House Names

Austin (White)

James Austin arrived in Tasmania in 1802. He lived in a small stone cottage which he called Baltonsborough Place. In 1819 he and his cousin John Earl were licensees of the Barley Mow and the Baltonsborough Inn at Austin's Ferry, (which was named by him). In that year Austin had large crops of wheat and crops, 30 cattle, a horse and 700 sheep. The roads Barley Mow and Baltonsborough Place still stand today. In 1831 he owned a total of 2,950 acres of land, two two-storey stone houses and another nearly complete house, together with other buildings with a total value of 2,500 pounds. James had no family and died at home in December 1831, aged 55 years. His cottage still stands in Ferry Road in the centre of Austin's Ferry.

Dowsing (Green)

James Dowsing was granted 30 acres of land at Argyle in 1820 and was reported as one of the several farmers in the Glenorchy area who, like Thomas O'Brien, "continued to farm their properties, living for the most part hard working, uneventful lives". Because their holdings were small, Dowsing and his neighbours never became wealthy or achieved fame. Quietly farming his land, he remained a bachelor until meeting a local widow, Johanna Scully. They married in St David's Church, Hobart, in November 1827. James and Johanna had one daughter. James passed away in 1839 and was buried at St David's. Johanna lived until the age of 96 (unusual in those times) passing away in 1867. The Glenorchy landmark, Dowsing's Point (near the Bowen Bridge and the site of the Technopark) is part of the land that James farmed and is named after him.

Faulkner (Blue)

John Faulkner and his family reached Risdon Cove in Van Diemen’s Land in February, 1804. The Faulkner's disembarked at Sullivan's Cove (now Hobart) on 16th February and built their own hut. On 18th December 1806, John received a grant of 50 acres at Claremont which, at that time, was the most distant grant from Hobart Town. John prospered and by 1809 he had two acres under wheat, 150 bushels of wheat in hand, 66 sheep and 72 goats. After his wife's death in 1825, John married a widow, Mrs Archer, who died in 1841. The Faulkner family cottage was built near the entrance to Claremont High School in Cadbury Road.

O’Brien (Orange)

Thomas O’Brien came to Van Diemen’s Land in 1808. He received 60 acres of land on the northern side on Humphrey’s Rivulet, the eastern boundary of which would have touched the existing Main Road at the bridge which bears his name. O’Brien proved to be a hard and successful worker and within six months of settling he had one acre in barley and three acres under wheat, one in peas and beans and one in potatoes. He helped build the first bridge, the name O’Brien’s Bridge replacing the name Humphrey’s Rivulet. The area around the O’Brien farm was called either O’Brien’s Bridge or Kensington but later became known as the town of Glenorchy.