Heritage Highway - day trips from Evandale

Being based in Evandale, we were close to many of the heritage villages and the heritage listed buildings of Brickenden, Woolmers and Clarendon. We did a day trip to Perth, Longford, and Cressy. 

Perth is 10 minutes drive from Evandale and 20 minutes from Launceston. It  was the first main town out of Launceton, heading south toward Hobart. Governor Macquarie first passed through the area in 1811, and the first settler was Thomas Massey (Chief Constable of Launceston), who established a farm in the area in 1814. Macquarie passed through the area again in May 1821 and it was he who chose the site as a town and named it Perth after the town in Scotland. A military post was established and a ferry service ran across the South Esk River. Te town was surveyed and laid out in 1833. By 1834 there were two hotels and eight houses in the town and a school was under construction. Nearby were two flour mills.

The Leather Bottell Inn, (55 Main Street) dates back to 1830's and is one of the oldest buildings in Perth. It as named after a hotel in Kent England that Charles Dickens would frequent. A bluestone and rendered brick construction with cedar fittings, it has been a post office, boarding house, restaurant, antique shop and a private residence. At the rear of the building a police cell has been restored and re-erected from Scone Street.  

There are many examples of Georgian Cottages and.........

....some quirky buildings too.

Less than 10 minutes from Perth is Longford. We were able to get a carpark right next to the First Settlers Cemetery and the Anglican Christ Church. From here, the centre of town it was easy to do a circuit walk past the historical buildings, although some of notes on the self-guided tour were confusing. We picked up a town map at Evandale Info Centre.

The church has a beautiful stained glass window, that we were unable to see as the church was locked. Lieutenant Governor Sir John Franklin laid the foundation stone in 1839, and the church was built of sandstone. We walked through the first settlers cemetery, which was interesting. An audio tour can be purchaced from the council offices. The church yard is an arboretum which was planted 1830's with the intention of planting every tree mentioned in the bible. We didn't check.

The area was originally known as Norfolk Plains, and then Latour, but it is unknown why the name was changed to Longford, but the change came around the same time as the Longford Hotel was established. The heritage listed buildings, and there are many, also have a plaque attached.

The Longford Hotel was built in 1827 by Newman Willett. It has been a bank, a library, a livery stable, a doctors and also a temperance house. It is now an antiques shop.

Heritage Corner was also built in the 1830's. Previously called The London, and The Plough Inn and had a skittle alley at the back. It has been many things over the years, but now is a cafe.

Longford is also the home of Australia's oldest continuously operated racetrack, established in 1846. In 1959 and 1965, the Australian GrandPrix was held in Longford. A display can be seen at the Country Club Hotel. After our walk around Longford, it was time for lunch. We headed a little further south to Cressy, the home of trout fishing. We found a lovely little park with tables and chairs in the shade. Cressy was named by Bartholomew Boyle Thomas after the battle of Crecy - a battle between the English and the French in 1346. Thomas was an early settler who was granted 20,000 acres in the area. The first building was the Cressy Hotel in 1845.