Carrick, Tasmania

Carrick is a small historic village 17km west of Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, on the banks of the Liffey River. The Meander Valley Highway passes through the town's centre; this road was formerly the main road from Launceston to Deloraine and Devonport. Carrick has a well-preserved 19th-century heritage; fifteen of its colonial buildings are listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register including Carrick House (1840), St Andrew's Church (1848), the Old Watch house (1837), Monds Roller Mill (1846) and the Carrick Hotel (1833).The first land grant at Carrick was in 1818 and a decade later William Bryan was building a wooden mill on the river's bank. The town was formed in consequence of this mill's construction and town plots sold in 1838. Carrick Post Office opened on 5 November 1841. Carrick never grew large—the population varied from around 200 to 439—and today it is largely a residential settlement for those who work in Launceston and the rural areas surrounding the town. During much of its history growth has been limited by lack of organised water supply and sewerage, though reticulated services for both are now connected. Volunteer labour enabled piped water supply, from the Liffey, from 1961 and a sewerage plant was built in the mid-1970s on the towns outskirts. The local councils' strategic plan aims for the town to stay small with only infill development.The 1846 stone building known as "Monds Roller Mill" is the town's most prominent feature. The operation of this mill—and the preceding wooden mill—was the foundation of the town's prosperity during the 19th century. The mill operated until 1924, for most of this time by Thomas Monds and his family company, and was the last water powered flour mill in Tasmania. Since a 1984 renovation it has intermittently been a restaurant, wedding venue and meeting venue. Near the mill is Archer's Folly, an imposing and now ruined, but never completed, grand colonial house. The folly was started in 1847, sold incomplete in 1867 and burned to a roofless shell in 1978. Significant people associated with Carrick include: Thomas Reibey, once Premier of Tasmania; Thomas Monds who founded an extensive milling company; and Sammy Cox whose claims would make him the earliest European settler in Tasmania.