Taranna
Map Ref K8

DISTANCES: Hobart 88

Taranna is an aboriginal word meaning kangaroo (or perhaps bandicoot) and the district was evidently favoured by the natives for its hunting and fishing.

Taranna had the distinction of having the first railway in Australia. A convict operated tramway ran from this point to Long Bay near Port Arthur, a distance of 7 km and was used to transport passengers and supplies shipped in from Hobart, overland to the penal settlement.

Carriages carrying a maximum of half a tonne were propelled by four convicts who pushed up hill and rode the down gradients. Runners were changed half way.

Nearby a building which has served as the terminal of the convict railway, an inn and post office, has been restored.

On what was once an Aboriginal camping ground, a Devil Park has been established featuring tame Tasmanian native animals, including devils, wombats, owls, frogmouths, rare golden possums, pademelons, wallabies and kangaroos.

The road to Fortescue Bay(unsealed) is off the Arthur Highway, 5km south of Taranna.