Historical Australian Towns: Bothwell: A Tasmania Town of Georgian Character

The quaint village of Bothwell in Tasmania is set in the verdant Clyde River Valley, about an hour’s drive north of Hobart. Today, the village boasts many intact Georgian buildings with beautiful period features.

The Big River People

Once Were The Most Isolated People on The Earth

Analysis of Aboriginal hair samples has shown that Aboriginal people have lived in Australia, with little geographical movement, for up to 50,000 years. The evidence also shows that Aboriginal people are descendants of a single founding group of people that arrived in Australia 50,000 years ago when Australia was connected to New Guinea.

Approximately 40,000 years ago, some Aboriginal Australians crossed a land bridge which existed between Tasmania and the mainland. Then, 5,000 – 10,000 years ago, the climate warmed, the ice melted and sea levels rose. The land bridge to the mainland was submerged and Tasmanian Aboriginal people became isolated.

The Aboriginal people from the area, which would later be known as Bothwell, are often called the Big River people.

It is difficult to provide the perspective of Aboriginal people before colonisation, due to the lack of any written language. The journals of George Augustus Robinson can enable us to gain some insight into the experiences and lives of these people of the past.

The first contact between the British and the Tasmanian Aboriginal people has been recorded as occurring in 1772. Though Sadly, from the very beginning, there was a marked hostility between the two groups, and by the 1830s, guerrilla warfare was being waged by both sides.

The last of the original Big River and Oyster Bay people, sixteen men, nine women and one child, led by Big River chief Montpeilliater and Oyster Bay chief Tukalunginta were taken by government agent George Augustus Robinson in December 1831, somewhere near Lake Echo on the central plateau. Robinson wrote:

“reason for their outrages upon the white inhabitants [was] that they and their forefathers had been cruelly abused, that their country had been taken away from them, their wives and daughters had been violated and taken away, and that they had experienced a multitude of wrongs from a variety of sources. They were willing to accept the offers of the government...” “who Mr Robinson promised would readily comply with all their wishes and supply all their wants”.
Local stories of Bothwell tell us that these Aboriginal people danced a corroboree in front of Bothwell’s Castle Hotel on 5 January 1832, before walking on to Hobart and being taken to Flinders Island.

Image from page 256 of "Natives of Australia" (1906)

A picture of the last four Tasmanian Aborigines of solely indigenous descent (Circa 1860s). Truganini, the last to survive, is seated at far right.


Tasmanian Aboriginal rock relic

The British

The English soldier and explorer, Thomas Laycock, who served in North America during the War of 1812, was the first European to travel overland through the interior of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land).

Portrait of Thomas Laycock, 98th Regiment, c1811

Laycock set off on his expedition in 1807 with four other men. The group came upon the Clyde River, which they named "Fat Doe River", and they camped at a spot which later to become the township of Bothwell.

After this, the area around Bothwell was used for grazing stock by, Edward Lord, an officer of the marines, a commandant, magistrate, pastoralist and merchant. By 1820, Lord was one of the richest men in Van Diemen's Land. He also had social status and the right connections. But he was, as Governor Macquarie described him, "a dangerous and troublesome man" - one of the 'bad characters". His story overlaps with Charles Rowcroft, mentioned below.

Vicious Bushranger

Bushrangers, such as Mike Howe, who was captured near the Shannon River in October 1818, also roamed about the Bothwell area. Howe was later killed on the banks of the Shannon, near Hunterston, and his head was carried back to Hobart Town for the reward.

Mike Howe, Bothwell, TAS, Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Sunday 30 May 1954

Sheep Farming

In December of 1820, Lt. Governor Sorell accompanied by Surveyor G. W. Evans visited the Bothwell district and found land suitable for sheep farming.

The first European settlers to make their homes in Bothwell were mostly of Scottish background.
The first families who settled here were Charles and Horace Rowcroft, who at settled at Norwood and Grassy Hut and Edward Nicholas and his family, who settled at Nant and constructed a water-powered mill, which produced flour until the late 1880s. They arrived on the Grace in August 1821.

