Central Highlands Who's Who
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Distinguished and Famous people from Central Highlands
✍️ John Mitchel
Irish nationalist and journalist John Mitchel lived near Bothwell after arriving in Van Diemen's Land as a transported prisoner in 1850. His family joined him at Nant in 1851, and his account of the cottage described the surrounding pasture and his plans for sheep and cattle. The apparent country retirement concealed a determination to escape. In 1853, assisted by Patrick Smyth, he withdrew his parole at Bothwell police station, evaded the authorities and left the colony. These experiences became part of his Jail Journal. His later advocacy of slavery in the United States is also part of his history; his opposition to British rule did not extend to supporting freedom for everyone.
🏡 Alexander Reid
Alexander Reid arrived from Scotland with his family in 1822 and established Ratho beside the Clyde River. The family's first home was a mud cottage, followed by a more permanent homestead as the property developed. Reid took part in Bothwell's public life, laying the foundation stone of its Presbyterian church in 1830 and serving as a justice of the peace. After several years back in Scotland, he returned to Ratho in 1842 and resumed improving the farm and its wool production. His colonial record also includes participation in the 1830 campaign against Aboriginal people known as the Black War. Ratho's pastoral history belongs alongside that wider, damaging history of settlement.
🌾 John Gosman Allwright
John Gosman Allwright returned from agricultural studies at Dookie to manage his family’s Tasmanian properties with his elder brother Sydney. These included Glen Quoin at Hollow Tree and St Patrick’s Plains, later called Penstock, on the central plateau. At Penstock he pioneered broadacre pastures, giving his later influence in farming organisations a practical local foundation. He became the inaugural president of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association in 1980 and later led the National Farmers’ Federation. His national work included advocating scientific research in farming and supporting Landcare. The connection here is working agricultural management and experimentation, rather than his Hobart birthplace.
