Kingston, Tasmania
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With a population of around 15,000 (2004), Kingston remains one of the fastest growing towns on the outskirts of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Nestled 15km south of the city between and around several hills, Kingston is the capital of its wider municipality, Kingborough, and today serves as the gateway between Hobart and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel region, which meets the Derwent River nearby.
Although a separate town, Kingston appears more like an outer suburb of Hobart, possibly due to the continuous urbanisation along the riverfront, its significant size, and the high number of Kingston residents working in the CBD of Hobart.
The area was settled in 1804 by Thomas Lucas and his family, who were evacuated from Norfolk Island, and quickly the land became actively used by many pioneers who spread out to form the beginnings of Kingston’s localities today. From Mount Wellington runs Brown’s River and its small tributaries to a long beach near the centre of the town. For its first years, the area shared the river’s name, but when the population grew and a commercial district was established, Kingston was proclaimed a township in 1851.
Kingston is comprised of many suburban estates, including Blackmans Bay and Kingston Beach, one of the finest in Hobart. While the town is almost commercially sustainable on its own, most of the population work in the city but enjoy living in a quieter environment only a short drive away. Kingston has close ties with the Dutch community, where after 1950 many post-war immigrants moved to an area they called ‘Little Groningen’ (today Firthside); Kingborough is sister city of Grootegast, Holland.
Kingston is home to six schools, a large sporting complex and a golf course, and the headquarters of the Australian Antarctic Division.
See also
External links
- Kingborough Municipal Council (http://www.kingborough.tas.gov.au)
- Australian Antarctic Division (http://www.antdiv.gov.au)