37 Black Snake Road

The property at 37 Black Snake Road was granted to Frederick Coape Smith in 1847, purchased by John King in 1855, and taken up by John Dickenson sometime before 1875.

It belonged to the Dickenson family, being a farm and orchard as well as a family home, until it became the property of the Tasmanian Government.

The house was constructed by John King after 1855 and substantially renovated. This saw removal of the external kitchen, the addition of a full second storey, western and eastern wings, and a portico and columns supporting a veranda at the front – with large parts of the structure rendered and painted.

It is thought that the old coach house was also extensively modified at this time.

Other structures were added from time to time in response to the practical requirements of a working property, with the worker’s hut and associated sheds being brought to the current site from elsewhere on the property, and a shed relocated from the Granton Railway Station in the 20th century.

During the photographic archival recording of the site and house, a collapsible stretcher of timber rails and canvas was found stored on the bottom chord of the roof trusses of the building known as ‘Pickers Hut’.

The item was identified by the museum as a WW2 Stretcher and was donated by The Department of State Growth to the Army Museum of Tasmania.