Westbury, Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Westbury is a town in the central north of Tasmania
, Australia
. It lies 30 km west of Launceston
on the Bass Highway, and at the 2006 census
had a population of 1,357. It is part of, and the headquarters of, the Meander Valley Council area.
Westbury's largest employer is Tasmanian Alkaloids
a company that specialises in the processing of poppies for pharmaceutical products. Other large employers are the Meander Valley Council, Tasmanian Aquaculture and the local Primary School.
The town of Westbury uses its location, within 2 hours drive of most tourist attractions in north and north west Tasmania, and its heritage buildings and scenery to promote the concept of Westbury as a unique place for tourists to stay in Northern Tasmania.
Westbury has a range of accommodation providers from high quality bed and breakfast style, colonial inn style and country hotel style.
The St Patricks Festival is a major annual cultural activity that celebrates the historical links with Westbury and its early Irish community. The Festival celebrates via song and dance as well as a street parade and other family activities
The site was first surveyed in 1823. The town was laid out in 1828 by the Van Diemen's Land Company
. In the 1830s Westbury developed as a garrison village. A detachment of troops commanded by Lieutenant Ball were stationed in Westbury in 1832. They were barracked around a Village Green in the centre of the town. The Village Green is still in use today and is reputed to be the only traditional village green in Australia.
From early in the 19th century the Village Green has been the site for the traditional Westbury St Patrick’s Festival celebrating the town’s Celtic links. Though Westbury is often described as a very “English village”, the first European settlers were predominantly Irish; ex Irish convicts, retired soldiers and free settlers, many fleeing the Great Irish Famine in the 1840s. Gaelic was the local language in Westbury for many generations and a strong Irish brogue is reputed to have lasted throughout the 19th Century.
Military pensioners were each granted a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) block of land complete with a well and pear tree. By the mid 1800s Westbury had become the largest military community in Tasmania. The town had a population of some 3,000 and an extensive grid street plan was surveyed preparing Westbury to become the predominant town in the north of Tasmania and the gateway to the north-west, but Deloraine
has filled that role instead. Westbury remains a small town servicing the local agriculture
industry.
Westbury current has a Primary School 'Westbury Primary School' which services the local community, students finishing primary school travel to Launceston or Deloraine to attend secondary education.
Westbury is named after Westbury, Wiltshire
in England.
Tasmanian Government Tourism Website
Westbury Primary School website
Westbury St Patrick's Festival website
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...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It lies 30 km west of Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
on the Bass Highway, and 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,...
had a population of 1,357. It is part of, and the headquarters of, the Meander Valley Council area.
Westbury's largest employer is Tasmanian Alkaloids
Tasmanian Alkaloids
Tasmanian Alkaloids is the largest opium poppy processing company in the Australian state of Tasmania. Approximately forty-percent of the worlds legal opiate crop is grown in Tasmania...
a company that specialises in the processing of poppies for pharmaceutical products. Other large employers are the Meander Valley Council, Tasmanian Aquaculture and the local Primary School.
The town of Westbury uses its location, within 2 hours drive of most tourist attractions in north and north west Tasmania, and its heritage buildings and scenery to promote the concept of Westbury as a unique place for tourists to stay in Northern Tasmania.
Westbury has a range of accommodation providers from high quality bed and breakfast style, colonial inn style and country hotel style.
The St Patricks Festival is a major annual cultural activity that celebrates the historical links with Westbury and its early Irish community. The Festival celebrates via song and dance as well as a street parade and other family activities
The site was first surveyed in 1823. The town was laid out in 1828 by the Van Diemen's Land Company
Van Diemen's Land Company
The Van Diemen's Land Company was created in 1824, received a Royal Charter in 1825, and was granted 250,000 acres in northwest Tasmania in 1826...
. In the 1830s Westbury developed as a garrison village. A detachment of troops commanded by Lieutenant Ball were stationed in Westbury in 1832. They were barracked around a Village Green in the centre of the town. The Village Green is still in use today and is reputed to be the only traditional village green in Australia.
From early in the 19th century the Village Green has been the site for the traditional Westbury St Patrick’s Festival celebrating the town’s Celtic links. Though Westbury is often described as a very “English village”, the first European settlers were predominantly Irish; ex Irish convicts, retired soldiers and free settlers, many fleeing the Great Irish Famine in the 1840s. Gaelic was the local language in Westbury for many generations and a strong Irish brogue is reputed to have lasted throughout the 19th Century.
Military pensioners were each granted a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) block of land complete with a well and pear tree. By the mid 1800s Westbury had become the largest military community in Tasmania. The town had a population of some 3,000 and an extensive grid street plan was surveyed preparing Westbury to become the predominant town in the north of Tasmania and the gateway to the north-west, but Deloraine
Deloraine, Tasmania
Deloraine is a town on the Meander River, in the central north of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 50 km west of Launceston and 52 km south of Devonport along the Bass Highway. It is part of the Meander Valley Council. At the 2006 census, Deloraine had a population of 2,243.The region was...
has filled that role instead. Westbury remains a small town servicing the local agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
industry.
Westbury current has a Primary School 'Westbury Primary School' which services the local community, students finishing primary school travel to Launceston or Deloraine to attend secondary education.
Westbury is named after Westbury, Wiltshire
Westbury, Wiltshire
Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse.-Name:The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same...
in England.
Local tourism attractions
- Pearn's Steam World which is a collection of over 200 historic items.
- Westbury Maze and Tea Rooms.
- The White House.
- The Westbury Village Green.
- Hobnobs Licensed Restaurant.
- The Giant Cricket Stumps erected as a welcome gate to the cricket club.
Westbury Websites
Westbury Tasmania websiteTasmanian Government Tourism Website
Westbury Primary School website
Westbury St Patrick's Festival website