Old Beach #2 Wattle Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This series of 7 caches is situated on the foreshore walking track from Cassidys Bay to the Jetty. The area is used extensively by Muggles: on foot or on bikes – often with geomutts and/or geokids in tow. Be very careful!! You can start with #1 and walk the track or drive and park. There are numerous laneways leading from various streets to the track. There is room in the container for small swaps.
Old Beach is situated on the eastern shore of the Derwent River opposite Claremont and Austins Ferry and is in the Brighton Municipality. The origin of the name Old Beach is unknown, but it was in use by the 1817 muster. The area was settled in the early 1800’s. A school was built around 1824 but by 1827 it had disappeared. Children were apparently taught at home or not at all. There were no churches but from the mid 1810’s there were constables and from 1826, magistrates. The Three Archers Hotel run by John Ibbott was open in 1825. The first ferry was licensed in 1817 to operate from James Austin’s inn at Roseneath to Old Beach. A second ferry ran from Cove Point (the point beside Herdsmans Cove on the northern shore of the Jordan River now called Green Point) across to Stony Point, which saved travellers the hilly road from Old Beach and there was a third ferry from Black Snake to Green Point - the route of the later bridge. Boats also travelled from Hobart to Old Beach. There were numerous complaints about the ferries but the roads were worse and people travelled by boat if they could. When the causeway connecting Granton to Bridgewater was opened the ferries and hotels at Old Beach closed and the area was mainly a farming centre. In the 1870’s a post office was opened. In the 1880’s the centre of Old Beach was not near the river, but near the present-day Council Chambers, with St George’s Church, a post office opposite it, a Methodist Church and a shop. What is now known as Old Beach was called Ferry Point. In around 1939 electricity was connected to Old Beach. In 1957 running water was delivered to Brighton and other areas but as Old Beach had a scattered population its request for water was denied. Hopes of development in the area were dashed when, in 1946, a man named Francois Fouche purchased a large Old Beach property, ‘Ballerton’, on which to build a Riviera-style country club. It was to include a golf course, pool, yacht basin and casino. The hotel burnt down in 1951 and the building of a smaller hotel commenced. A 9 hole golf course and a sub-division of vacant blocks were all that Fouche achieved. On Tuesday 7th February 1967 bushfires raged throughout southern Tasmania and Old Beach was extensively damaged. People quickly rebuilt and one good result was that the government established the rural Fires Board and a brigade was set up at Old Beach and run by a local committee. In 1981 there were 15 houses in Old Beach with no water or sewerage, and poor roads. The Tasman Bridge disaster (1975) resulted in the Bowen Bridge being opened in 1984 and better access to Glenorchy and subsequently, Hobart. Since that time the area has grown and in the 21st century it is expanding rapidly. Information obtained from: Alexander, A. (2006) ‘A History of Bagdad, Bridgewater, Brighton, Broadmarsh, Dromedary, Elderslie, Mangalore, Old Beach, Pontville and Tea Tree’ Gagebrook, Tas; Brighton Council
Additional Hints
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