GEORGE TOWN George Town is pretty much a destination town some 50k north of Launceston. George Town can also be start point to the seaside town of Bridport. George Town is a very pretty spot, and is also houses the population base of workers for the nearby Bell Bay industrial manufacturing facilities. Nearby Low Head is both heritage and tourism. George Town is one of the oldest European settlements in Australia. It was first settled in 1804, two years before Launceston. As early as 1804 William Paterson camped on the site and by 1811 a permanent settlement had been established by Lachlan Macquarie and named after the English king, George III. Paterson ran the HMS Buffalo aground at York Cove and, apparently nonplussed by his misfortune, duly ran up the flag, fired three volleys in the air, and played the national anthem. A memorial to the event stands on Esplanade North at Windmill Point - continue west down Macquarie Street from the Main Road. The town grew in fits and starts. There were times when it was an important centre but these were matched by periods when the town slumped back into insignificance. In The Savage Crows, the novelist Robert Drewe paints a rather grim picture of George Town in the 1830s. He describes it as 'a dull, lifeless place, few people remaining there except those connected with the Government. There was a good wooden jetty and a gaol but no church. The only other major buildings were the lunatic asylum and the female factory, both swarming with inmates.' The congregational churches in George Town are all modern. The Anglican at Low Head a 150 year classic. There are two pubs in George Town. The Bay View Hotel by the river is well over 100 years old and has won design and heritage awards The War Memorial is in two locations. The traditional in the town, the modern by the RSL. There is a museum in the town and a marine museum at Low Head. George Town is a must visit and accommodation considerations will have to include Low Head.