Pontville

Heritage-rich Pontville, one of Tasmania's oldest settlements, is a place of fine Georgian cottages.

The town sits on a hill overlooking the Jordan River on one side and a vast plain on the other that was once a palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal) travelling route between Tasmania's north and south.

Pontville was established as a garrison town in 1821 and quickly boomed for its timber, quarries and proximity to the hunting grounds of the Southern Midlands, which had been fire-stick farmed over thousands of years by the Mumirimina people.

The town is anchored by the unusual Romanesque St Mark’s Church. Just outside the town is the cellar door for Lark Distillery, Tasmania’s oldest whisky distillery, inside a grand estate built in 1819.

Where

Pontville is a 30min drive (28km) north of Hobart.

Insider tip

• The Jordan River Trail follows the river for 4.5km as it wriggles south into the neighbouring town of Brighton.