The Gatenby family arrived in Van Diemen’s Land as free settlers in 1823 and purchased land near what was at the time called Penny Royal Creek.* They built a substantial flour mill and a farmhouse on the property, and created a successful agricultural enterprise. The flour mill served the surrounding community for around 50 years before falling into disrepair, and the settlement was eventually abandoned.

In 1972, Launceston developer Roger Smith discovered a pile of old bricks at Barton in the Tasmanian Midlands. Research he did later suggested that they had come from the buildings on the Gatenby settlement. Smith acquired the bricks from the owner of the land he found them on and transported them to Launceston with the intention of creating a themed tourist attraction that featured a historic-style mill.

A site near the mouth of the Cataract Gorge was selected for the project, and the original Penny Royal was built there. It opened in December 1979 and featured boat rides, model boat experiences, cannon-firing demonstrations, and interpretive displays about Tasmania’s convict history and the role of gunpowder in the colonial period.

Penny Royal reached the height of its popularity during the 1980-81 tourism season, with thousands of visitors reportedly passing through the attraction each day. The Australian Jewish News described it as a “brilliant concept” and asserted that “perhaps [it is] more impressive than any of the simulations that constitute America’s famed Disneylands”.

In the 1990s, however, the original Penny Royal began to decline due to changing visitor expectations and inconsistent management. It eventually closed in the early 2000s and sat unused for several years.

Then, in 2014, the JAC Group, led by winemaker and developer Josef Chromy, acquired Penny Royal and undertook a major redevelopment that reportedly cost $15-20 million. The buildings were repurposed as part of a new precinct that featured adventure attractions, dining venues, and immersive historical experiences.

The redeveloped Penny Royal officially reopened to the public on Saturday, 19 March 2016, and continues to operate as one of Launceston’s most distinctive tourism attractions today.

Tas That Was – Penny Royal, Launceston 2

Penny Royal in 1980 (source: National Archives of Australia).

* Penny Royal Creek later became the Isis River.

References & bibliography

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 [email protected].

Callum J. Jones is passionate about telling stories. He 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. Callum 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.

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