Our speaker on Tuesday, 18 April is Launceston-based surveyor and historian John Dent OAM. John will outline the difficulties of farming and surviving in the 1800s. A number of recent archaeological digs in the area have brought some new understanding of life as a settler at Rowella.

Rowella, on the banks of the West Tamar, was one of the earliest European settlement areas north of Launceston. It was part of the first settlement at York Town and with some of the best land on the Tamar River was soon divided up in large parcels for settlers. The area was a long way from any other settlement and with no roads the river became the only means of contact. Some of the settlers flourished and others did not.

John is currently President of The West Tamar Historical Society, the Launceston History Centre and the Tasmanian Family History Society (Launceston) and is a member of Launceston Historical Society (LHS), and the Friends of The Launceston Mechanics Institute.  John is the convenor/founder of the LHS Archaeology Group. He has published many articles, written chapters for books, and given talks on many aspects of northern Tasmanian history.  He is a registered land surveyor in private practice and he has used his surveying skills to uncover many aspects of our earliest history. John was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia in 1996 and is co-president of the Rotary Club of Launceston.