Pontville

Today, Pontville is a tiny village which belies the thriving settlement that existed there in the mid-1840s.  At that time, Pontville was an important stopping point for travellers on route between Hobart and Launceston (Port Dalrymple), a major supplier of stone for the whole of the southern region and boasted a population of more than 2000 residents.  By the 1860s, there were no fewer than six flour mills operating in the area.

Although it is easy to simply pass through Pontville, its bridge, barracks, churches, gracious homes and workers' cottages offer a fine sample of colonial life.

St. Mark's Church is a special design; a highly unusual example of the Romanesque style.  It is another superb example of the work of noted convict architect, James Blackburn.  The National Estate Register records its importance in considerable detail.

Lythgo's Row, or The Barracks is another local landmark.  The first of the cottages was built in the 1840s and sandstone from the quarry in which the Lythgo's Row is situated was used to construct the unusual pylons supporting the bridge nearby.

Click to find accommodation, hotels and B&Bs in Longford, Evandale, Ross, Campbell Town, Oatlands, Avoca, Kempton and Pontville.