Major milestone for a hotel with a 200-year history

 

One of Tasmania's most historic hotels will celebrate a milestone next year.

Luxury boutique hotel The Woodbridge Tasmania will mark the riverside building's 200th year in early 2025.

The Governor of Tasmania, Her Excellency The Honourable Barbara Baker AC and other dignitaries have been invited to mark the occasion at the grand mansion on February 2.

Hand built by convicts in 1825, on the riverbank at New Norfolk as a home for the first Constable/Magistrate of the fledgling colony, The Woodbridge is one of Australia's oldest historic houses.

Now a private hotel, The Woodbridge takes guests back in time to the colonial era - and it is just 30 minutes from Hobart.

Restored by Laurelle and John Grimley, who bought the property in 2003, the heritage-listed mansion was in a state of disrepair when the Grimleys first set eyes on it.

The couple stumbled upon the derelict Derwent Valley icon during a Tasmanian holiday.

" I am a Duchess of Duke Street and Downton Abbey tragic," says "and have seen the BBC series Pride and Prejudice so often that I can quote it verbatim!"

The Woodbridge offers delightful river views, a rich history, and a relaxed style.

Guests are well located to visit nearby Mount Field National Park, wineries including Derwent Estate and Stefano Lubiana, and just a 10-minute stroll to The Agrarian Kitchen for a long lunch.

The entire project was funded by the Grimleys personally without any government or Heritage funding.

"We realised that if The Woodbridge was to have a future, then it had to be able to pay its way," Laurelle said. 

"So we tried to combine the historical elements of The Woodbridge with the modern amenity required by today's guests."

For more info visit www.woodbridgenn.com.au

Discover some of the best gourmet experiences in Tasmania

Long-time favourite The Agrarian Kitchen offers some of the best gourmet experiences in Tasmania.

Rodney Dunn and Severine Demanet now offer weekly cooking, gardening and lifestyle classes at their base in New Norfolk - under an hour from Hobart.

A one-acre walled garden has been established on-site allowing cooking class guests to forage for the ingredients that they will use in the class. Full day classes will commence from $440 per person with a maximum 12 guests per class.

These courses include a guided garden tour, hands-on cooking experience and a three-course lunch matched with Tasmanian wine.

The menu is crafted from the best of the garden that day, while the masterclasses are for those looking for specific knowledge -from learning the butchery elements of how to breakdown a carcass, to making your own cheese, bread, charcuterie or pastry.

A whole range of classes and specific skill-based workshops are also available, from grafting fruit trees and propagation, to protected growing and composting.

The Agrarian Kitchen began back in 2008 when Dunn and Demanet opened The Agrarian Kitchen Cooking School and Farm within their home in The Old Schoolhouse in Lachlan.

They later took over the Bronte building in nearby New Norfolk’s Willow Court - the town’s old mental asylum. The Agrarian Kitchen restaurant was born in June 2017, followed by the more casual The Kiosk.

For full details visit https://www.theagrariankitchen.com