Perth, Tasmania

Perth is a town in the Australian state of Tasmania. It lies 20 km (12 mi) south of Launceston, on the Midland Highway. The town had a population of 2,965 at the 2016 census, and is part of the Northern Midlands Council.

Perth
Tasmania
Post Office in Perth, Tasmania
Perth
Coordinates41°34′23″S 147°10′17″E
Population2,965 (2016 census)[1]
Established1821
Postcode(s)7300
Location
LGA(s)Northern Midlands Council
State electorate(s)Lyons
Federal Division(s)Lyons

Like nearby Longford, Perth is a historic town with many buildings dating back to the early 19th century. It is the first major town out of Launceston on the route to Hobart, and also serves as a major junction for people bypassing Launceston on the route from Hobart to the northwest of the state.

History

Perth was established in 1821 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. He was staying nearby with the pastoralist David Gibson and named it after Gibson's hometown of Perth, Scotland.[2][3] It was proclaimed as a township in 1836.[2] John Skinner Prout painted a view of the town in 1845, with various parts of the inland mountains showing in the painting.[4] Edward Paxham Brandard engraved the picture in 1874.[5]

Landmarks

Baptist church

The Perth Baptist church, opened in 1862, is notable, due to its history, size and architecture.[6][7][8]

Perth Baptist church

Gibbet Hill
Queen's Head Inn, Perth Tasmania

In 1837, five years after the practice ceased in England, the body of John McKay was gibbetted near the spot where he murdered Joseph Wilson near Perth.[9] There was great outcry, but the body was not removed until an acquaintance of Wilson passed the spot and, horrified by the spectacle of McKay's rotting corpse, pleaded with the authorities to remove it.

The location is still marked by a sign reading, "Gibbet Hill" on the right when heading to Launceston.

This was the last case of gibbeting in a British colony.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Perth (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. "Perth". Northern Midlands Council. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  3. Gibson, M. (1966). "Gibson, David (1778–1858)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1, MUP. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 21 August 2019 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  4. Prout, John Skinner (1845), [Perth, Tasmania], retrieved 7 September 2020
  5. Brandard, Edward Paxman; Prout, John Skinner, 1805-1876, (artist.) (1874), Perth, Tasmania, Virtue & Co, retrieved 7 September 2020CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Rowston, Laurie; Baptist Union of Tasmania (2009), Church news Perth 1862-2006, retrieved 2 April 2017
  7. Jones, S. J, (photographer.) (1900), Perth Baptist Church, Tasmania, retrieved 2 April 2017CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Baptist Church. Perth NG2762 [Records], LINC Tasmania, 1865, retrieved 21 August 2019
  9. Pedder C.J., Rex v. McKay and Lamb (Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land), originally published Hobart Town Courier, 5 May 1837, republished by the Division of Law, Macquarie University and the School of History and Classics, University of Tasmania in Decisions of the Nineteenth Century Tasmanian Superior Courts. Accessed 19 December 2007.
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