ABOUT a half-hour drive north west of Hobart is New Norfolk, historic as it is modern.

A stroll through the streets reveals tiny boutiques, burgeoning artistic projects, high quality restaurants, cafes and distilleries juxtapose with sports bars, gun shops, tennis, rowing and golf clubs, salmon fishing and stand-up paddle boarding.

Alexander Okenyo first moved from NSW some 20 years ago and wears many hats – singing baroque ballads and making modern pop music, founding Derwent Valley Arts, creating visual art at Bett Gallery, undertaking construction work, designing gardens and tending to his farm.

More recently he opened charming bookshop and coffee and cake stop Black Swan – dark and unassuming from the outside but bright within, teaming with shelves of colourful books and awash with the scent of bound paper and coffee beans.

Mr Okenyo saw a reflection of himself in New Norfolk when he drove through Hobart’s surrounds years ago searching for a place to settle.

“This was the town that had all those different elements, it had rural, residential, suburban, it had a proper chemist, it’s got a doctor, a dentist, a supermarket, a hardware shop – which is incredibly important,” he said.

“There are many worlds I’m a part of and I think New Norfolk so amazingly satisfies all of those.”

Mr Okenyo has more recently seen the town emerge from the historic rubble into its own hotbed of activity.

“It’s having its coming of age,” he said.

“This Christmas I noticed I didn’t have to leave New Norfolk to get presents.”

Projects coming into fruition include the artistic hub emerging at former Asylum site Willow Court, the Corumbene care centre, Agrarian Kitchen’s new kiosk and planned cooking school, and the $500 million Mills estate (see below) set to produce nearly 800 houses, a hotel, private hospital, retirement homes, a childcare centre and park.

New Norfolk Distillery director and founder Tarrant Derksen is shaking up the region with his eccentric rum and liqueur creations including lamington and coffe liqueur, and spiced rum.

Mr Derksen, who lives at the town with his family, said the drink of choice in his army days was rum, but no other statewide distillery was specialising in the spirit.

He recently established the boutique distillery on the Willow Court site and a pop up providore in the town centre, and is looking to expand with a cellar door, restaurant, another larger distillery and a hotel.

“New Norfolk is becoming something amazing, it’s got great potential as a gateway to West Tasmania and National Parks,” Mr Derksen said.

“This will hopefully become a tourist destination for not just people who come to Tasmania but people who come to Australia.”

Agrarian kitchen founder Rodney Dunn said “the bones for it to be really special were always here”, but the area was finally pushing into new territory.

“There’s a real energy of positivity about the place now and people pushing it in that direction, which is what it takes,” he said.

EMERGING BOUTIQUES

• Agrarian Kitchen – The pair behind the famed dine-in eatery have recently established a kiosk on the Willow Court lawns with plans to relocate their cooking school nearby. Enjoy their seasonal restaurant menu straight from the earth every weekend with dishes like smoked eel cocktail, mutton salami and pickled vegetables and sourdough potato cake with aged cider vinegar, or pop along to the kiosk for danishes, pasties and focaccias.
• Circle Coffee House – Acai bowls, smashed avocado, cheese platters and nachos are among the tasty offerings at Circle Coffee House along with coffee and gelato including vegan and gluten free options.
• Flywheel – A stationary and letterpress studio Mr Okenyo described as “endlessly gorgeous” includes finely crafted wax seals, writing pens, calligraphy sets, inks, puzzles and greeting cards for creatives looking to add aesthetic appeal to their working from home desk.
• Miss Arthur – Any item your home lacks, Miss Arthur offers in the highest quality. Ostrich feather dusters, stainless steel dust pans, foldable pruning saws, teapots and trays are among the many home goods on display at the small shop just across from the village green.
• Patchwork Cafe – In a quaint wooden church surrounded by gardens is Patchwork cafe, offering coffee, hearty meals and friendly service to diners. Don’t be fooled by the plain, traditional exterior – inside the cafe are brightly coloured seats and modern fittings.

Mr Dunn was excited to bring the cooking school to the family home and use the outdoor garden area over summer, with fluctuations of bookings varying as COVID-19 clusters come and go but business thriving in between thanks to local support.

Derwent Valley Council Mayor Ben Shaw grew up in the town and now raises his family there.

“It has all the natural wonders but we need to be moving with the growth and making sure we have strong services both public and private, so more retail and growing the business community in general and then also making sure we have the right level of community services.”

Mr Okenyo hoped the new Mills residents would embrace the town’s duality of arts and industry.

“Anybody moving here should be of some service to the town, because it’s a small enough social scale that you have responsibility for people.

“Whether it’s the football club, theatre group, church or arts group, in some way they should recognise what’s good about this place and add something rather than just take.

“My sincere hope, because I love this place, is that they just take care.”

Community leaders welcome plans for a $500m revitalisation project

James Kitto

COUNCIL approval for a large-scale retirement village in New Norfolk will form part of a significant economic boost for the region, proponents and community leaders say.

The Derwent Valley Council recent approval of a development application for a 198-home retirement village for New Norfolk called the Noble Life Retirement as part of the Mills Project – a $500m development said to create 22,000 jobs over the next two decades.

In addition to the retirement homes, The Mills master plan includes over 700 residential lots, a 100-bed private hospital, a Tasmanian growers and makers commercial co-op precinct, a 100-bed boutique hotel, a childcare centre and a community park.

Accompanying the 198 retirement homes as part of that branch of the development will also be 50 serviced apartments and a club house.

Noble Ventures Director Daniel Noble while pointing to Tasmania’s nation-high elderly population said The Mills retirement village would address the need for more retirement living to support the state’s senior citizens.

“The retirement village also forms an important feature of the Central Precinct, comprising of the retirement resort, a boutique hotel, a childcare centre, a private hospital and a community park,” he said.

“It will also be located within easy access to retail and commercial amenity and services in the New Norfolk town centre which is just 550 metres away.”

Mr Noble said the project’s development approval followed a successful opening weekend for The Mills project last month, which saw a 65 per cent sell out of the initial residential stage release.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to The Mills project and as a result are now looking to bring forward the release of future house stages to ensure there will be enough available to meet demand,” he said.

The project has been met by support from community leaders, with Derwent Valley Mayor Ben Shaw calling it the development the community and council had been searching for.

Federal Lyons MP Brian Mitchell on Friday said the project would help transform New Norfolk and deliver jobs and economic opportunity.

“It will help address the chronic levels of high unemployment in the Derwent Valley – it’s a welcome vote of confidence in the region and its future,” he said.

I look forward to the proponents outlining how they intend to ensure the jobs go to locals first and foremost.”

Mr Noble said The Mills project would be of significant economic benefit to the Derwent Valley – creating 1,126 jobs each year between 2021 and 2040 – more than half of which will be in the Derwent Valley.