Longford Information
Longford in Tasmania is a medium sized town with about 5,000 people. The township was officially established in 1813 but Jacob Mountgarrett and Ensign Hugh, which brought the first settlers to the area in 1807, first discovered it in 1806. Previous to European settlement the Panninher Aborigines occupied the area. Longford is predominantly an agricultural area for wool, livestock and dairy.
There are many historic buildings to discover in Longford. During early years of settlement the people that came here had access to free convict labour and many people built magnificent houses and estates made from sandstone. One such example is the Longford Hotel built in 1827 and the Queen’s Arms Hotel built in 1835. Many of the town’s buildings are listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Registrar and are very significant in history.
Horseracing is popular in Longford and Longford hosts one of the oldest operating racecourses in Australia. The Longford horse races are particularly popular on New Years Day holding the Elders Webster Longford Cup.
A fantastic venue to visit every year in October in Longford is the Annual Longford Show. Again classified as one of the oldest and longest running shows you can experience equestrian events, rides, games and agricultural displays with live animals. There are also displays from local artworks and schools to keep you thoroughly entertained.
For ten years during 1958 to 1968 the Longford Circuit was made famous hosting two Australian Grand Prix and several Tasmanian Cup car races. Unfortunately the motor racing event was killed by lack of finance in 1970, however today Longford still holds to Australian Touring Car Championship (known now as Targa Tasmania), which is a well worth seeing event. During the years of 1964 to 1975 The Tasmanian Series Motor Racing Event was also held which featured Australia and New Zealand going head to head in car racing.
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