Cleveland / Epping Forest

Epping Forest was a favorite haunt of bushrangers and the site of a daring coach robbery by the notorious bushranger, Martin Cash. 

It is said that Cash robbed all the passengers of their belongings, except for Mrs. Cox, the owner of the coach, because she was a widow. Such largesse has earned him a reputation as the 'Robin Hood' of Tasmanian bushrangers, however some dispute this view, claiming that he was as bad as the rest of his cohorts. 

Bushranging continued in the colony for almost 80 years with the last of them, named Ogden and Sutherland rounded up and sent to the gallows in the early 1880s. Their murderous crime occurred in Epping Forest. 

Nearby Cleveland was established as an important coaching station in the late 1820s.  In its heyday, the township had three inns; The Bald-Faced Stag, The Squeaker and St. Andrew's Inn.  St. Andrew's is one of the finest examples of a coaching inn and more than 180 years later, it is still providing hospitality for travellers. Just beyond Cleveland, is the first of several alternative routes to the East Coast, and to the towns of Avoca and Rossarden.