Orford, Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, some 73 kilometres northeast of Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
. 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
Maria Island
Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. The entire island is a national park. Maria Island National Park has a total area of 115.50 km², which includes a marine area of 18.78 km² off the island's northwest coast. The island is about 20 km in length from...
providing a spectacular backdrop to the view. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Orford had a population of 553.
History
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 OrfordEarl of Orford
Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 in favour of the naval commander Edward Russell, who served three times as First Lord of the Admiralty. He was created Baron Shingay and Viscount Barfleur at the same time...
. 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 which still remain today. The narrow channel at the river's mouth is flanked by a substantial sandbar, rendering the river unsuitable for larger vessels. The larger township of Triabunna
Triabunna, Tasmania
Triabunna is the largest township on the east coast of Tasmania, is the civic and municipal heart of the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council, and is located 84 kilometres to the northeast of the state capital Hobart. It is a coastal town situated on the Tasman Highway, and is sheltered within Spring Bay...
approximately 6 km north is the main port in the area, and is home base for the region's fishing and timber industries, as well as the ferry service operating to and from Maria Island.
A quarry situated between Orford and Spring Beach provided sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
for use in buildings in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, including the Melbourne General Post Office. A quarry still operates at the nearby town of Buckland
Buckland, Tasmania
Buckland is a village on the Tasman Highway in Tasmania, Australia. The post code is 7190. It contains an historic church, St John the Baptist church. At the 2006 census, Buckland had a population of 193.-History:...
.
Environment
The weather in summer is typically warm and sunny, hence the area's popularity with holidaymakers. Winters are colder but generally mild. 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 as profitability has fallen.
Orford Important Bird Area
A 3 ha site consisting of a sandspitSpit (landform)
A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...
, within the 4 ha Raspins Beach Conservation Area on the northern side of the river mouth, has been identified by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) because it regularly supports 15-25 breeding pairs of vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
Fairy Tern
Fairy Tern
The Fairy Tern is a small tern which occurs in the southwestern Pacific.There are three subspecies:* Australian Fairy Tern, Sterna nereis nereis - breeds in Australia...
s. It also supports breeding populations of Red-capped
Red-capped Plover
The Red-capped Plover , also known as the Red-capped Dotterel, is a small plover. It breeds in Australia. The species is closely related to the Kentish Plover, Javan Plover and White-fronted Plover.-Description:Red-capped Plovers have white underparts and forehead...
(10 pairs) and Hooded Plover
Hooded Plover
The Hooded Dotterel or Hooded Plover is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It is endemic to southern Australia and Tasmania. There are two recognized subspecies, both of which are classifed as Endangered....
s (5-6 pairs), and Pied Oystercatcher
Pied Oystercatcher
The Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island Pied Oystercatcher The Pied Oystercatcher, Haematopus longirostris, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading...
s (5-7 pairs). Flocks of up to 50 Red-necked Stint
Red-necked Stint
The Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...
s are present in summer.
The spit varies in shape and size according to the tides and outflows from the Prosser River. It is composed mainly of bare sand within a metre of high water mark, with some patches of marram grass
Marram grass
Ammophila is a genus consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses; common names for these grasses include Marram Grass, Bent Grass, and Beachgrass...
, and is subject to inundation by seawater during winter storms. Both north and south of the IBA are sandy beaches used recreationally by people and their dogs, causing high levels of disturbance to nesting birds, despite attempts by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service to exclude pedestrian traffic from the site during the summer breeding season.
Population
Orford has a small permanent population of approximately 485 (2001 census). There is however a significant number of non-resident 'shack' (Australian colloquial term for weekender or holiday home) property owners who come into the area on weekends and during holiday periods. The area is very popular with tourists; the influx of visitors over the summer months (December to February) swells the population to over 3,000.Despite its small size and population Orford is well serviced with one supermarket, two cafes and eateries, a hotel and other accommodation, police and fire brigade, a primary school and a library.
Tourist attractions
Orford has several clean, picturesque beaches - including Raspins, Millingons, Spring and Rheban - with a popular campsite at Raspins Beach. Nearby is the well-regarded 9-hole Orford Golf CourseGolf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
and the Darlington Vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
. There are several walks, including the Convict Trail along the Prosser River, the coastal walk along the cliff tops between East Shelly Beach and Spring Beach, and the scenic Thumbs lookout in the nearby Wielangta Forest
Wielangta forest
The Wielangta forest is located in South East Tasmania, Australia. It is notable for its role in a 2006 court case that called into question the effectiveness of Australia's cooperative Commonwealth-State forest management regime known as Regional Forest Agreements.-Environment:The Wielangta forest...
, which offers a spectacular view of the region. Prosser Bay and the Mercury Passage provide excellent fishing, with flathead
Flathead (fish)
A flathead is one of a number of small to medium fish species with notably flat heads, distributed in membership across various genera of the family Platycephalidae. Many species are found in the Indo-Pacific, especially most parts of Australia where they are popular sport and table fish...
, trevally, trumpeter
Latridae
Trumpeters are a family of perciform fishes, Latridae. They are found in southern waters off Australia, New Zealand, and Chile, where they are fished commercially and for sport...
, abalone
Abalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...
and southern rock lobster (crayfish
Spiny lobster
Spiny lobsters, also known as langouste or rock lobsters, are a family of about 45 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia...
) sought-after species.
In February 2007 an artificial reef and dive site was created from the scuttling of the ship the Troy D in the Mercury Passage approximately 1 km off Maria Island
Maria Island
Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. The entire island is a national park. Maria Island National Park has a total area of 115.50 km², which includes a marine area of 18.78 km² off the island's northwest coast. The island is about 20 km in length from...
, to further bolster the area's reputation as a premier location for scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
, thanks to its unpolluted water and abundant sea life.
Louisville Point Development
The Solis residential and tourism development was approved in May 2004. The estimated A$150 million development at Louisville Point (to the north of Orford) will include 550 residential allotments, 60 'eco-tourism' cabins, a central precinct with retail shops, a day spa, restaurants and bars, and an 18-hole golf courseGolf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
designed by Greg Norman
Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
. Construction began in 2007 and is expected to take 10 years to complete.