The SALMON ACT 1865 (29 Vic, No 6) and the Salmon Ponds, River Plenty
PETITIONS to relax or retain fishing restrictions in the River Derwent 1879
WHAT THEY WERE SAYING THEN
Often accredited with the introduction of salmon to Tasmania, lawyer and amateur photographer Morton Allport was most keen to export Tasmania's "resources" in exchange for recognition, rewards and membership of prestigious scientific organisations. In this letter of 29 November 1875, he talks about SALMON and TIN for EXPORT:
TRANSCRIPT
Page 190-192
29th Novr. 5 [1875]
Dear Knight,
I am puzzled at receiving no reply or communication of any sort from Cecil Henslowe especially as you speak of his having taken some steps in reference to taking out [illegible] of Administration.
Till I do hear the dividends must go on accumulating & be idle with the sum formerly on fixed deposit which fell in on the 12th instant.
Every interest in this Colony seems now steadily improving due mainly to the marvellous mineral discoveries taking place daily miles upon miles of Country looked upon hitherto as worthless are now proved to be rich in Tin & but little less than 1000 Tons of that metal will be exported during the next twelve months. A jump in three years from none to £80,000 worth of Tin is something to stare at, but this is only the beginning of the end as there are plentiful indications of the presence of other valuable minerals, notably Bismuth, Silver, copper and lead.
Property is going up very much in value and the holders who have tided over so many years of depression are jubilant.
I am trying to make hay while the sun shines so rarely get time for much amusement I have not been two consecutive working days away from the office in the last two years and have to do much night work also. A fine Salmon grilse was caught at Kangaroo point yesterday in an ordinary graball net, this fish weighs 3 lbs 1 oz and a larger one escaped as this net was being hauled into the boat, over 20 were captured last year and in a few seasons we shall be exporting them largely much to the astonishment of the learned in ichthyology.
I am uneasy at hearing nothing of or from Gould since July last when his sister wrote me that he was seriously ill, have you seen anything of him?
As I must enclose a few lines for Mrs Knight before the mail closes
I remain
Yours sincerely
Morton Allport [sender]
W. Knight Esq [addressee]
20 Longridge Road
Brought S. W.
London
Source: Series Letterbooks of Morton Allport (ALL19)
Start Date 07 Aug 1874 End Date 08 Jul 1876
Links: Book 5. https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/ALL19-1-5
A lively and relatively later contemporary account of the introduction of salmon and trout from British stock into Tasmania from the earliest endeavours in 1841 through all the experiments, difficulties, discouragement, setbacks and successes leading to the establishment of the Salmon Ponds in the 1860s was written by P. S. Seager, Secretary to the Fisheries Board of Tasmania titled "CONCISE HISTORY OF THE ACCLIMATISATION OF THE SALMONID.AE IN TASMANIA", published (No. 109) and presented in 1889 to both Houses of the Tasmanian Parliament. His final words gave these assurances:-
I trust ... we will in the future hear of fewer doubts upon the subject and accept the one broad fact which is beyond dispute, that a fish has been acclimatised in Tasmania which is of considerable commercial value, that it is the means of attracting visitors to our shores, and that with proper care and attention, it will in the future afford profitable employment.
Title: Concise History of the Acclimatisation of the SalmonidÆ in Tasmania
Source: Parliament of Tasmania
Link: https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/34451/1889pp109.pdf
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING NOW
Richard Flanagan (2021) on the Tasmanian salmon industry today, and Cassandra Pybus (2024) on Morton Allport's credentials:
But back to beginnings ....
1860s: Clifford & Nevin's identical views
Established as a popular tourist destination by the late 1860s, the intercolonial press published visitors' accounts to the Derwent Valley and Salmon Ponds with lithographed views from photographs accredited to Thomas Nevin's senior colleague Samuel Clifford. Two of the views published in this article were originally imprinted as stereographs by Nevin with his studio mark: "T. NEVIN PHOTO".
Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic. : 1867 - 1875)
Monday 29 November 1869, page 222
TRANSCRIPT
THE SALMON PONDS, TASMANIA. Every one was glad to hear and ready to believe that salmon had been caught in the Derwent, and should there have been any mistake made respecting the two fish said to be salmon, none the less credit is due to those who devoted themselves to the task of rearing the 'king of fishes' in the Southern hemisphere from ova transported all the way from England, nor will the less interest be attached to the scene of such an important experiment. The Salmon Ponds are at New Norfolk, or more properly speaking, some six miles beyond that town, on the banks of the Derwent. A trip from Hobart Town to this picturesque locality is always enjoyable, and especially at this season of the year, when the grain fields are ripening and the air is richly laden with the scent of the sweet briar and of the newly-mown hay. Finding in the Hobart Town Mercury a racy account of a recent trip made by a party of some twelve or fourteen gentlemen, we don't think we can do better than avail ourselves of their pleasurable experience. We must resort, however, to some abridgement, as the account is rather long : — "The excursionists were conveyed in two cabs, drawn by four nags, that did their work well and truly throughout the day. and were brought back to town after doing a distance of nearly forty-five miles — the remainder being performed by horses engaged at New Norfolk, along a road which, generally good throughout, has many bad and very many nasty points in it— fresh, and without the slightest betrayal of anything beyond the usual fatigue of a day's work. It was as late as nine o'clock in the evening when the party returned. Shortly after the start was made in the morning, symptoms of wet weather began to show themselves, and the promise did not fail to realise itself afterwards. It was only at intervals, however, that the rain fell in sufficient quantity to materially obscure the grand and beautiful panorama that lay stretched out before the excursionist. Certainly no river in the world is more picturesque than our Derwent — rich not only in beauty, but in every diversified form of beauty. Its wooded heights, its cultivated banks, the fertile valleys ever and again opening to the eye, and its long stretches of pasture land, dotted with animals grazing on its dainty verdure or reclining in the easy attitudes of rest, present a scene that it is indeed a holiday enjoyment in itself to look upon. Although, with the single exception of the rain during the earlier part of the day, to which, however, a fine afternoon succeeded, the trip was surrounded by many accessories of pleasure; its more practical object was to make acquaintance with the salmon grounds and their various illustrations of a great experiment, which is now known to have been attended with a success that promises amply to reward all the labor and cost it has involved and the anxiety with which it has been watched. With the general feature of the ground set apart for salmon purposes the public are probably by this time sufficiently acquainted from the various sketches that have been given of it. It comprises an area of some six acres, and the surface area covered by the waters of the different ponds and races amounts to upwards of half an acre. The Plenty River runs at the back of the salmon reserve, and from that river the supply of water hag been obtained — the water being conveyed through troughs which pour their contents through a rill within the grounds into the first pond. This first pond is at this moment the home of some ninety ' brown trout' — the lusty fellows we spoke of just now, some of them weighing from six to seven pounds each, and numbering in all, it is computed, some ninety. They are for the most part full of ago, being the product of the experiment made no less than five years ago. These fish have ascended the rill we have mentioned, for the purpose of using it as a spawning ground, and ten or twelve thousand of their progeny — some went so far as to estimate some thousands over that number — were visible, measuring from an inch to an inch and a half in length, and affording nil the indications of being strong laity youngsters of their tribe. Next to the trout pond — and divided from it only by the narrow strip of ground — there is the hatching house, a cool wooden building, through which are laid four parallel wooden troughs. Through these the Plenty water flows freely,- but slowly. In these troughs are a part of the salmon-, trout fry. There are, of course, no salmon fry in any of its stages to be seen., the last of these having left the ponds on their way to the river and sea upwards of 18 months ago. Thus the long pond into which the stream from the hatching-house