Did you know that George Town is one of the oldest towns in Tasmania? Second only to Hobart in the South? Settlement occurred in Sydney in 1788, Hobart and George Town in 1804 followed by Brisbane in 1824 then Perth in 1829 then Melbourne in 1835.
According to Wikipedia
George Town, named for King George III is one of the older European settlements in Australia, first settled in 1804 by Colonel William Paterson two years before the nearby city of Launceston 50 kilometres to the South.
It’s a typical Macquarie town design with the first map of George Town showing a central square surrounded by a grid pattern of streets. The first settlement was made up of around 200 people in all, including soldiers, convicts, one free settler and a doctor.
Some of our historic old buildings still stand today including Tara Hall (1833), The Grove (1836), Steam Packet Inn (1839), British Hotel (1846), the replacement Watch House (1855), Ben Hyron’s Cottage (c1850s) and Pier Hotel. The Steam Packet Inn is now know as Whitestones and the ghost of John Batman is claimed to have been seen at the top of the stairs.
Then there’s the historic lighthouse out at Low Head and the Pilot Station museum.
So now you know a little more about where I live 🙂