Day 112 - The Huon Valley, Tasmania, Australia

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Monday 10th March 2014. The Huon Valley, Tasmania, Australia

We picked up Ash and William at their place and headed towards Kingston to the south of Hobart. we met up with Ashley's parents and brother for a drink in a nice pub on the seaside where Ashley had previously worked. Afterwards we went to Ashley's family home where we met Angel the white donkey and the two surviving chooks. Ashley's family home was amazing. There was a "pit" in the living room which reminded us of a Turkish restaurant. It was lovely. The four of us then continued on to Huonville where William knew there was a food festival.

Huonville is a town on the Huon River, in the south-east of Tasmania. The town lies within the Huon Valley Council area. It lies 38 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway. Huonville has a population of around 1740 people so it is quite a small settlement.

The first Europeans to set eyes on the Huon River were the crew commanded by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. The river was named by him in honour of his second in command, Captain Huon de Kermadec. The name is preserved today in many features: the town, the river, the district and so on. The first European settlers were William and Thomas Walton in 1840. Huonville was not originally intended as the site of a town. Nearby Ranelagh was laid out as the town of Victoria in colonial days. Huonville grew around the bridge crossing the Huon River and the hotels at the bridge.

Today the Huon Valley is best known as one of Tasmania's primary apple growing areas. Once enormous in its extent, the significance of the industry has declined steadily since the 1950s and today cherries and fish farming are the rising commercial stars of the district. The Huon River and the nearby d'Entrecasteaux Channel are popular fishing and boating areas. The Channel is sheltered from the wrath of the Southern Ocean by the bulk of Bruny Island to the east.

Poised on the edge of the south-west wilderness, forestry has also been an important economic driver to the area since colonisation. In recent decades this industry has been controversial. A wood-based industrial park nearby was the subject of extensive community discussion but is now built and operating successfully. There have been several recent controversies over development in the region, particularly over logging at Recherche Bay and the development of a tourist resort inside the National Park at Cockle Creek.

Huonville is the seat of the municipality of the Huon Valley, the most southerly Council area in Australia and has expanded since the 1980s as the commercial centre of the Huon Valley. William and Ash had come to the Taste of Huon Festival last year and wanted us to experience it too. The Taste of the Huon is a food, wine and entertainment festival held in March each year at Ranelagh in the Huon Valley. We found a parking place down the road from the main event and walked up to the entrance and paid our fees. We had missed most of the music but managed to grab some wine and some kebabs. We walked around the stalls and listened to the last of the music before heading back to Hobart.

When we got back we headed for the harbour side where we had a glass of wine before a quick snack and return to our mutual abodes. Tomorrow we head north to meet Geoff - D's second cousin and his wife Elizabeth.

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