The New Norfolk area, in the Derwent Valley, was first known as The Hills and was first explored by Europeans in 1793 when Lieutenant John Hayes sailed up the Derwent River and, when the river became too shallow, proceeded to row to a point just upstream from the present site of New Norfolk.

It was re-named New Norfolk at the request of the first settlers who came from Norfolk Island when that penal colony was abandoned in 1808.

They were persuaded to come to Van Diemen’s Land by offers of a generous exchange of land - four acres for each acre held on Norfolk Island, a house of similar standard to that left behind, 2 or 4 convicts to assist them in clearing their new farms, and food and clothing from the stores for 12 months.

By late 1808, 544 people (soldiers, convicts and free settlers) had taken up the offer and arrived in the area and they put an enormous strain on the colony's fragile economy. However, they did form a basis for the settlement of the district and provided many skills and professions that were lacking including 2 bakers, 2 blacksmiths, 4 bullock drivers, a butcher, 13 ex-constables, 2 gardeners, a harness maker, a milkman, a stonemason, 8 overseers, a painter and glazier, 2 saltboilers, 2 sawyers, a cooper and 2 carpenters.

Governor Macquarie then tried to have New Norfolk called Elizabeth Town (after his wife) but the name New Norfolk won out in the end. The name Elizabeth Town was then bestowed on a town in the north of the State, north west of Launceston.

The St Matthew Anglican Church was built in 1828 and is one of the town’s most impressive buildings. It has undergone many alterations over the years and, among other features, now hosts excellent stained glass windows.

The Bush Inn Hotel was built in 1815 and proudly claims to be the oldest continually licenced hotel in Australia. Dame Nellie Melba stayed and sang there during her visit in 1924. This photo on the right is from around 1900.

In 1827 the New Norfolk Insane Asylum (later known as the Royal Derwent Hospital) was established. Over the next 173 years it served as one of the largest mental institutions in Tasmania.

In 1846 the first hop plants were brought in from Maria Island and this became a flourishing industry resulting in the traditional "New Norfolk" landscape - oast houses, fields of wired poles and windbreaks of Lombardy Poplars, a spectacular sight in autumn.

For some years after 1848, New Norfolk was the place of exile of the Irish nationalist leader Terence MacManus, where his cottage ("The Grange") still stands. Later he was joined by his fellow Irish rebel William Smith O'Brien.

Since 1941 the principal local industry has been the production of newsprint.

Some 11 kilometres upstream from New Norfolk is the tiny settlement of Plenty with its famous salmon ponds. This delightful fishery can claim to be the first rainbow and brown trout farm in Australia having been in operation since 1864.

The original trout and salmon ova were imported from the U.K.