Tas That Was – Fingal

The photograph above, taken in 1899, shows Fingal, a little township in north-east Tasmania.

In 1827, William Talbot, an Irishman, became the area’s first landowner – just three years after surveyors Roderic O’Connor and John Helder mapped the region. On his property, Talbot built a two-story Georgian house called ‘Malahide’, named after Malahide Castle in Ireland. Talbot’s estate is now a golf course.

The town of Fingal and a nearby convict station were also established around 1827. It experienced a lot of growth after 1852, when gold was discovered nearby and prospectors flooded the region in search of fortune. The discovery of coal in the area in 1863, followed by the completion of a railway line from St. Marys to Fingal, led to even more development for the town.

Today, Fingal has a population of around 430. The local coal mine remains in operation, providing jobs for many of the locals. Farming and forestry are also key economic pillars for the community.

Callum J. Jones studied English, History, and Journalism at the University of Tasmania and lived in Western Sydney from 2022 to 2024 while working as a journalist for Professional Planner, a leading online publication for financial planners. He has written for Tasmanian Times since 2018 and has also been published in a range of other outlets, including Quadrant and the BAD Western Sydney anthologies.

Tas That Was is a column that includes:

• anecdotes of life in Tasmania in the past;
• historical photographs of locations in Tasmania; and/or
• documentaries about locations in Tasmania.

If you have an anecdote or photograph you’d like to share with us, please send it to submit@tasmaniantimes.com.