Image: Copies of historical records found by Southport resident Rodney Strong show the extent of the area and land’s growth.
“Southport was a thriving hub for Tasmania - almost the biggest town in the state - and I want people to know that,” said Southport resident Rodney Strong.
A long-time resident and descendant of family from the Southport area, Mr Strong has seen the ebbs and flows of time on the area.
From its convict past, Southport became a thriving town with mills, whaling and even mining ventures, a set of international wharves along its border helping to set the town as key for the settlement of Tasmania.
Mr Strong recounts from tales passed down by his mother and grandmother on what the town used to be and do, his own research and fact-finding helping to show the story of an industrious town now returned to its quieter seaside roots.
Whalers, sealers and convict bolters were the first permanent European inhabitants of Southport, French explorer Bruni D’Entrecasteaux landing in 1792 with a crew of 200 convicts and fellow explorers.