In 1822, a ship arrived called the Castle Forbes, which brought settlers to the area.

Captain Patrick Wood, a retired officer of the East Indian Army – who settled the large farming property, Dennistoun. Myles Patterson and his family ( Hunterston), Phillip Russell (Strathbarton), Adam Smith, who established part of Meadsfield, Captain and Mrs Sockett (Logan) and the Reid family, who were granted land on the Clyde River (Ratho). The Reid family lived in a mud cottage for three years until a more permanent homestead was built.

Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser (Tas. : 1821 - 1825), Saturday 2 March 1822

Charles Rowcroft and his Fanciful Fictions

Born in England, Charles Rowcroft was educated at Eton from 1809-11. However, in 1821, he arrived with his brother Horace to take up 2000 acres (809 ha), just north of Bothwell.

Things were going well for Charles and he became a justice of the peace at age 24. That is until Charles engaged in an affair with Maria Lord (nee Riseley), the wife of Edward Lord (mentioned above) and he was sued for adultery ( Criminal Conversation).

Charles was almost destitute at this stage, but upon hearing of his father's death back in England, he departed Van Diemen's Land on the Cumberland and was back in England in 1827.

Charles bought a boarding school at Streatham, London. In 1843, he published his first novel, Tales of the Colonies, or, the Adventures of an Emigrant, Edited by a late Colonial Magistrate. This book, although a sensationalised tale, is the first Australian novel written by a settler. Read here

Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Friday 10 March 1911

Early Settlers

Nicholas Family: Nant Water Mill

Edward Nicholas and family arrived in Bothwell in 1821. They brought workmen, machinery and seeds with them to the value of 1800 pounds and named their land grant Nant, which means "a valley", after their home back in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. Wales.

Nant distillery is situated in old grain mill. There is an original paddle wheel and sluice gate, with grinding stones from Scotland.

Nant Homestead, Bothwell Tasmania ( circa 1821). The Nant Estate, was the home of Edward Nicholas, the first settler at Bothwell, after he arrived from Wales in 1821. A convict built Georgian sandstone cottage on the property was once used by the Irish political exiles, John Mitchell and John Martin, who were transported to Tasmania because of their quest for Irish freedom.

Reid Family: Australia’s Oldest Golf Course

Alexander Reid, who had been a merchant in Edinburgh’s port town of Leith, established Ratho Bank Estate, where he farmed sheep. After arriving at Bothwell, the Reid family lived in a mud cottage for three years, until their homestead was built. On one occasion, Mrs Reid was held up by bushrangers. The Reid family at Ratho and three other settlers of the area laid out golf courses on their farms. Alexander Reid played what is thought to be Australia's first game of golf on his estate, Ratho.

Ratho farm, Bothwell, TAS

Wood Family: Angus Cattle

Captain Patrick Wood, a retired officer of the East Indian Army, established a large property called Dennistoun eight kilometres north of Bothwell. The first Angus breed cattle were unloaded at the Hobart Town docks, in January 1824, after a journey from Fife, Scotland and driven up the streets of Hobart and then onto Bothwell and to Dennistoun. Dennistoun is the oldest property to continuously farm Angus Cattle in Australia.

Dennistoun, Bothwell, TAS

Captain Sockett and his Wife: Logan

Captain Sockett and his wife settled at Logan. However, on Christmas day 1824 Captain Wood wrote a letter to the Governor informing him of a raid, probably by the Brady gang.

Dennistoun

25 Dec 1824

"Sir,
I trust that Your Honor and family accomplished the journey to Port Dalrympre ….

On my way from town yesterday I was sorry to learn that three persons had visited the Cottage of Captain Sockett in the neighbourhood and after using him and Mrs Sockett exceedingly [v]ile carried away the whole of their property to the amount of 500.
The Socketts were so distressed they packed up and shortly left the colony. Captain Wood purchased the Socketts grant and quickly resold it to the recently arrived McDowalls in February 1825."

