Eaglehawk Neck, officially Teralina / Eaglehawk Neck, is a narrow isthmus that connects the Tasman Peninsula with the Forestier Peninsula, and hence to mainland Tasmania, Australia. The locality of Eaglehawk Neck is in the local government area of

Tasman Tasman most often refers to Abel Tasman (1603–1659), Dutch explorer. Tasman may also refer to: Animals and plants * Tasman booby * Tasman flax-lily * Tasman parakeet (disambiguation) * Tasman starling * Tasman whale People * Tasman (name), ...

in the South-east region of Tasmania. The locality is about north-east of the town of Nubeena. At the , the settlement of Eaglehawk Neck had a population of 385.

Location and features

Locally known as "the Neck", the isthmus itself is around long and under wide at its narrowest point. The area features rugged terrain and several unusual geological formations. These include the Tessellated Pavement, an area of flat rock that looks to be manmade but is in fact formed by erosion. A short walk further via Lufra Cove leads to Clyde Island, accessible for crossings at low tide, which sits at the northern entry to Pirates Bay. The island hosts two grave sites, and a rumbling blow hole cleaves the island. Eaglehawk Neck is a well-known local holiday destination. On the eastern side, a beach that stretches around Pirates' Bay is a popular

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

area. In summer the population rises as people return to their holiday homes.

European history

Eaglehawk Neck was gazetted as a locality in 1967. It was dual named as of March 2021 to represent its original name Teralina.

The Dog Line

As Eaglehawk Neck forms a natural thin gateway between the peninsulas, it was used by the British as a place to stop convicts attempting to escape from Port Arthur and other penal institutions on the Tasman Peninsula. A system was developed where a line of dogs were chained to posts across the "Neck" to warn of any convicts attempting to escape. The Dog Line was first implemented in 1831 and was used until the closure of Port Arthur in the 1870s. Thomas J. Lempriere, a commissary officer at Port Arthur, declared the Eaglehawk Neck as "impassable". Despite this, many attempts were made by convicts to escape from the Tasman Peninsula via Eaglehawk Neck, including

Martin Cash Martin Cash (baptised 10 October 1808 – 26 August 1877) was a notorious Irish-Australian convict bushranger, known for escaping twice from Port Arthur, Van Diemen's Land. His 1870 autobiography, ''The Adventures of Martin Cash'', ghostwritten ...

and

William Bannon William Bannon ( – 27 February 1904) was an Irishman who served in the British 65th Regiment of Foot in the New Zealand Wars in the 1840s. In 1849 he was found guilty of desertion and theft and was sentenced to transportation for seven years t ...

. The area was heavily patrolled by soldiers, and the guards' quarters still remains as a museum. The isthmus now provides road access via the Arthur Highway to Port Arthur, part of the

Australian Convict Sites Australian Convict Sites is a World Heritage property consisting of 11 remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips at Sydney, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, ...

, a World Heritage Site that comprises eleven remnant penal sites originally built within the British Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries on fertile Australian coastal strips. Collectively, these sites, including Port Arthur, now represent, "...the best surviving examples of large-scale

penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...

and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts".

Post office

The first Eagle Hawk Neck post office was open from 1875 until 1877. It reopened on 11 January 1895 and closed in 1974.

Geography

The shores of Norfolk Bay and Eaglehawk Neck form the western boundary, while the Tasman Sea forms the eastern.

Road infrastructure

The A9 route ( Arthur Highway) enters from the north and runs through to the south-west, where it exits. Route C338 (Blowhole Road / Tasmans Arch Road) starts at an intersection with A9 in the centre and runs south-east until it ends at Tasman Arch.

References

External links

Eaglehawk Neck
at walkabout.com.au
Eaglehawk Neck
{{authority control Towns in Tasmania Forestier Peninsula Localities of Tasman Council Isthmuses of Oceania