Westerway, Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Westerway is a small town in southern Tasmania
, Australia
. It is situated 68 kilometres (42 mi) west of Hobart on the Tyenna River. The Gordon River Road from New Norfolk
to Strathgordon
passes through it. It is in the Federal electoral Division of Lyons
and is in the Derwent Valley Council Local Government Area. At the 2006 census
, Westerway and the surrounding area had a population of 156.
It was first was known as Russell or Russelldale and was named after Surgeon J J Russell, one of the party who discovered a set of waterfalls 3 km from Fenton Forest (although these not the present day Russell Falls). The Derwent Valley Railway
line reached the town in 1909 and a post office was opened in 1910.
Due to confusion between the town of Russell and Russell Falls further up the road the towns name was changed in 1920 to Westerway. It was named by, and after, W H Westerway (1851–1930), the main resident and responsible for many developments in the area. He built an accommodation house and store where Coniston siding is now, owned the Coffee Palace at Glenora and started a livery business driving tourists to Russell Falls.
Westerway School opened in 1920 with thirty six students, from 1920 to 1960 there was a bakery and, from 1947 to 1970, a police station. At the time of the 1934 bushfires, the original Westerway Hall became a temporary hospital and in 1939 a recruitment office for enlistees. That hall was pulled down and rebuilt in 1940. The present hall replaced the 1940 hall after it burnt down.
Westerway railway station was important as it was the starting point for the pack horse journey to the long abandoned Adamsfield osmiridium
mine. As the timber industry became more important to the area, a sawmill was built and the number of timber mills in the area increased and the train line was used to transport logs to Boyer and Hobart. The Derwent Valley Railway was, until recently, used by tourists to visit the area.
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 is situated 68 kilometres (42 mi) west of Hobart on the Tyenna River. The Gordon River Road from New Norfolk
New Norfolk, Tasmania
-References:5. Fellowship of First Fleeters.6. New Norfolk's History and Achievements by Joe Cowburn and Rita Cox 1986-External links:* has extensive local information, history, photographs, resources and attractions...
to Strathgordon
Strathgordon, Tasmania
Strathgordon is a locality in Tasmania, Australia at the end of the Gordon River Road, the most south westerly road in the south west of Tasmania.It is remote by Tasmanian standards with the nearest basic services away along a winding road at Maydena....
passes through it. It is in the Federal electoral Division of Lyons
Division of Lyons
The Division of Lyons is an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. The division was created in 1984 to replace the abolished Division of Wilmot and is named for Joseph Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia 1931-39, Member for Wilmot from 1929-39, and his wife Dame Enid Lyons, the first woman...
and is in the Derwent Valley Council Local Government Area. 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,...
, Westerway and the surrounding area had a population of 156.
It was first was known as Russell or Russelldale and was named after Surgeon J J Russell, one of the party who discovered a set of waterfalls 3 km from Fenton Forest (although these not the present day Russell Falls). The Derwent Valley Railway
Derwent Valley Railway (Tasmania)
The Derwent Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Tasmania, Australia. It operates from New Norfolk. It is 3' 6" narrow gauge.-History:Tasmanian Government Railways opened the Derwent Valley Line in 1886. Initially, it ran from the junction at Bridgewater along the main north-south Hobart to...
line reached the town in 1909 and a post office was opened in 1910.
Due to confusion between the town of Russell and Russell Falls further up the road the towns name was changed in 1920 to Westerway. It was named by, and after, W H Westerway (1851–1930), the main resident and responsible for many developments in the area. He built an accommodation house and store where Coniston siding is now, owned the Coffee Palace at Glenora and started a livery business driving tourists to Russell Falls.
Westerway School opened in 1920 with thirty six students, from 1920 to 1960 there was a bakery and, from 1947 to 1970, a police station. At the time of the 1934 bushfires, the original Westerway Hall became a temporary hospital and in 1939 a recruitment office for enlistees. That hall was pulled down and rebuilt in 1940. The present hall replaced the 1940 hall after it burnt down.
Westerway railway station was important as it was the starting point for the pack horse journey to the long abandoned Adamsfield osmiridium
Osmiridium
Osmiridium, are names given to natural alloys of osmium and iridium, with traces of other platinum group metals. Osmiridium has been defined as containing a higher proportion of iridium, while iridosmine contains more osmium...
mine. As the timber industry became more important to the area, a sawmill was built and the number of timber mills in the area increased and the train line was used to transport logs to Boyer and Hobart. The Derwent Valley Railway was, until recently, used by tourists to visit the area.