Westbury, Tasmania

Westbury is a town in the central north of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 30 km west of Launceston on the Bass Highway, and at the 2006 census had a population of 1,357.^[1] It is part of the Meander Valley Council area.

The site was first surveyed in 1828 by the Van Diemen's Land Company. In the 1830s Westbury developed as a garrison village. A detachment of troops commanded by Lieutenant Ball were stationed in Westbury in 1832. They were barracked around a Village Green in the centre of town. The Village Green is still in use today and is reputed to be the only traditional village green in Australia.

From early in the 19th century the Village Green has been the site for the traditional Westbury St Patrick’s Festival celebrating the town’s Celtic links. Though Westbury is often described as a very “English village”, the first European settlers were predominantly Irish; ex Irish convicts, retired soldiers and free settlers, many fleeing the Great Irish Famine in the 1840’s. Gaelic was the local language in Westbury for many generations and a strong Irish brogue is reputed to have lasted throughout the 19th Century.

Military pensioners were each granted a 5-acre block of land complete with a well and pear tree. By the mid 1800s Westbury had become the largest military community in Tasmania. The town had a population of some 3,000 and an extensive grid street plan was surveyed preparing Westbury to become the predominant town in the north of Tasmania and the gateway to the north-west, but Deloraine seemed to assume this role instead. Westbury remained a small town servicing the local agriculture industry.

Westbury current has 1 Primary School 'Westbury Primary School' which services the local community, at present students finishing primary school travel to Launceston or Deloraine to attend secondary education.

When the Bass Highway Hagley-Westbury bypass was built in 2002, the two towns suffered a small amount of job loss as a result of fewer tourists passing through the town. However the number of historic buildings in the town, such as the White House (built 1841), have kept the town going.

It is named for Westbury, Wiltshire in England.

Local tourism attactions consist of the Pearns Steam World which is a collection of over 200 historic items, Each year many touests flock to Westbury to see the giant steam attractions. In the mid 1990's Pearns Steam World built a miniature steam train which took guests around the Steam World. Westbury Maze and Tea Room was created in the early 1990's and has become one of Westbury’s biggest tourist attractions. The maze consists of three thousand bushes giving tourists hours of fun.