been an entire town project. The rubbish bins in town have been painted with mini-murals by the students from the local school.
Lake Barrington was originally built as part of Tasmania's enthusiasm for hydro-electric power, Lake Barrington today is home to an International Rowing Course. It is recognised as one of the finest rowing courses in the world. Not surprisingly the foreshores have excellent picnic and barbecue facilities.
Mount Roland looms over Sheffield. It rises to 1234 metres and there are a number of well marked bushwalks which are all suitable for a day of pleasant exercise. There are walking tracks from both Claude Road and Gowrie Park to the summit.
The Sheffield Heritage Museum, also known as the Kentish Museum, is located in Main Street and offers excellent displays on the history of hydro-electricity in the area and the usual array of local artefacts.
Located 16 km south of Sheffield, Gowrie Park was built to house construction workers during the Mersey-Forth Power Development Scheme. In 1969 there were 1800 people working on the project. Today Gowrie Park is only a hint of its former self. It is still an excellent starting point for people wanting to climb Mount Roland and for people wanting to see the huge 82 metre high Devil's Gate Dam.
