Devonport, Tasmania

The first European settlement before 1850 was on a block of land at Frogmore, near present-day Latrobe. In 1850, a settler named Oldaker occupied land at present-day Devonport.[6] Saw milling and coal mining developed with settlers arriving from England in 1854 on board the sailing ship 'Balmoral'.[7] During the 1850s the twin settlements of Formby and Torquay were established on opposite banks at the mouth of the Mersey River.[8] Torquay on the eastern shore was the larger community with police, post, magistrate, at least three hotels, shipyards and stores. A river ferry service connected the two communities. Between 1870 and 1880 the shipping industry grew and work was undertaken to deepen the mouth of the river.[6] When the mouth of the river could support a shipping industry the first regular steamer services commenced, operating directly between the Mersey and Melbourne.

In 1882 the Marine Board building was built and remains one of the oldest standing buildings in Devonport.

In 1889 the Bluff lighthouse was completed. The turn of the century saw the railway make a significant difference to the Formby community. It combined a railhead and port facilities in the one place. A wharf was created on the west bank, close to the railway and warehouses. The railway brought a building boom to Formby. In 1890 a public vote united Torquay and Formby, and the settlements became the town of Devonport.

The Victoria bridge was opened in 1902 which enabled a land transport link between Devonport and East Devonport.

Devonport was proclaimed a city by Prince Charles of Wales on 21 April 1981 in a ceremony conducted on the Devonport Oval.

The cross river ferry service was discontinued in 2014 after 160 years of continuous service when the "Torquay" ferry was taken out of service.[9] It has since resumed operating.[10]

The town received national attention on December 16th 2021 when a jumping castle and two zorbs were lifted into the air by a gust of a wind at Hillcrest primary school, killing six children and injuring three.[11][12]

The population of Devonport is 26,150, of which 1,971 (7.5%) are First Nations people.[13]

The median weekly household income is $1,167, compared to $1,746 nationally. 24.6% of households total weekly income is less than $650 week, while 10.4% of households weekly income exceeds $3,000. This compares to national rates of 16.5% and 24.3% respectively.

34.3% of households renting, and 8.1% of owned households with a mortgage experience housing stress, where rent or mortgage repayments payments exceed 30% of total income.

83.6% of residents were born in Australia. 2.9% were born in England, 0.8% in India and New Zealand and 0.6% in each Nepal, Philippines and Mainland China.[14]

89.9% of people spoke only English at home. 6.3% of households use a non-English language, including Mandarin (0.8%), Nepali (0.7%), Punjabi (0.4%) and Vietnamese and Tongan (0.3%).

In the 2021 census, 51.1% of people in Devonport professed no religion. 38.7% specified a Christian religious affiliation (including 12.4% as Anglicanism, 11.6% Catholic and 3.5% Uniting Church). Other religious affiliations include Hinduism (1.1%), Buddhism (0.9%), Islam (0.4%) and Sikhism (0.3%).[14]

Areas within Devonport as a suburb include Highfield
Areas within East Devonport as a suburb includes Pardoe Downs, Rannoch, Panorama Heights

The full list of Suburbs of the City of Devonport are: List of suburbs

The Rooke Street Mall in the CBD of Devonport

The main Central business district (CBD) is on the west side of the Mersey River and includes a pedestrian mall, cinema, specialty stores, chain stores, hotels, local restaurants, and cafes. Stores in Devonport include Coles, Woolworths, Kmart, Harvey Norman, Bunnings Warehouse, The Reject Shop, Best & Less, Cotton On and Kathmandu. As part of nationwide restructuring,[15] Target closed its department store on Rooke Street on 27 March 2021, being the only closure of a Tasmanian Target store.[16][17]

Local theatre and conventions are held at the Devonport Entertainment and Convention Centre in the city's CBD.

The Devonport Regional Gallery evolved from the inception of The Little Gallery, which was founded by Jean Thomas as a private enterprise in 1966. The Gallery presents an annual program of exhibitions, education and public programs including events and workshops. A broad range of selected local artisan works are displayed at the North West Regional Craft Centre and gift store in the CBD.

Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum displays petroglyphs, designs in rock and exhibits that depict the traditional lifestyle of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.[18]

The Bass Strait Maritime Centre housed in the former Harbour Master's House has objects, models and photographs that tell the stories of Bass Strait and Devonport.

A volunteer-run vintage railway and museum, the Don River Railway, is situated at Don, a suburb of Devonport.

The former Devonport Maternity Hospital was recently demolished and the land repurposed into a gated community.[19]

The Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe serves the Devonport community for their health needs.

Devonport's night club was known as "City Limits" in the 1980s, "The Warehouse" from 1991, and then re-branded as "House" in 2014.

Kokoda Barracks is an army barracks in Devonport.

Annette Rockliff was elected mayor of the City of Devonport in 2018.[20] There are 9 aldermen that govern the Devonport City Council.[21]

Devonport Airport

Devonport Airport is located at Pardoe Downs approximately 7 km to the east of the city of Devonport, about a 15 min drive by car. The airport is serviced by Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop aircraft, operated by QantasLink, with four daily services to Melbourne, Victoria.

There are several bus companies serving Devonport including Merseylink, Redline Coaches and Phoenix Coaches. Metropolitan Devonport bus services are limited on Saturdays and there are no services on Sundays or Public holidays.

Freight (Shipping)

SeaRoad Shipping operate two 'ro-ro' (roll-on, roll-off) vessels of general freight between Devonport and Melbourne. These vessels included the MV SeaRoad Mersey I and the MV SeaRoad Tamar, before being replaced by the MV SeaRoad Mersey II (2016- ) and the MV SeaRoad Liekut. SeaRoad Shipping operated a King Island service but this was discontinued when the MV SeaRoad Mersey I was sold; the replacement ships were too large to fit in to the King Island berth. [22]

Cement Australia has exported cement products produced from Railton to Melbourne since 1926. Other exports via ships include tallow.

Historically, coal was an export product.

Imports include petroleum, bunker fuel, fertiliser and caustic soda.

Rail

A rail line still services the ports area of Devonport. Devonport once had a roundhouse and railway maintenance yards on the foreshore of the Mersey River. A park exists there today.

Passenger Ferry Terminal

Devonport is the southern terminus for the Spirit of Tasmania ferries – Spirit I and II travel the 11 hours to Geelong.[23][24]

Melbourne – Devonport Passenger Ferry History

The Devonport area has rich red soils that are ideal for producing vegetable crops (beans, onions, peas, potatoes etc.) and very significant values of cereals, oil poppies, pyrethrum and other crops.

• John Bowe (V8 Supercar driver)
• Nita Burke (basketball)
• Corey Cadby (darts player)
• David Foster (woodchopper)
• Owen Kelly (NASCAR and V8 Supercar driver)
• David Parsons (V8 Supercar driver)

• Joseph Lyons – 10th Prime Minister of Australia 1932–1939, 26th Premier of Tasmania 1923–1928
• Dame Enid Lyons
• Jeremy Rockliff – 47th Premier of Tasmania
• Jacqui Lambie – Senator for Tasmania

The city of Devonport has a formal sister city agreement with Minamata City in Japan. This was ratified in 1996. Both cities share a similar setting and area.

• Minamata, Japan[30] (1996)
• City of Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia (previous destination for "Spirit of Tasmania" ferries from Devonport, current destination as of 2022 is Geelong.)

• The Tasmanian Arboretum