Rokeby, Tasmania

Rokeby
Hobart, Tasmania
Coordinates 42°53′38″S 147°25′52″E / 42.89389°S 147.43111°ECoordinates: 42°53′38″S 147°25′52″E / 42.89389°S 147.43111°E
Postcode(s) 7019
LGA(s) City of Clarence
Federal Division(s) Franklin
Suburbs around Rokeby:
Howrah Mornington
Tranmere Rokeby Clarendon Vale
Tranmere Tranmere Oakdowns

Rokeby is a suburb of Hobart, capital of Tasmania, Australia on the eastern shore of the Derwent River. It is part of the City of Clarence local government area.

History

Rokeby started as Rokeby House, a farmhouse in the Clarence Plains area, in the 19th century and along with the nearby suburb of Clarendon Vale, was developed into a mainly public-housing suburb of Hobart in the 1970s. It was modelled after public housing projects that took place in the United States in the 1950s.

Clarence Plains Post Office opened on 20 November 1850 and was renamed Rokeby in 1882.[1]

Today

The area has been typically associated with high crime and unemployment. Houses in the area that were valued in the low $20,000 range are now being valued at over three times this figure. The area has a historic church, with a traditional British picket-fence cricket ground and the Rokeby Historic Trail. Rokeby has a skate park which was built around 2001. It is also regarded as one of the best skate parks in the state. It attracted national and international professional skateboarders in a competition held there in January 2009, with $50,000 prize money on offer.

References

  1. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 16 June 2012.