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York Town MonumentPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the site of the first permanent settlement in Northern Tasmania. It was unveiled in 1954 during the 150th anniversary of the British settlement of Tasmania.
York Town is the site of the first attempt to establish a British presence in northern Tasmania. For a brief period between 1804 & 1808 Colonel William Paterson and his party of settlers, soldiers and convicts created a small, bustling village and established farms and a government garden at York Town. They faced many difficulties stock losses, poor soil, food shortages and episodes of robbery, bushranging and piracy.
York Town Monument 1954Location
| Address: | Bowens Road, York Town, 7270 |
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| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -41.151719 Long: 146.765085 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Landscape |
| Sub-Theme: | Settlement |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | 1804 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 14th November, 1954 |
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York Town
Site of the first permanent settlement in Northern Tasmania.
"I have investigated most part of the country in this neighbourhood, and, being still of opinion that the head of the western arm is the most eligible situation for permanent residence I have taken liberty of naming it York Town"
Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson
December 27, 1804.
"He laid out a town (now abandoned) named Yorkton : It was soon discovered that the only recommendation this place possessed was plenty of good water, and very fine timber. It was impossible for shipping to come within six miles of it, and loaded boats only at high water, besides, after heavy rains, the place was a complete swamp.
The inconveniences attending this place were so many that the settlement was a third time removed (1806) to the head of the port, where the No. and So. Esks fall into it, which is now the only place settled. The town is named Launceston."
Lieutenant John Oxley. 1810
This monument was unveiled by His Excellency the Rt. Hon. Sir Ronald Cross, Bart, K.C.M.G. K.C.V.O. Governor of Tasmania, on November 14, 1954.
