Kempton, Tasmania

Kempton
Tasmania
Kempton
Population: 358 [1]
Postcode: 7030
Location:
  • 48 km (30 mi) N of Hobart
  • 6 km (4 mi) N of Dysart
LGA: Southern Midlands Council
State District: Lyons
Federal Division: Lyons

Kempton is a township on the Midland Highway north of Hobart, Tasmania. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 358.[1] A low rainfall region of plains and low hills, it is mostly used for grazing sheep.

Originally the home of the Big River tribe of Aboriginal people, Kempton was first settled by Europeans in the 1820s[2], when it was known as Green Ponds[3]. In 1838 the town was renamed after early administrator and businessman Anthony Fenn Kemp who established the property Mount Vernon immediately to the north of where the township later grew. The hotel at Kempton was a popular first night stop for the trip from Hobart to Launceston.

A railway line connected the town with Hobart from 1891 until 1947[4].

References

  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Kempton (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL608200&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 14 November 2011. 
  2. ^ http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/K/Kempton.htm
  3. ^ http://www.discovertasmania.com/destinations/hobart_and_surrounds/kempton
  4. ^ A Short History of the Apsley Branch Line Stokes, H.J.W. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, July, 1971 pp152-160