Just Tasmania .com
Huonville accommodation, restaurants, history, things to do

The area was originally known as Tahune-Linah, named by Tasmanian Aboriginals

The first Europeans to set eyes on the Huon River were the crew commanded by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. The river was named by him in honour of his second in command, Captain Huon de Kermadec.

The establishment of the British settlement at Hobart Town in 1804 led to the exploration of the area by the botanist Robert Brown but he dismissed it as unsuitable for settlement because of poor soil. This did not stop the timber getters and whalers from camping in the area while searching for stands of timber and schools of whales.

The first European settlers were William and Thomas Walton in 1840.

Huonville was not originally intended as the site of a town. Nearby Ranelagh was laid out as the town of Victoria in colonial days. Huonville grew around the bridge crossing the Huon River and hotels at the bridge.

Throughout the summer and autumn, fence-to-fence orchards produce crops of luscious plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, apples and pears.

Get your heart racing on a jet boat ride up the Huon River or explore it at a more leisurely pace in a paddleboat. A cruise on the Southern Contessa will take you 30 kilometres along the river, into the habitats of pelicans, sandpipers and many other water birds.

Amy Sherwin , the 'Tasmanian Nightingale', was an Australian soprano singer born at Forest Home, Huonville in 1855 and was taught singing by her mother.

Fishing is popular in the valley's many open watercourses, and there are plenty of fishing experts to help you catch a big one. Farther south are Tasmania's magnificent southern forests, where you can stroll through the canopy of a mature forest high above the confluence of the Picton and Huon rivers on the Tahune Forest AirWalk.

The nearby town of Ranelagh, which is now regarded as a suburb of Huonville, is at the centre of an important hop-growing area and its landmarks include an historic oast house once used for the processing of the stuff which gives beer its distinctive flavour.

Ranelagh's only 'tourist attraction' is the Tasmanian Antique Motor Museum' which has over 40 old vehicles including a 1934 Terraplane and a 1923 Fiat 501 originally owned by Lady Jones of IXL.

Its maximum average daily temperature is approximately 12 degrees Celsius in June and 21 degrees Celsius in January.

Huonville is a 40-minute drive, 38 kilometres, south of Hobart along the A6 highway.