fall was empty. From this pond another channel communicates with the one in which the salmon trout are found. That these have deposited their ova and hatched, there can be no doubt. This fish, however, is remarkably shy. Such of the parent fish as were visible were apparently from a pound to a pound and a half in weight. The facts in connection with this pond, are of interest from a scientific as well as from other points of view. They afford an undoubted instance of a curious law in Ichthyology, viz., of fish whose habitat for a portion of the year is salt-water, being able to mature and spawn without access to the sea. from this pond the water runs through a wide gravelly rill, in which the young fish are placed as they progress in growth — the rill being properly protected with grating — and through this the water finally passes off to the Plenty. With this ends the system of works that have been constructed for the purposes of this great experiment. It is not easy by a pen description to convey to the mind a very accurate idea of the whole arrangements, which are at once simple and complicated, and admirably adapted for the accomplishment of the end in view. To those who have not had the opportunity of visiting the ponds and witnessing for themselves their many interesting features, the general description we have given is all that can be fairly intelligible, and we should serve no purpose by entering into any more minute and elaborate detail. From photographs taken by S. Clifford we are enabled to present views of the Salmon Ponds, of the River Plenty at its junction with the Derwent, of the windings of the beautiful Derwent between the Plenty and New Norfolk, and finally of New Norfolk itself, the garden of Tasmania. This last view is taken from the garden attached to the house of Sir R. Officer, who is known far and 'wide as Chief Commissioner in connection with the salmon rearing experiment.
Source: THE SALMON PONDS, TASMANIA. (1869, November 29). Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne, Vic.), p. 222.
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60449171
PLAN of the SALMON PONDS
At the end of the largest pond on this map/plan (1885) on the viewer's right near the perforated zinc gates and before the troughing leading to three smaller ponds is where Sam Clifford, Thomas Nevin and later photographers Alfred Winter and John Watt Beattie positioned their cameras (see Addenda) in a direct line to capture the Hatching House at the other end (on viewer's left).
Map - Buckingham 108 - parish of New Norfolk, plans of the Salmon Ponds - surveyor Thomas Frodsham
Date: 06 Jul 1885
Creating Agency: Lands and Surveys Department (TA69)
Archives Office Tasmania
Link:https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Archives/AF396-1-115
VIEWS of the HATCHING HOUSE
At the Salmon Ponds, Tasmania
Stereograph by T. Nevin ca. 1868-1873
Blind stamp impress on side of left image, recto; verso blank
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Collection Ref: Q1994.56.7
A young Thomas J. Nevin, barely out of his teens and not yet married, took this photograph of the newly established salmon ponds and hatchery near New Norfolk, 20 kms north of Hobart, ca. 1868. With life-long friend and prolific stereographer Samuel Clifford, he made several excursions to this area and perhaps for more than just the opportunity to capture scenic images with commercial appeal. Both photographers were called on by the colonial administration and legal fraternity in various capacities throughout their professional careers, their skills providing the "silent witness" of the photograph when needed in cases before the courts. So, it is quite possible on one of these excursions up the Derwent Valley to the Salmon Ponds, they were asked to report sightings of illegal salmon fishing under Section 25 of the Salmon Act, 1865:
25 It shall be lawful for the Governor from time to time to appoint, during pleasure, all such Officers, Servants, and other persons as may appear to him to be necessary for the due management and protection of Salmon in any inland or tidal waters, and for the prevention and detection of offences against this Act and such Regulations as aforesaid, and enforcing this Act and such Regulations in respect of such inland or tidal waters.
Source: The Salmon Act 1865 (29 Vic, No 6), Section 25: Governor to appoint necessary officers
Link: https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/tas/num_act/tsa186529vn6177/
SAM CLIFFORD's VIEW in REVERSE
This view of a recumbent group who were photographed relaxing at the other end of the big pond, close to the hatching house, was cleanly mounted in a binocular frame, sold as a stereograph, accredited to Samuel Clifford and dated 1868.
Salmon Ponds, nr. New Norfolk
Author: Clifford, Samuel, 1827-1890.
