About
Local History
Swansea today
Swansea has seen many changes. Gone are the Miners although old timers will tell us that "There's gold in them hills". Gone are the Hunters & Trappers : Gone are the Whalers & Sealers: The Farming scene has changed with high labour costs forcing a switch to grazing (sheep and to some extent beef cattle) instead of the intensive crops of early years. But the cycle is changing again with diversification into ‘new style’ crops such as walnuts, olives, vegetables (primarily for seed) and an expanding wine industry.
In their place we have developed other industries:
Forestry with the original low grade coastal forest being cut for wood chips and replaced with high grade native timber regeneration: Local growers now produce quality Tasmanian Wines: aquaculture of oysters, scallops & abalone now supplement the natural harvest from the sea.
Lack of a deep water port mean that we no longer have a commercial fishing fleet but recreation anglers both small boat and shore based prevail.
Tourism or more specifically holiday visitors have been a steadily increasing feature for over 80 years and today a large proportion of our population are those who have chosen to spend their retirement in the pleasant climate of the East Coast.
