Oatlands

History

Oatlands is one of Tasmania's oldest settlements and was named by Governor Macquarie after an English town in the county of Surrey in 1821. It was developed as a military base for the control and management of convicts because of its central location between Hobart and Launceston. Convicts were assigned to nearby farms and properties and also worked on public buildings, roads and bridges. Oatlands Post Office opened on 1 June 1832. Much of the Black War between the colonists and the First Nations landowners took place in the surrounding districts. Landmarks in Oatlands include the Callington Mill and St Paul’s Church. The mill was built in 1837 and was restored to working order during June/July 2010, and the Catholic Church was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, the father of Gothic Revival architecture. Oatlands was the home of the ex-convict Solomon Blay, Tasmania's most feared hangman. For some years after 1848, Oatlands was the place of exile of the Irish nationalist leader Kevin Izod O'Doherty, where his stone cottage still stands. The Oatlands railway line connected Oatlands with Parattah on the South line. The railway opened on 13 May 1885 and closed on 10 June 1949. The Midland Highway ceased to pass through the town when a bypass opened in April 1985.. This bypass, along with the 1990s Tasmanian economy slump and a Tasmanian Midlands rural drought, greatly impacted Oatlands and its relative prosperity in the 20th century. The Oatlands Court House is an historic Georgian building in Oatlands. Built by convict labour in 1829, the Oatlands Court House is the oldest supreme court house in rural Australia and the oldest building in Oatlands. The building was originally constructed as a combined Chapel and Police Office. It was purchased by the National Trust…