Philip Russell, Strathbarton

Philip Russell, formerly of the East India Co, helped to establish the Dennistoun estate near Bothwell, but when his elder brother, William, arrived in 1839 he became Captain Wood's tenant before establishing his own property, Strathbarton, near Apsley.

Strathbarton, near Apsley, Bothwell, TAS

Adam Smith established part of Meadsfield

Landscape view of Meadsfield at Bothwell, Libraries Tasmania's Online collection

Thomas Axford, Thorpe Water wheel

Thorpe watermill was built by Tomas Axford, who arrived in Diemen's Land in November 822, on the Christina. Axford established Thorpe farm near Bothwell. Almost immediately, Axford began building a watermill, with handmade bricks, which operated until 1865. Thomas Axford, the original owner of Thorpe, was murdered by bushranger Rocky Whelan on Constitution Hill.

Thorpe watermill, near Bothwell, TAS

Dr James Ross, the Hermitage

James Ross, from Aberdeen, Scotland, arrived at Hobart Town on the Regalia, in December 1822. Soon after, he was granted 1000 acres (405 ha) on the River Shannon near Bothwell. However, Ross became discouraged by thievery by bushrangers and a fire at his property. So he sold the Hermitage and moved away from Bothwell and became involved with the production of the Hobart Town Gazette.

Side view of ROSS, James (Dr) cottage The Hermitage, TAS, Libraries Tasmania

William Langdon, British naval officer, Montacute

William Langdon, a British naval officer, received a grant of 1500 acres (607 ha) on the Clyde River near Bothwell in 1823. He called his property, Montacute. In September 1834, Langdon arrived in Van Diemen's Land, with his wife Anne and their daughter, also, Anne, to settle the estate.

Bothwell - "Montacute". Built about 1834, home of Captain William Langdon. photo taken 1967, Libraries TAS

The Naming

When the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, as Tasmania was called in those days, arrived at the settlement in 1824, he named it after the Scottish town of Bothwell on the Clyde River. The settlers of the Bothwell area, however, like many other Tasmanian people of the time, often led anxious lives, with attacks coming from the outraged Aboriginal population and the fear of escaped convicts, who would often steal food and livestock.

The Wentworth Mansion

Captain D’Arcy Wentworth, the brother of William Charles Wentworth of Vaucluse House, Sydney, was granted 10 acres of land on the River Clyde, in 1830 and he built a large cottage. In 1832, the "Wentworth Mansion" commenced construction, using convict labour and was named Inverhall. D'Arcy was the former commandant of Barracks, at Bothwell.

Inverhall, the Wentworth Mansion, completed 1833, Bothwell, TAS

The Literary Society

The Literary Society Building was founded by Reverend James Garrett in 1834. The building housed the oldest regional library in Australia. The Irish political convict, John Mitchell, wrote that "Bothwell has a very tolerable public library, such library as no village of similar population in Ireland had".

The old library building Bothwell, built about 1834, Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 4 October 1934

Irish Exiles

In the 1850s two “Irish Exiles” – John Martin and John Mitchel, were living in Bothwell. John Mitchel wrote in his journal that two flour mills had been established just outside the town and a tannery, a bakery, a blacksmith, a police office and a brickworks were operating. John Mitchel, who had been transported to Van Diemen’s Land for sedition, managed to escape to the United States some years later.

John Mitchel Irish exile, Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), Thursday 20 February 1930

John Martin, Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932), Saturday 18 March 1905

Notable

On September 18, 1850, Mr Blackwell was granted a stagecoach licence for a two-wheel vehicle to run between Green Ponds and Bothwell.

