Highfield Historic Site

​Van Dieman’s Land Company Story

The Company was established in London in 1824. A group of influential merchants, businessmen and politicians formed the company in the hopes of making a fortune from fine merino wool as landowners in other parts of the island were successfully achieving at the time.

In its original bid for land to Lord Bathurst, Secretary of the Colonies, the Company had been promised a single holding of usable land on highly favourable conditions. However, under the eye of Lieutenant-Governor Arthur, the Company was forced to take less than perfect land in the far north-west, first at Circular Head and then Cape Grim. Arthur was wary of the company consolidating its assets too much and becoming a threat to his official authority. 

While these hills may have resembled the English dales to look at, they were far from it. The sheep succumbed to the extreme cold and rain. The wool enterprise failed.

Nevertheless much of the land that the Company had acquired proved to be very suitable for agriculture once it had been cleared of its dense timber. The move from wool to land sales proved a successful strategy so much of the Company remained in busi​ness until 2016, operating from its New Zealand headquarters and from Woolnorth, its property at Cape Grim.​​