When the Tamar River was the highway to
the Valley, many of the smaller communities were more self-contained
but better known than they are today. Swan Bay, located at the
widest point of the Tamar River was one such place. Located some 23
kilometres from Launceston, it is within easy commuting distance, and
is sometimes even referred to as a “suburb,” although this is a
bit of a stretch.
Swan Point, on the opposite side of the
river was named by Matthew Flinders in 1799. I'm not sure how Swan
Bay, on the East Tamar, acquired its name – perhaps simply because
it is nearby or more obviously because, even today, the area has many
swans!
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| SWAN BAY, EAST TAMAR |
The availability of timber, and easy
river access led to the first industry in the area. As early as the
1830s, ships were being built in the bay – for example the 46 ton
brig Mary, built by Francis
McCollin, and the schooner Look-in
built in 1838. A floating dock was constructed in 1844 and towed to
Launceston.
Relationships
between the early settlers and the native population of the Tamar
Valley were not good and there was an unfortunate encounter in 1830
when a team of three wood splitters working at Swan Bay were attacked
– an old man was clubbed to death and died, another was speared but
lived, as did the third man. From this distance we cannot know the
antecedents to this event.
Over the years, as
much of the heavily wooded land was cleared, a variety of produce was
grown in the area – cherries, grapes, and of course, the once
signature crop of the Tamar Valley – apples. Old packing sheds
which once served Miller's Orchards can still be seen on Los Angelos
Road, and fruit growing in the area is undergoing something of a
resurgence.
Swan Bay State
School, opened in 1912 with twenty pupils. It burnt down in 1936,
when the bark and sticks for the next day's fire was left on the
hearth, without the previous days embers being completely
extinguished. The school was located on the Corner of George Town
Road and Swan Bay Road. Roads by this name no longer exist in the
area, but I would guess perhaps the old East Tamar Highway and the
top end of Windermere Road might fit the bill.
A Methodist Church was built on land
donated by the Coward family at 1004 Windermere Road. The church
opened in 1923, and was demolished in the fifties when it was deemed
to be structurally unsound. You can see photographs and more
information at
http://www.winderdoon.com/community/ss/SSFebruary2011.pdf
Swan Bay was a
popular spot for picnics, and yacht races in the late 1800s and the
early years of the twentieth century. The foreshore is silt and
reeds now, but references from earlier times make mention of “the
beach”.
Until recently Swan Bay has been a bit
of a hidden gem, A change of council policy means that recently many
of the larger blocks have been turned into subdivisions and housing
development in proceeding at a rapid rate. There are other
commercial plans in the wind and for better or worse (and time will
tell which) Swan Bay is undergoing a period of great change.
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| RIVERFRONT, SWAN BAY |
