The Village Green – a unique history?

Photo supplied

Westbury Village Green – a vital part of Westbury’s emerald heritage.

By Michelle Blake

THIS YEAR, St Patrick’s Day Festival on the Village Green was cancelled due to the potential risk from COVID-19. The festival celebrates the Celtic and Irish culture of the State and is an important event for Westbury and the Green. It continues the link to the Irish heritage of the area and utilises a space that is not only important to Westbury but is quite possibly unique to Australia. The Village Green still retains the original and traditional aspects of an English Village Green and is the only area in Australia known to do so. The Village Green was originally a military barracks with huts for the convict men and houses for the police officer and medical officer nearby. The area of Westbury was first surveyed in 1823 and was established soon after as a military and convict post in order to cut a road to the west. By 1837 an established town had began to grow up around Lonsdale Promenade, with the foundations for St Andrew’s Church being laid. Completed in 1842, the church is on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. In the 1840s and 1850s, assisted immigration brought farmers, tradespeople and female servants to Van Diemen’s Land with many from Ireland settling in the Westbury area. The promenade was laid out with ornamental trees from around the 1880s, with seats provided and where games of archery, crochet and tennis were enjoyed. Since this time, the Village Green has become an important area for social activities, recreation and commemorations. In 1922, a war memorial was positioned on the green to commemorate the soldiers of the First World War and in 1953 a water fountain commemorated the Westbury–Hagley water scheme of 1902. A pioneer’s memorial was established in 1973. That year was also the 150th anniversary of Westbury’s founding and to honour the occasion, a carved maypole was donated by the residents of Westbury in Wiltshire, England. It is used on the Village Green during local maypole festivals. Two silhouettes found on the Green are part of the town’s Silhouette Trail celebrating characters connected to Westbury. The Westbury Historical Walk is also available as a free map.