Publication Information: 1868.
Physical description: 1 stereoscopic pair of photographs : sepia toned ; each 7 cm. in diam.
Notes: Circular images. Archives Office Tasmania
Link: https://stors.tas.gov.au/AUTAS001136194172
VIEW of the RIVER DERWENT at PLENTY
Photograph - New Norfolk - River Derwent 1870
Creating Agency: Unidentified Creating Agency (XX1)
Series: Album of Photographs of Tasmania (PH1)
Archives Office Tasmania
Link:https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Archives/PH1-1-56
Samuel Clifford and Thomas J. Nevin produced dozens of stereographs of identical scenes, printed sometimes with Clifford's label verso and sometimes with Nevin's impress recto. A good dozen and more that are identifiably taken by these two photographers but carry no studio markings are held in public and private collections. A handful of studio portraits as well carry the written inscription on verso, "Clifford & Nevin, Hobart Town." Their scenic views taken on excursions around the island of Tasmania for more than a decade were printed in several formats: as cartes-de-visite, as stereographs, or larger single prints. This image and another two of the spawning grounds of salmon, the Plenty tributary of the River Derwent, are held in private collections as albums of 24-48 prints with titles such as "Tasmanian Scenes" which Samuel Clifford sold in his name, selected and arranged according to the purchaser's order. Identical stereographs with these two collaborators' different studio markings, and those with no marks at all, have caused attribution issues. Thomas Nevin's imprint appears on the recto (e.g. vertical impress on image on left, above) on this stereograph in some collections and with Clifford's label in others.
The River Derwent at Plenty, Tasmania
Stereograph by Thomas J. Nevin 1860s
TMAG Ref: Q1994-56-21 (not online at TMAG)
Album: Tasmanian Scenes, S. Clifford Photographer
Held at the Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office (TAHO)
Photos copyright © KLW NFC 2012 ARR
This album was compiled by Walch's printers and booksellers who sold it to the May family (name inscribed on inside cover) and although several photographs in the album are identifiably prints from Nevin's original stereographs, the cover carries sole attribution to Samuel Clifford. The caption to the scene (top photograph) by Clifford in this album is "The Derwent near the Salmon Ponds" whereas the caption mostly applied to Nevin's stereograph of the same scene is "The River Derwent at Plenty " (TMAG collection).
1878: Sam CLIFFORD's CAMERA STOLEN
On one of their excursions through the Tasmanian midlands to Melton Mowbray, Clifford's camera was stolen while staying at the Wilmot Arms at Green Ponds. The police published a description of the stolen camera in this notice:
TRANSCRIPT
GREEN PONDS MUNICIPALITY
STOLEN during last week, from the Wilmot Arms, Green Ponds: - A photographic sliding camera, with rising front for pictures, 8 x 4½ inches, swing back, folding tail-board rack and pinion movement, shifting front with brass flange, the woodwork is Indian teak; 3 negatives of views at Belgrove; the property of and identifiable by Mr. S. Clifford.
Police gazette, 15th November, 1878:
Samuel Clifford's camera stolen from the Wilmot Arms at Green Ponds
Source: Tasmania Reports of Crime for Police J. Barnard Gov't printer
1879: Thomas Nevin signs the petition
The salmon fishing problem in Tasmania first arose from the introduction in the 1860s of salmon and salmon trout ova to hatcheries in the Derwent Valley near New Norfolk, 32 km (20 miles) north-west of Hobart on the River Derwent. To ensure their survival, the Salmon Act 1865 (29 Vic, No 6) was introduced to restrict commercial fishermen from accessing the river and its tributaries north of Hobart "for seventeen years" according to the petitioners' statement dated 1879.
These petitioners proposed amendments to the Act to allow local fishermen who earnt their living from fishing to access the river at least 4 kms north from Hobart, the demarcation line from Kangaroo Point (Bellerive) in the east across to Cornelian Bay (New Town, 4 kms from ) in the west.
