Located 63 kilometres from Launceston, Scottsdale is surrounded by some of the State's richest farmland and most extensive forests. Early names for the town included Heazleton and Heazlewood, and its first official name was Ellesmere. In 1863, the present name was adopted, derived from the Government Surveyor James Scott, who explored the north east area of Tasmania in 1852.

One of the first landowners in the area was a miller from Launceston named Thomas Cox, who had an eighty one hectare plot of land on a site only a kilometre from the present day town. The area became unofficially known as "Cox's Paradise". In 1835, Peter Brewer established a property known as "Bowood".

Although settlers had been moving to the area since Scott's expedition in 1852, pioneers had to travel 40 miles to George Town to collect mail, and food was often in short supply due to the demands and length of time it took to clear the heavily forested land for agricultural purposes.

The fertile soils when prepared yielded potatoes and wheat which helped to supplement diets. Native animals such as kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons offered a refreshing alternative to salt meat. Schools and health care were unheard of in these early days, with Launceston being the nearest medical help centre.

Soon a road was constructed from Tucker's Corners (site of present day Lord's Hotel) to Bridport. The first general store was established in Jetsonville by Thomas Massey. The first post office was at Thomas Cox's homestead.

The new road link allowed palings to be shipped from Bridport to Launceston, and the extra money that this generated led to Thomas D Heazlewood opening a store in Ellesmere. By now, settlers were beginning to explore other areas and founded settlements at nearby Branxholm and Ringarooma. 1862 saw Thomas Hogarth drive the first cattle to Branxholm.

The first sawmiller to take advantage of the excellent supplies of timber in the area was Alexander Gill, who settled in Scottsdale in 1862, and established a sawmill in 1874. The first mills were waterdriven, but the advent of steam power soon made the mills more productive. The first Sunday School was started in the Union Chapel in 1866. Scottsdale Road Trust was established in 1880 to maintain the roads of the area, and the Scottsdale Rifle Club was the first in the State, founded in 1886 by Dr Richardson and J.J. Westbrook.

During the 1890s, Scottsdale and the area were surrounded by a plethora of orchards, with a particularly large 600 tree orchard owned by R.H. Eccleston at Jetsonville. At the turn of the century, Scottsdale had three hotels, a library in the Mechanics Institute, a regular coach service linking it with Ringarooma, Derby, Moorina, and Branxholm, a post and telegraph service, and a school with an attendance of 180 pupils. The district population numbered 3,000 people with 560 of them living in Scottsdale itself.

The 1907, council elections led to an eleven man local council being elected with, Edward Button the first elected chairman. In 1911, Mr A.E. Osborne took over the local newspaper - the North Eastern Advertiser - which was founded in 1909 by R McColl. In his early days as owner he would cycle to St Helens to get the news, and he ran the paper until 1945. The North Eastern Soldiers Memorial Hospital was constructed in 1921, along with several night schools and a school farm and pine plantation - all of which heralded the arrival of Scottsdale as an important town in the north east.

Today Scottsdale is the centre of a farming district; mainly dairying and vegetable crops, and hops are produced in the area, and the pine forest industry is centred nearby.


Spectacular lookouts are to be found at many points along the road from Launceston to Scottsdale, with particularly fantastic views to be had from the Sidling Lookout, 16 kilometres west of Scottsdale. You will find the stunning beauty of Cuckoo Falls south east of Scottsdale, near Toganah.

Buildings of interest include the General Jones processing factory and the nearby headquarters of the Army Food Research Laboratories. View the Settlers Colonial Bottle display in the town.

Visitors can enjoy a game of golf on the local 9 hole course, bowls, tennis or a dip in the town's heated swimming pool. Restaurants and a wide range of shops are all facilities on offer to visitors to Scottsdale.

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