Hagley, Tasmania

Prior to the European settlement of what was then Van Diemen's Land, the Hagley area was a camping ground for the Port Dalrymple Aboriginal tribe, the area's native people; Port Dalrymple was an early name for George Town. It is uncertain if this tribe was a separate group from the aborigines near Port Sorell and the Mersey River. The Port Dalrymple tribe ventured as far as Westbury, but mainly lived and hunted nearer the Tamar River, William Thomas Lyttleton, William Bryan and Sir Richard Dry were all important figures in the early days of the town. These three owned most of the land of what is now the town and district of Hagley during the 1820s. Sir Richard Dry's father came to Tasmania as an "Irish Exile" with Lt Governor Colonel William Patterson, founder of Launceston. He spent 13 years as Government Storekeeper at Port Dalrymple. As recognition of his work, on retirement in 1819 he was granted of land. Governor Lachlan Macquarie granted him the land that marked the foundation of settlement at Hagley. When the elder Dry died, Sir Richard inherited this and other lands in Tasmania totaling over . Quamby Estate, a property owned by Sir Richard until his death, is east of the town. William Bryan, builder of the first flour mill at Carrick, was granted at Hagley in March 1825. Bryan also had holdings in Carrick and Whitemore totaling . Lyttleton died in England in 1839. In disposing his estate, the estate's trustee put all of the lands up for sale. Lyttleton is believed to have bequeathed the village area to the Hagley residents. The block of land containing the Lyttleton homestead was sold in 1843 to a Dr James Richardson, and the remainder of the land was sold to others in 1848. It was built at the behest of Sir Richard Dry and Archdeacon R. R. Davies, the latter trustee of the Lyttleton estate, on part of the former estate. The land was a gift to the Church of England by Davies in his capacity as a trustee. By 1849, the town's buildings were the Hagley Church of England, an inn—built and run by the East Family opposite the church—and three paling-clad cottages occupied by separate families. and in 1855 a school opened in the Church of England; paid for with funds raised by local residents. That year a postal service began in Hagley. David Parry was appointed postmaster on 1 July 1855, probably operating an unofficial post office from the Hagley Inn. A post office officially opened on 10 June 1865, in a building that was demolished in 1970. This building also had a store called the "six day store" run by the postmaster and his wife. In 1857 also the town's first community organisation was formed, the Hagley Ploughing Association, and regular ploughing matches began. A second church was built, a Methodist Chapel on the Westbury road, in 1859. and built a brick school and school house. The Glenore school was finished in 1862, and it was accompanied by a farm whose rent was to pay for a teacher and building upkeep. A new church, for the Church of England, was built just outside Hagley. St Mary's Church of Hagley and Quamby was completed and opened in 1862. The first church continued in use as a school until 1865. In the prior year construction had begun on a public school, a two-room building with an adjacent 8-room teacher's residence; the school opened in 1865. By that time it had a number of stores, a blacksmith, a boot maker, a saddler, a wheelwright, two churches, two schools, two hotels, a resident seamstress and a midwife. By the late 1870s the town had gained, in addition to houses, a police station, gaol, engineering works, one steam mill run by the Noake Family In 1941 the Hagley Flax Mill began operating to process locally grown flax. Hagley was gazetted as a locality in 1968. ==Geography and demographics==

Hagley sits on mostly flat land near the Meander River at an elevation of above sea level. The land formation is largely alluvial with Lateritic podzolic soils, classified as dermosol under the Australian Soil Classification system. In the first Australian census in 1911 there were 611 people resident in the town and surrounding area. By 1931 this had reduced to 246, of which 186 lived in the town. In the 2011 census 330 people were recorded living in 148 dwellings in the Hagley statistical area. The census did not record the town's population but the Meander Valley Council notes it as c.150 in 2014. Hagley's people are predominantly Australian born with 89.1% reporting as such in the 2011 census. This contrasts with 83.6% for Tasmania and 69.8% for the whole of Australia. The town is in the Meander Valley Council local government area, the state legislative council Electoral division of Western Tiers, and the Division of Lyons for both the state and federal houses of representatives. ==Road infrastructure==

