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Perth is a town in the Australian state of
Rex v. McKay and Lamb
' (Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land), originally published ''Hobart Town Courier'', 5 May 1837, republished by the Division of Law, Macquarie University and the School of History and Classics, University of Tasmania in ''Decisions of the Nineteenth Century Tasmanian Superior Courts''. Accessed 19 December 2007. There was great outcry, but the body was not removed until an acquaintance of Wilson passed the spot and, horrified by the spectacle of McKay's rotting corpse, pleaded with the authorities to remove it. The location is still marked by a sign reading, "Gibbet Hill" on the right when heading to Launceston. This was the last case of gibbeting in a British colony.
Map showing Perth's location and that of Gibbet Hill
(maps.google.com.au) {{authority control Localities of Northern Midlands Council Northern Tasmania 1821 establishments in Australia
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. It lies south of Launceston, on the Midland Highway. The town had a population of 2,965 at the 2016 census, and is part of the Northern Midlands Council
Northern Midlands Council is a local government body in Tasmania, extending south of Launceston into the northern region of the Tasmanian central midlands. Northern Midlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a populatio ...
.
Like nearby Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
, Perth is a historic town with many buildings dating back to the early 19th century. It is the first major town out of Launceston on the route to Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
, and also serves as a major junction for people bypassing Launceston on the route from Hobart to the northwest of the state.
History
Perth was settled in 1821 by GovernorLachlan Macquarie
Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...
. He was staying nearby with the pastoralist David Gibson and named it after Gibson's hometown of Perth, Scotland
Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...
. It was proclaimed as a township in 1836.
John Skinner Prout painted a view of the town in 1845, with various parts of the inland mountains showing in the painting. Edward Paxham Brandard engraved the picture in 1874.
Landmarks
Baptist church
The Perth Baptist church, opened in 1862, is notable, due to its history, size and architecture.
Gibbet Hill
In 1837, five years after the practice ceased in England, the body of John McKay wasgibbet
A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, decapitation, executioner's block, Impalement, impalement stake, gallows, hanging gallows, or related Scaffold (execution site), scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows- ...
ted near the spot where he murdered Joseph Wilson near Perth.Pedder C.J., Rex v. McKay and Lamb
' (Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land), originally published ''Hobart Town Courier'', 5 May 1837, republished by the Division of Law, Macquarie University and the School of History and Classics, University of Tasmania in ''Decisions of the Nineteenth Century Tasmanian Superior Courts''. Accessed 19 December 2007. There was great outcry, but the body was not removed until an acquaintance of Wilson passed the spot and, horrified by the spectacle of McKay's rotting corpse, pleaded with the authorities to remove it. The location is still marked by a sign reading, "Gibbet Hill" on the right when heading to Launceston. This was the last case of gibbeting in a British colony.
References
External links
Map showing Perth's location and that of Gibbet Hill
(maps.google.com.au) {{authority control Localities of Northern Midlands Council Northern Tasmania 1821 establishments in Australia