Campbell Town can be precisely located through one structure in particular: the Red Bridge is Australia’s oldest surviving brick arch bridge. It was completed in 1838 and built from more than 1.5 million bricks handmade by convicts. Its year of construction, bridge type and method of manufacture draw attention to both construction and convict labour. If you are considering the town as a destination for a stay, this offers a concrete introduction to its history.

History on the Heritage Highway

Campbell Town lies on the Heritage Highway between Launceston and Hobart and is a popular rest stop on this route. When looking for a holiday rental, it helps to consider whether you are choosing Campbell Town as a stop between the two cities or for its history and local art as a focus in their own right.

Buildings and local history

There are other historical points of interest beyond the Red Bridge. The Church is a heritage-listed sandstone building dating from 1857. Coach parties and other groups are welcomed there by prior arrangement. The Grange was designed in the late 1840s by convict architect James Blackburn. Foxhunters Return is a 19th-century inn, built in 1834. Together, these points of interest range from materials and heritage protection to a named architect and an inn with a precise date.

Campbell Town Museum is housed in the town hall. It presents the local history of the Midlands, including photographs, uniforms, musical instruments and band music from the Campbell Town Brass Band, founded in 1844. The focus here is on collection items and a specific musical chapter in the town’s history—a different perspective from the architectural history that can be read in the bridge and historic buildings.

Convict history, art and remembrance

The Convict Brick Trail runs along Campbell Town’s main street. Its bricks are set into the footpath, and the trail provides information about individual convicts. This complements the Red Bridge in a different way: there, the focus is on the structure and handmade bricks; here, on individual people. Anyone interested in convict history can bring these two different perspectives together.

Art and memorial sites also add their own points of interest. The Campbell Town Chainsaw Sculptures depict various features of Campbell Town. The Harold Gatty Memorial honours Harold Gatty for his record-breaking 1931 flight with Wiley Post. The Transit of Venus Sundial commemorates the observation of the transit of Venus from Campbell Town on 8 June 2004. The thematic range thus extends from depictions of the town to aviation and astronomical observation.

Campbell Town also lies on the banks of the Elizabeth River. Another historical setting can be found at The Book Cellar: located in convict cellars beneath an inn dating from the 1830s, it combines a traditional bookshop with a coffee bar. Visitors can browse a selection of new and second-hand books in the historic cellar rooms. The bookshop, coffee and cellar bring a present-day use together with a historic place.

Discover more destinations: Adventure Bay, Bothwell, Moorina, Randalls Bay, Sisters Beach, Wattle Hill, Ross, Ouse.

For the broader travel overview: Tasmania.