The Bass Highway (National Route 1) enters from the east and runs through to the west, where it exits. Route B54 (Meander Valley Road) also passes through from east to west, crossing over the Bass Highway near the western boundary. Route C507 (Hagley Station Lane) starts at an intersection with B54 and runs south, crossing over the Bass Highway, until it exits. Route C732 (Westwood Road) starts at an intersection with B54 and runs north-east until it exits. Route C735 (Selbourne Road) starts at an intersection with B54 and runs north until it exits. Climate ==Sports==

The sport of coursing began in Tasmania at Hagley, an event was held 6–7 June 1878 at Quamby. For this first event 500 people, including the Governor of Tasmania, came from Launceston. Tasmanian Government Railways ran an excursion train service from Launceston for the event. A coursing competition called the "Waterloo Cup" has a long history in the town. Hagley's recreation ground opened on the main road in 1902; until then local paddocks were used. An Australian rules football club was formed in Hagley c.1895. Matches were played on a private paddock until 1902 when they moved to the recreation ground. The club's most successful period was, as part of the Esk Association, when they won five successive premierships from 1949 to 1953. The club closed in 1998, as part of a general decline of country football in Tasmania. During the club's 102 years, the most widely known player was former St Kilda player Matthew Young. Hagley's cricket team was formed in the 1890s and was playing by 1896. The ground remains open for cricket though Hagley no longer fields a team. ==Water supply==

In 1898 the Westbury and Hagley Water Act was passed, providing for construction of a reticulated water scheme using water from the Meander River and other streams. By 1923 residents of Hagley were asking for an upgrade of the system, as it was seen as inadequate by then. The Westbury Council took out loans in 1952 to extend the system, and work on this extension continued into 1954, still connected to Westbury although with larger diameter pipes. For over a century the water was supplied untreated. In the 1980s a dam at Westbury allowed selective pumping from the river and some improvement in water quality. Work began in 2012 on a $5.5 million water treatment work at Westbury to supply Westbury, Hagley and Exton. This water treatment plant was opened by Ben Lomond Water in June 2013, supplying filtered and treated water to Hagley. ==Religion and churches==

Presbyterian There was a Presbyterian visiting preacher in Hagley, from Deloraine, Tasmania, from 1854. Services were held at this time in the Methodist Chapel. In the late 1870s, the old Church of England was purchased, along with the associated land, by the Presbyterian church for 265 pounds. The building was demolished in 1878 and construction of a new church was begun almost on the same site. During demolition and construction, Presbyterian services were again held at the Methodist chapel. The church used bricks from a demolished brewery, possibly in Longford, and it was completed at a cost of approximately 950 pounds. The Presbyterian church building is still in the town, opposite the original Hagley hotel, but is now privately owned and no longer used for worship. Local Methodists began raising funds for a church in the late 1850s. Land was donated by a George Scott and, at a cost of 370 pounds, a wooden chapel and two-roomed caretaker's cottage were built. This Methodist chapel opened for services on 27 March 1859. Church of England (Anglican) Hagley's first building was a brick church, on "Westbury Road" for Church of England services. Dry offered to pay the Minister's stipend and provide 1000 pounds towards church buildings. Consequent to this offer, the separate Parish of Hagley and Quamby was created. This first church was used until completion of the later St Mary's Church. It was later demolished to make way for a Presbyterian Church. The Church of England's parish of Hagley had its beginnings in 1856 when Dry endowed it with three farms. Between them these farms brought in 400 pounds rental income per year. While in England, on a trip taken for his health, Dry commissioned architect Richard Cromwell Carpenter to draw plans for a new church. The plans were modified by Carpenter's agent in Hobart, Henry Hunter. On returning to Tasmania, Dry donated of land for the church. Hunter was also responsible for designing churches at Westbury, Deloraine, Colebrook, Tasmania and the Church of the Apostles in Launceston. After his death in 1869 a memorial at the church was proposed. The memorial chosen was a chancel, which the original church lacked. Funds were raised by a Government backed appeal, including a donation from Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. The chancel was started in 1871, using bluestone from the same quarry as the church, and was finished in August of the same year. To this point the church was seen as incomplete and had not been consecrated. The tower is dedicated to Lady Dry and the spire and vestry to Miss Patterson. The spire was designed by H S East, who also restored St Andrew's church at Westbury. St Mary's church houses recreations of two significant artworks, both donated in 1857 by Lady Clara Dry. The first is a recreation of Guido Reni's 1610 altarpiece from the Quirinal Palace, Rome. The second a 19th-century copy of Raphael's Transfiguration. Both were purchased in Italy during the Dry's honeymoon, and were restored in 2004. It also contains a copy of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's Crucifixion in the East window—a gift from Lady Dry— and a copy of Raphael's Annunciation. The Nave houses an organ built in 1861 by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd of London. The organ is essentially original, with only the addition of electric blowing, and includes one manual and seven speaking stops. ==Education==

