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Kentish Municipality has a population of 6056 persons and growing, which is just over 1% of Tasmania's population.
Since 1996 the population has steadily grown, and indications are that it will continue to rise at the highest rate of all the Councils on the North West Coast of Tasmania. But we have plenty of room for more as we are still have only about 5 persons per square kilometre.
About one third of the population is in the towns of Railton and Sheffield, with the balance being spread across smaller townships and farming areas.
The main town of Sheffield developed as the centre of farming operations in the municipality, and has since grown to be the major shopping area, a thriving tourism area, and is the gateway to Cradle Mountain. Sheffield is known as the Town of Murals, with 55 murals (and growing) depicting the pioneer history and the people of Kentish. With it's beautiful King George V park, safe amenities and friendly people, it is no wonder Sheffield is growing.
Railton is almost as big as Sheffield, and is the proud home of Australia Cement's Tasmanian operations. The Railton and Districts Development Association Inc.(RADDAI) has pioneered topiary as a means of attracting tourism interest to Railton. There are many topiary examples in private gardens, and Council is embarking on a partnership with RADDAI to bring the topiary to the main street. Railton has many large blocks of land within its boundaries that give the town a rural feel as they are ideal for horses and country living.
The soils in Kentish are very productive and the rainfall is fairly predictable, consequently the main industry is agriculture; farming of beef, dairy, sheep and cropping. There is also potential to develop further as part of the North-West region as 'Food Bowl" of Australia. There is also potential to further develop tourism opportunities. The landscape ranges from lush rural farmland to spectacular mountain scenery. One of Tasmania's key visitor attractions Cradle Mountain is located in the municipal area, as is the world standard Lake Barrington Rowing Course.
There are a number of small localities throughout the municipality with evocative names like Garden of Eden, Gentle Annie, Paradise, Nook, Nowhere Else, and The Promised Land that are also visitor attractions.
Mount Roland dominates the landscape of the populated areas and watches carefully over the land, and is visible way out to sea many miles away. For those leaving or returning home on the ferry, Roland tugs at the heart strings. In Kentish you are almost never out of sight of Roland and its beautiful rocky outline captures the sunlight and changes throughout the day. A walk to the summit is a wonderful day walk for the fit and well prepared.
For more information about Kentish, check out the links in the Tourism section of this website.
As they say in the TV ad - "Where the %#@*& are you? "
