Lottah

Lottah
Lottah
Coordinates: 41°13′15″S 148°01′19″E / 41.22083°S 148.02194°E / -41.22083; 148.02194
CountryAustralia
StateTasmania
RegionNorth-east
LGA
Location
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Population
 • Total13 (2016 census)[2]
Postcode
7216
Localities around Lottah
Weldborough Goulds Country Goulds Country
Weldborough Lottah Goulds Country
Pyengana Pyengana Goulds Country

Lottah is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Break O'Day in the North-east LGA region of Tasmania, Australia. The locality is about 27 kilometres (17 mi) north-west of the town of St Helens. The 2016 census recorded a population of 13 for the state suburb of Lottah.[2] It is a small town in Northeastern Tasmania. The closest settlement is Pyengana and the closest major town is St Helens.

History

Lottah was gazetted as a locality in 1969.[3] It was historically known as Blue Tier Junction. A post office of that name was established in 1877 and renamed "Lottah" in 1895,[4] supposedly an Aboriginal word for "gum tree".[5]

Tin was discovered in Lottah in about 1875.[6] The Anchor Mine became operational in 1880, and the town of Lottah grew up around the mine. At its peak, it had several hundred residents, and community facilities included a school, two hotels, two churches, a bakery, and a football club.[7] Lottah supported a small Chinese community, and one of its more notable residents was Senator Thomas Bakhap, who had a Chinese stepfather and worked as an interpreter.[8] People born in Lottah during its heyday include architecture professor Brian Lewis and RAAF officer Alan Charlesworth.[9] The Anchor Mine closed in 1950, at which point the town's population had been in decline for several decades.[7]

Geography

Almost all the boundaries are survey lines.[10]

Road infrastructure

Route A3 (Tasman Highway) passes to the south. From there, several roads provide access to the locality.[3][11]

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Lottah (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. ^ a b "2016 Census Quick Stats Lottah (Tas.)". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Placenames Tasmania – Lottah". Placenames Tasmania. Select "Search", enter "1615H", click "Search", select row, map is displayed, click "Details". Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Postal History of Tasmania". Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  5. ^ Dennison, C. J. (2003). "Where in Tasmania?: A Compilation of Place Names and Their Histories in Tasmania" (PDF).
  6. ^ Goulds Country, TAS, Aussie Towns.
  7. ^ a b Lottah: Once-thriving mining town a virtual ghost town in Tasmania's north east, ABC Radio Hobart, 16 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. ^ BAKHAP, THOMAS JEROME KINGSTON (1866–1923), The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate
  9. ^ Clark, Chris (1993). "Alan Moorhouse Charlesworth (1903–1978)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 13. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Lottah, Tasmania" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Tasmanian Road Route Codes" (PDF). Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment. May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2021.

Further reading

  • Richardson, Garry (2016), Lottah and the Anchor: the History of a Tin Mine and a Dependent Town, Forty South Publishing