Mount Roland from lookout at Sheffield
In North West Tasmania, Sheffield as four of the lots of early townships was settled in 1859. The town was named ‘Sheffield’, by Edward Curr after his home town in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.
Sheffield is a town situated 23 km inland from Devonport on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia‘s island state. Sheffield has long been the rural hub for the Mount Roland area. The Sheffield area is widely known for its high quality butterfat production by dairy farming. The area is suitable for lamb and beef production. The town of Railton is nearby. At the 2006 census, Sheffield had a population of 1,397.
Sheffield has become a major tourist attraction due to it becoming a “Town of Murals”, based on the instrumental contribution of local tourism pioneer Brian Inder.
The first town mural was painted in Sheffield in December 1986. Since then over 47 murals depicting the area’s rich history and beautiful natural scenery are painted on walls scattered throughout the town and buildings along the roadside. The murals attract an estimated 120,000 people to the town every year.
The Wilderness Gallery Mural Fest art competition has been held every year since 2003 and will return again in April 2010. The poem for the next competition is Home by Cindy Bennett. After each competition the 9 finalist murals remain on display at Mural Park for approximately 12 months until the next competition.
In the heart of Sheffield, there’s a number of studios open to the public where visitors can watch the artists as they do their work. Artists of every discipline, including photography, fine art, glass, woodcraft, pottery, ceramics and specialised crafts.
There’s lots of natural attractions in the Sheffield area.
Community Website
For a fantastic overview of Sheffield Tasmania you should really visit www.SheffieldTasmania.com.au. It provides a wealth of information encompassing accommodation, activities events and attractions. This is the type of community promotion website that we really enjoy finding. Every Australian Town should have one like it!
Mount Roland
Mount Roland is the backdrop of the Sheffield township rising up 1234 metres above sea level.
Mount Roland Conservation Area & Regional Reserve The reserve consists of 7600 hectares surrounding the range. A number of well marked bushwalks are all suitable for a day of pleasant exercise. There are walking tracks from both Claude Road and Gowrie Park to the the summit. The walk takes in the plains and plateau leading to the summit of the peak. There are two tracks to the summit which provide spectacular 360 degree views to Bass Strait, Cradle Mountain and Barn Bluff.
Lake Barrington
Is known as an international standard rowing venue and a previous site of the 1990 World Rowing Championships. It was created in 1969 by building the Devils Gate Dam on the Forth River. The area is also used for water skiing, canoeing and trout fishing. There is an adventure playground and a two-hour rainforest walk. Facilities for visitors include picnic sites, boat ramps and toilet facilities.
Devils Gate Dam
The Devils Gate Dam has an overhanging crest allows flood water to freefall to the river bed, with up to 2000 tonnes of water falling every second during an extreme flood.
It is one of the thinnest concrete arch dams in the world. It was completed by the Hydro-Electric Commission in 1969 and is 84 m high. The narrowness of the gorge and the computer-aided design of its double-curvature shape enabled engineers to minimise the volume of concrete and hence the cost of the dam. Flood waters falling freely from the crest strike concrete slabs carefully positioned on the abutments to prevent undermining of the dam by erosion.
Marakoopa Cave – Karst National Park – Mole Creek
Marakoopa Cave is a limestone cave in Mole Creek Karst national park, north west Tasmania. The Mole Creek Karst National Park includes some of Tasmania’s most visited cave systems, including Marakoopa and King Solomons Cave, two of over 300 known caves and sinkholes in the area. Marakoopa Cave has two underground streams, a large display of glow-worms, large caverns, rim pools, reflections and shawl and flowstone features.
Lake Cethana
The walk starts at the junction just before turning into the Lemonthyme Lodge. The walk takes about 2 hours. This is another good walk to observe all the varieties of vegetation of the area. After crossing 2 areas of cleared land the track crosses a fern gully, beyond which there is more forest until the track finally terminates in the back water of the lake. This walk is graded as hard because the return trip is a long haul back uphill. Duration 2 hours.
Kimberley Warm Springs
Kimberley Warm Springs are a geothermal feature and semi-developed visitor site located within the town of Kimberley. The micro climate created by the warm springs results in a unique habitat.
Gowrie Park
The small town of Gowrie Park is located 16 km south of Sheffield. It is a useful starting point for people wanting to spend their day climbing Mount Roland. The town has a history as a Hydro construction village.
Sykes Sanctuary
Sykes Sanctuary is 40 acres of bush land with abundant bird life, walking tracks and memorials to Norman Sykes. He was an eccentric conservationist who gave up city life to live in a small shack, close to nature. He bequeathed his property to the Railton community with the instruction that it be conserved as a bird and fauna sanctuary.
Cradle Mountain
Cradle Mountain is approximately one hour’s drive south-west of the township. The mountain is accessible from the northern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. There are numerous walks available, ranging from short to multi-day.
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