TASFarming
Sandy Bay
A long beach south of Hobart Town, first farmed by exiles from Norfolk Island.
1808Norfolk Islanders granted land
WHAT STARTED IT
The sandy bay south of Battery Point offered a gentle shore and arable slopes within walking distance of Hobart Town. Settlers moved off Norfolk Island in 1807–08 were given small land grants here.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
At low tide the long beach made a natural racecourse, and the New Year’s Day races of 1827 drew more than a thousand people. Sandy Bay grew into Hobart’s seaside suburb within the Queenborough municipality, which was absorbed into the City of Hobart in 1914.
TURNING POINTS
1808Norfolk Islanders resettled in Van Diemen’s Land receive land grants at Sandy Bay.
1827New Year’s Day races on the beach at low tide draw more than a thousand people and a hundred horses.
1914The Queenborough municipality, including Sandy Bay, is absorbed into the City of Hobart.
1960sThe University of Tasmania moves to its new campus at Sandy Bay.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A large residential suburb of Hobart and home to the University of Tasmania’s main campus, which moved to the old Sandy Bay rifle range in the early 1960s. Beaches line the Derwent shore.