Moorina Cemetery provides a tangible starting point for exploring the area’s Chinese heritage. It is a stop on the Trail of the Tin Dragon; nearby, a fossicking area on the Weld River and the construction history of a power station offer further topics to explore.

Chinese Heritage

The Chinese memorial and Chinese graves at Moorina are of state significance as evidence of Chinese settlement in north-east Tasmania. In Tasmania, Moorina Cemetery is the only cemetery associated with the Chinese people listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. It is also considered the most prominent surviving cultural trace in the landscape of what was once a thriving settlement. These statements refer to different measures: the settlement history points to north-east Tasmania, while the listing identifies the cemetery’s special status within Tasmania.

The site also includes one of only two Chinese burial furnaces known in Tasmania. Its rarity refers to Tasmania as a whole, while the heritage listing concerns the cemetery as a place. This makes it easy to distinguish a nationally rare object from the listing of a particular cemetery.

The cemetery is also a stop on the Trail of the Tin Dragon, a tourist route. An information board stands at the entrance, and the turn-off to the cemetery is signposted. These are two separate points of reference: the signs mark the turn-off, while the board is located directly at the cemetery entrance. If you plan to focus on the cultural heritage, this distinction helps separate the directions you’ll see along the way from the information at the site itself.

Weld River: Access and Minerals

A fossicking area on the Weld River can be reached from Frome Road. Frome Road branches off the Tasman Highway opposite Moorina Golf Course; from there, the route continues on foot along the banks of the Weld River. For navigation, these are two consecutive stages: turning off the main road, then following the walking route beside the water. Corundum (“sapphire”, Al₂O₃) is moderately common in the fossicking area. The mineral information gives the area a clear geological connection, while the directions make access more specific.

Tin Mining History

A power station near Moorina on the Frome River, a tributary of the Ringarooma River, was originally built in 1907 to supply electricity to tin mining operations. This offers a different historical perspective from the cemetery: here, the focus is on the mining industry’s power supply at the time, while the cemetery relates to Chinese settlement and heritage.

Golf Club and Practical Planning

Moorina Golf Club is on the Tasman Highway. As of December 2023, it was listed as wheelchair accessible; check current conditions before your visit.

The points of interest are clearly distinct: the cemetery and memorial relate to Chinese settlement, the power station to the former electricity supply for tin mining, and the fossicking area combines a particular mineral with a walking route for access. By contrast, the golf club’s accessibility information is time-specific.

Discover more destinations: Alonnah, Hobart, Fentonbury, Gardners Bay, Quamby Brook, Sorell, Waratah, Weldborough.

For the broader travel overview: Tasmania.