Alfred Barratt Biggs, who is credited with making the first long-distance telephone call in Australia in 1877, between Campbell Town and Launceston, was a teacher at Bothwell in 1845 and 1864. Later, Biggs was Government Astronomer and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Bothwell was proclaimed a rural Municipality in 1862 and proclaimed a town in 1866.

Bothwell State School opened in Market Place in 1887.

Was Once a Rabbit Shop

The building in the background of the photo below was built in the 1830s by John Colbeck. The timber structure in the front was built in the late 1800s. The building operated as a butcher shop for many years. During the great depression, when food was scarce and meat generally expensive, rabbits were sold here as an affordable food source.

Older Bothwell locals recall that, from the 1940s, into the 1960s, this shop became a dairy owned by Mrs Horne. Her cow would graze up and down the street during the day, returning for milking in the evening. Mrs Horne sold the milk, cream and butter from the cow and some of the local people can remember being sent down to Mrs Horne’s by their mother's, to buy a pound of butter. (provided by V.G)

1830s home of John Colbeck (behind) and former rabbit shop (front). Bothwell, TAS

Historical Photos of Bothwell

Photograph - Stereograph -Our old home at Bothwell before I [Alfred Barrett Biggs] was born. Left there 1872. At time of photo it was a school.Also home of Bothwell Literary Society. By 1988 Bothwell Council Chambers.A brick dwelling marked. Libraries Tasmania

Front view of the Bothwell Post Office, Bothwell, TAS, circa 1870, Libraries Tasmania

Close up view of White's Store, Bothwell, TAS, c1870, Libraries Tasmania

Streetscape view of Main Road, Bothwell, TAS, c1870

Side view of White's Store in Bothwell, TAS, with children playing in the foreground. C1870

The Apsley to Bothwell coach in Bothwell, about 1880, Bothwell, TAS

Crown Hotel, 15 Alexander Street, Bothwell, TAS, c1880, Libraries Tasmania

State Library of Victoria. Bothwell farm, 1924, TAS

Presbyterian Church, Bothwell, 17 Aug 1930, Libraries Tasmania

Side view of the "Apsley to Bothwell" coach on Main Street, Bothwell, TAS, c1880, Libraries Tasmania

Bothwell Post Office - formerly Bank of Van Diemen's Land, Bothwell, TAS, 1900, Libraries Tasmania

Blake family of Bothwell outside their shingle and split paling house, Bothwell, TAS. Circa 1907, Libraries Tasmania

Cluny Homestead, near Bothwell, home of Mr. L. C. Cockburn.” - The Tasmanian Mail, December 5, 1908.

Bothwell - Crown Hotel in background - party in car leaving for Waddamana, c1923, Libraries Tasmania

White Hart Inn, Bothwell, TAS (Burnt), circa 1930, Libraries Tasmania

Group photograph of the Bothwell Fotball Club - Country Premiers 1931, Libraries Tasmania

A glimpse of Bothwell, TAS, Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Saturday 22 October 1938

Home of the Wilson family, of The Steppes, Bothwell - standing outside the house with visitors

Edward Godfrey Hale born Bothwell, Tasmania. Aust. 7th Field Ambulance hit by shrapnel and killed in action on 25th Oct. 1915 at Gallipoli. Courtesy of ww1anzac.com

Today Bothwell is an unspoilt Georgian village and a wonderful place to wander about and explore.

Around Bothwell

Old houses in Bothwell, TAS, falling into ruin

Bothwell, TAS, Caravan Park, central highlands Tasmania home to Ratho Farm, Australia's oldest golf course

Old house at Ratho Farm in Bothwell, TAS

Castle Hotel, Bothwell, TAS (Circa 1829)

Thorpe Watermill was built by Thomas Axford in the early 1820, Bothwell, TAS

Bothwell, TAS, Post Office (Circa 1891)

Bothwell Grange by Panoramio, Bothwell, TAS

20 Alexander Street (White's Shop), Bothwell, TAS, built 1880s. White's Store was retained in the White family for over 140 years before it was closed