Ross

-The Age Feb 2004-

The most beautiful historic town in Tasmania.
Tasmania has an excess of beautiful and fascinating 19th century colonial towns. Places like Campbell Town and Richmond are famous for their gift shops, their pretty vistas and their overt tourist appeal. But, of all the early 19th towns, there is nothing quite the equal of Ross.

The secret is that the Midland Highway (the main route between Hobart and Launceston) by-passes Ross thus preserving the original, sleepy character of the town.

The great quality of Ross is that it has not been overly corrupted by modern tourism. The town is very typically English and, with its warm Ross sandstone, is reminiscent of the towns which can be seen in the Cotswolds or in north Oxfordshire. In many ways Ross is a town which has been held in aspic. It is beautifully preserved.

Ross attracts car enthusiasts from around Australia for the opportunity to “get that photo”

Located 117 km north of Hobart and 78 km south of Launceston, Ross is 76 metres above sea level. The district was first explored by Europeans in 1807 when the surveyor Charles Grimes travelled from the north to the south of Tasmania’s central valley area. He mapped sections of the river which subsequently became known as Macquarie River (Governor Macquarie named it after himself when he travelled through the area in 1811).

On his second journey through central Tasmania, Macquarie chose the location beside the river for a township. He called it Ross after the home of his friend H.M. Buchanan who lived on Loch Lomond in Scotland. At that time the river was forded. Later that year a wooden bridge was built and by 1836 the stone bridge, one of the finest in Australia, was completed.

Throughout the nineteenth century Ross was an important stopover point between Launceston and Hobart. As such it was a horse coach changing point, a town for the local garrison and an important destination for produce from the surrounding farms.

Today it is arguably the finest nineteenth century village in Australia. It has resisted the excesses of commercialism and the combination of the tree-lined main street, the beautiful bridge and river, and the location of the Wesleyan Church at the top of the slight hill, combine to give it a remarkable aesthetic beauty and tranquillity. 

We are only a small intimate historic village of around 300 people. Real estate is hard to find here. The businesses are all owned by small operators, no national chain-owned businesses here. We don’t have the massive budgets of other parts of Tasmania. We (the village) rely on our strong reputation of authentic history, quality service, peace and tranquillity.  Word of mouth is our best form of promotion. The village can’t afford other forms of glamorous promotion. Many people change their itineraries during their stay in Tasmania to visit Ross. They hear from other tourists while they are travelling as to how lovely Ross is. Good thing is, we get them staying with us when they return to Tasmania. Our advice to the reader, book with us BEFORE you visit Tasmania, you know then that you have your home in this superb village.