Tunbridge, Tasmania

Tunbridge is a small Southern Midlands village beside the Blackman River. Once a coaching stop on the main road between Hobart and Launceston, it became much quieter after the Midland Highway bypass opened in 1972.

A road town left beside the highway

The district was known as Salt Pan Plains before the town developed as Tunbridge Wells. Inns, stables, stores and houses served travellers and local farms. The village was gazetted as Tunbridge in 1866.

Many prominent buildings are private homes or closed commercial premises. View them from public roads, keep entrances clear and do not assume an old guide’s invitation to enter still applies.

Blackman River bridge

Work on the surviving bridge began in 1848. Local stone forms the piers and abutments beneath a timber deck. It carried north-south road traffic until the bypass and has since been restored.

The bridge is often described as Australia’s oldest timber-decked bridge. Its greater value is as evidence of changing road engineering and the labour that built the colonial transport corridor.

Make Tunbridge a considered stop

There are few visitor services. Oatlands is the practical base for toilets, food and fuller interpretation. The Heritage Highway and Southern Midlands “Shadows of the Past” silhouettes connect Tunbridge with other road, farming and convict histories.

Pull completely off the road where parking is permitted and take extra care near the bridge. Water levels, farm traffic and maintenance can affect access around the river.