Place: Cressy
Details
Cressy is a small rural town in northern Tasmania some 36 kilometres from Launceston, situated in the region known as Norfolk Plains. The area was developed by the New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land Establishment, later known as the Cressy Company, which had been formed in England to run large agricultural farms and grazing enterprises. Prior to Cressy's foundation in 1855, the region was the centre of a large wheat-growing area. Today wheat has largely disappeared, with woolgrowing and crops such as poppies and vegetables now adding to the rural economy. Cressy Research and Development Station, operated by the Department of Primary Industries Water and Environment, was established in 1937, and the Cressy-Longford Irrigation Scheme, developed in the early 1970s, has provided farmers with the opportunity to diversify their agricultural pursuits. Anglers are attracted to the Cressy region, the Macquarie, Lake and Liffey Rivers and Brumby's Creek providing good trout fishing venues.
Margaret Harman