When photographer Thomas J. Nevin signed this petition in October 1879 he was a full-time civil servant at the Hobart City Council, resident with his family as Hall and Office Keeper of the Hobart Town Hall in Macquarie Street. His duties included prisoner identification photography for the Hobart Municipal Police Office and Mayor's Court housed within the Town Hall building. With Samuel Clifford's retirement from commercial photography in 1878, Thomas Nevin's closest colleague among Hobart's commercial photographers was contractor Henry Hall Baily (their companionship was mentioned in the Mercury, December 4, 1880). H. H. Baily held a colonial warrant on commissions to produce portraits of notable administrators including Parliamentarians, prominent citizens and businessmen for displays within government buildings and at intercolonial and overseas exhibitions. He submitted more than 100 photographs to exhibitions in Melbourne and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, held May 10 - November 10, 1876 .
The first page of this petition presented to the House of Assembly by the Hon. W. R. Giblin included names of the two contractual photographers, Henry Hall Baily and Thomas Nevin; the Superintendent of Police Richard Propsting who swore in Nevin as Special Constable during the Chiniquy Riots at the Town Hall in June 1879; and barrister John Woodcock Graves the younger, a family friend who commissioned Nevin's services for photographs of official events, court documents and prisoner photographs. These seventy-five (75) or so prominent citizens and warrant holders of 1870s Hobart Town were petitioning the government to amend the Salmon Act to "allow the River Derwent to be thrown open to fishermen ...."
TRANSCRIPT
(No. 75)1879TASMANIA.HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
S A L M O N A C T :
PETITION FOR, AND AGAINST, ITS AMENDMENTPresented by Mr. Giblin, and Mr. Gellibrand, and ordered by the House to be printed, October 24, 1879.[Presented by Mr. Giblin, 9th October, 1879.]To the Honorable the Speaker and Members of the House of Assembly in Tasmania, in Parliament assembled.The respectful Petition of the undersigned Fishermen and others resident in Hobart Town.
RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH :
THAT, owing to the River Derwent having been closed against Fishermen for the last seventeen years, the supply of fish for the market has been limited to such as can only be procured with difficulty outside the river.
And also that such supply consists of only a few of the varieties of fish which are found in the surrounding waters.
They wish also to draw the attention of your Honorable House to the fact that in stormy weather the fishermen are deprived of the means of procuring their living near the town.
They therefore respectfully pray that your Honorable House will see fit to amend the Salmon Act, so as either to allow the River Derwent to be thrown open to fishermen altogether or as far as Cornelian Bay in the said river, or only to close it for certain months in each year when the salmon are migrating.
And your Petitioners will ever pray.
Jas. Harcourt. F. J. Pike. J. Watchorn. M. F. Daly. E. Maher. Geo. S. Seabrook. William Guesdon. H. Chapman. P. J. Sinclair. Thos. Sheehy. Saml. Biggins. Peter Oldham. J.B. Ledwell. W. A. Webb. A. T. Stuart. M. Burgess. G. M. Potter. Thomas E. Self. Albert Gaylor. J. Bidencope. Jno. Read. Jas. Stott. Andrew P. Miller. Henry Hinsby. Walter Rice. W. Montgomerie. James Smith. W. Fisher. Edward Valentine. Thos. Nevin. G. B. Sealey. Wm. Burgoyne. B. R. Dyer. J. C. Hamilton. Jno. Pregnell. Chas. Pregnell. Robt. R. Rex. Edward J. Freeman. Robert A. Knight. Geo. W. Rex. Henry Tremlett Hull. Thomas Goldsmith. Kemp & Lloyd. C. G. Eady. T. M'Gowan. E. Gifford. P. J . Sinclair, jun. Jno. W. Graves. R. Harry. H. H. Baily. A. R. Miles. James Bett. John Webb. T. E. Hewitt. no. T. Morris. A. G. Pogµe. C. P. Frodsham. J. W. Livingston. James Isherwood. William Robertson. John Ayton. P. O'Shea. Thos. Shirlev. E. Mulcahy. Matthew Ready. A. W. Hume. John Geo. Burn. B. S. Morrison. Jas. W. Collins. D. M'Gregor. D. H. Crisp. T. E. Creswell. Wm. J. Watchorn. John Andrews. Richd. Propsting. J. Philp. R. Sargent. Robert Hempseed. H. Chesterman. Chas. Green. G. Bentley Wright. J. W. Garth. James R. Fryer. Charles Dowdell. F. B. Wilkinson. D. T. Wilkinson. Thomas M'Loughlin.