Early education in Hagley was by private tutors. In 1855 a school opened in the Church of England building, taking in both borders and day scholars. Schooling had to sometimes be interrupted as the building was used during school hours for marriages, and religious services. William Bryan and his wife donated land and built a school at nearby Glenore in 1862. 56 students were attending. The building had been condemned by 1926 and a new brick school building was built a short distance away. Following a direction by Mrs Bryan in her bequest, the school was used at times for religious services, by Methodists and Anglicans. Due to low attendance the school was closed in 1941 and the few remaining pupils continued schooling at Whitemore. The school has a commercial farm attached. The farm is varied with cattle, sheep and crops. The school is the oldest that is specifically dedicated to agricultural education in Australia. Hagley and Sheffield were the first two area schools in Tasmania. A residential side to the school was planned in 1939. Buildings would be added and agricultural work expanded with a full sized farm. The start of World War II caused the building plans to be cancelled though they were soon reinstated, and in 1941 building work began. The reversal was spurred by the desire to accommodate victims of The Blitz, though this particular use never eventuated. The school became residential, for boys, and its farm was extended to . The first borders were the sons of servicemen. With the extension of the land—the government had purchased around the school—the school widened its activities and became known as the Hagley Farm School. Students, as part of their education, built many of the farm's buildings during the war. J Maslin had been principle since 1931. In 1944 while explaining the schools philosophy he stated We give an acre for a cow or sheep willingly, while we shut our children and our chickens up in too limited spaces, and they suffer in consequence. Schools of the future must be provided with estates where the children will be surrounded with many natural and beautiful things. Part of the practical work was growing food for the school. In 1944 the daily two-course dinner, for staff and over 90 students, was mostly the school's farm's produce. After the war, from c.1948–55, the school received child migrants from Belgium, Greece and the United Kingdom. The school was known as Hagley State School until 1936, Hagley Farm School until 1976 and Hagley Farm Primary School since. ==Transport==

A rail line near Hagley was first surveyed in 1856, as part of a route from Launceston to Deloraine. A decade later a Railway Act was passed, strongly supported by then Premier of Tasmania Sir Richard Dry. A private company, the Launceston and Western Railway Company, was formed to build the route and the first sod turned in January 1868 by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. The rail line passed south of the town and a station was built distant. The line opened, and the first train passed near Hagley, on 10 February 1871. The rail line carried passengers, and several daily mail deliveries. Launceston and Western Railway soon ran into financial problems, the line closed 29 June 1872 and the company itself went bankrupt on 25 July. The passenger rail service had stopped before 1978, a time when all Tasmanian passenger rail services ceased. The road through Hagley, now called the Meander Valley Highway, was originally the main road west from Launceston. Beginning in the 1990s work began on a replacement highway that would bypass all the towns between Prospect and Deloraine, including Hagley. As the road was part of the National Highway this work was funded by the federal government. The federal transport department announced, in 1999, that they were to spend $36 million bypassing Hagley and Westbury with the new Bass Highway. A this time 7600 vehicles per day were driving through Hagley, the bypass was expected to more than halve this. The new highway passed by the historic Hagley Mill site and so, as part of the construction, the federal government funded pre- and post-construction preservation work on the Mill site. Local residents were concerned about the impact on Hagley of the reduction in through traffic and the Westbury-Hagley Development Committee was investigating. The town's centre was finally bypassed when the Bass Highway's Westbury-Hagley bypass was opened on 13 December 2001. As of 2014 the only public transport in Hagley is school buses, operated by the private Westbus and Redline Coaches companies. ==Historic buildings==

Hagley retains 19th century buildings, some are listed on the now closed Register of the National Estate, some also on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. Quamby was opened for tourism, by Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett on 4 October 2009. It is operated as the Quamby Golf and Country Club, and has a par 38 9-hole golf course that dates from the early 1990s. ==Notes==