Friday 22 September 2017

SWAN BAY

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!

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.

RIVERFRONT, SWAN BAY