TASPort & river
Bellerive
Hobart’s eastern-shore ferry landing.
1820sKangaroo Point settled
WHAT STARTED IT
Bellerive is the eastern-shore landing across the Derwent from Hobart. Roads from here led inland to the farming districts of Clarence Plains, Ralph’s Bay and Richmond on the Coal River.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
First called Kangaroo Point, it was laid out as the township of Bellerive (‘beautiful river bank’) by the early 1830s and became the hub of eastern-shore contact with Hobart, served by ferries to the city. Inns, a sandstone police station and a school followed, and from 1892 to 1926 the Sorell railway ended on a long jetty in the bay.
TURNING POINTS
1820sSettlers arrive at Kangaroo Point.
1832The government publishes the line of road from Kangaroo Point through the village of Bellerive towards Ralph’s Bay and Richmond.
1842A sandstone police station and watch house is completed.
1884Kangaroo Bluff Battery is completed to help guard Hobart from enemy ships.
1892The Bellerive–Sorell railway opens on 2 May, its terminus on a long jetty in the bay.
1926The last train leaves Bellerive for Sorell on 30 June.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A suburb of the City of Clarence in greater Hobart, with historic buildings along its quay and boardwalk. It is still the eastern port of call for Hobart’s commuter ferries.