TASFarming
Kingston
Brown’s River farms fed Hobart long before the commuters came.
1851Township of Kingston proclaimed
WHAT STARTED IT
Brown’s River meets the Derwent here behind a sheltered beach, and the land around it suited small farms close enough to supply Hobart Town with vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy produce. A convict-built road along the shore tied the district to the city’s markets in the 1840s.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Thomas Lucas took up a grant beside the river in 1808, and in 1851 a township named Kingston was proclaimed between Brown’s River and the Derwent, taking in the Lucas family grants. A bridge over the river and a government jetty followed in the 1880s, and the beach became a holiday resort for Hobart.
TURNING POINTS
1808Thomas Lucas, a First Fleeter, takes up a 180-acre grant at Brown’s River.
1842The first carriage is driven down the new road from Hobart Town, built largely by a convict probation gang.
1851A new township named Kingston is proclaimed, bounded by Brown’s River and the Derwent.
1884A tender is accepted for a government jetty at Kingston, Brown’s River.
1908The Kingborough Municipal Council holds its first meeting.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The administrative centre of Kingborough and a growing southern suburb of Greater Hobart, linked to the city by the Southern Outlet. The Australian Antarctic Division has its headquarters here.