Old Coach Road

 Tuesday 18 August 2026

 Although I have always called this the Old Coach Road, references name it the Old Convict Road.

Stopped for coffee at Orford which was notable for the second group of three of us in that none of the drinks came as ordered.  This stood as a warning about the day because the sun then disappeared to be replaced by misty looking cloud that stayed with us all day.

The Old Coach Road starts just over the bridge at Orford and heads along Paradise Gorge.  Initially the route follows beside the Prosser River along a distinct wide track for about 20 minutes then rises at the ruins of the convict probation station. At this point the old road ceases, and it can only be assumed that it continued along the edge of the Prosser where earthworks and a dam are now.

From this point the track headed up a small hill turning into a rougher track before becoming just a pad going close to the cliffs overlooking the Paradise Gorge then reaching more open forest especially close to the top of the hill. From the hill a fairly direct line was taken to drop down to what is assumed to be part of the Old Coach Road, which at this point is on the dry northern slope. 

There are now small trees that partly obscure the road, but we managed to keep to the formation as it descended to Burnt Bridge Gully and the creek crossed.  Time was getting short and soon after we had lunch before returning.  

Ruins convict station

Epacris tasmanica  eastern heath

Old road descending on northern slope

High country

 I was unable to find a drawing of the road but did notice on the 1:25 Orford TasMap a line where the road appears to have been.    It is on the part that is known so looks likely to be the location of it to Paradise Gorge.  I found a bit of history as shown below from this website  

The road was originally the main land route to Hobart. During the early convict era this was considered to be such a bad track that settlers sarcastically called part of it, which followed the south side of the Prosser River, “Paradise Gorge”.

Due to the difficult terrain, the track crossed the river five times, and river crossings could be dangerous. In 1844, work was commenced by convicts to improve the track, building parts of the road that can now be followed today, although the convicts were withdrawn only three years later, and the track remained hazardous until the 1860s. The ruins of the Paradise Probation Station, which seems not to have been a probation station at all but did house the convicts who worked on the road, can be found along the track.

Between approximately 1841 and 1855, during the height of the Probation System, convicts laboured to cut and lay stone along the banks of the Prosser River. Their work formed the “Old Convict Road”, a manually engineered stretch carved into the river valley, using bluestone rubble to build substantial retaining walls. This road was a Herculean effort that provided a much-needed link between the developing eastern pastoral districts (like Buckland) and the capital.

Route of old road is the dark broken line

Route of walk

 

Walk profile