RESPONSE: FISHERMEN and OTHERS AGAINST THE AMENDMENT
Page 4: The petition of the fishermen and other such as fishmonger Chas. Cearns, of Elizabeth St. Hobart against amendments to the Salmon Act asserted that such amendments would open the River Derwent to all fishermen, and permit unregulated use of graball and seine nets.
TRANSCRIPT
4[Presented by Mr. ,Gellibrand, 24th October, 1879.]To the Honorable the Speaker and Members of the House of Assembly.The humble Petition of the undersigned Fishermen and others.
RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
THAT a Petition has recently been presented to your Honorable House by Fishermen and others praying your Honorable House to so amend "The Salmon Act" as to either allow the River Derwent to be thrown open to Fishermen altogether, or as far as Cornelian Bay in the said river, or only to close it for certain months in the year when Salmon are migratory ; and which Petition alleges that fish for the market have been limited on account of the river being closed.
Your Petitioners beg to observe that the river is now open to Fishermen with graball nets as far as Cornelian Bay during the day-time, and that any nets may be used in the river below Garth's Point on the one side and Droughty Point on the other.
Your Petitioners assert that the closing of the river has had a most beneficial effect in producing a plentiful supply of fish, which through the former use of nets had become almost exhausted.
That the use of seine nets is calculated to destroy the future of any fishery, as in this practice vast numbers of young fish, unsuitable for food, are helplessly suffocated by sand and debris.
Having, in view the large expenditure incurred by the Colony in introducing Salmon, your Petitioners would humbly beg your Honorable House to pause ere sanctioning any alteration of the existing Law which would grant the prayer of the Petition referred to, and which alteration would have the effect, in all probability, of destroying the work of years, by the capture of immense numbers of Salmon to the serious loss of the whole Colony.
Your Petitioners would also observe, that the opinions of gentlemen of undoubted standing in the United Kingdom have been obtained on the subject of netting, and they all agree that such a practice should be avoided as much as possible.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray that your Honorable House will not amend "The Salmon Act" as proposed in the Petition recently presented to you.
Thomas Rush. George Poole. James Everall. Frank Miles. Thomas Whitney. George Barber. James Jolley. Brummy Merry. George Massey. James Cubey. Thomas Seymour. John Walker. Henry Silvester. George Main. John Hartley. Edward Adlard. George John King. R. Roberts. W. Paling. Henry Norris . Frank Rush. John Copper. William Teed. George Humper. Jacob Timbs. George Creswell.* William Green. James Morling. William Martin. John Martin. John Smith. William Veal. James Gowan. Jack Albury. Alfred Woods. Thomas Hadley. William Barber. Henry. Chambers. James Hull. Henry Graham. George Howard. Thomas Turner.* Chas. Cearns*. George Amer. Teddy Harris. William Smith. Thomas Pretty. Philip Stafford. James Madden. E. Fitzgera1d. Henry Smith, Jun. W. Colville. John Massey. William Fisher. William Adams. John Bolton. George Maddocks. George Lµcas. Thomas Wise.
* The above signatures are Fishermen except those marked with an asterisk.
____________________________
JAMES BARNARD
GOVERNMENT PRINTER, TASMANIA
____________________________
Source: Parliament of Tasmania, The Salmon Act, Petition for and Against its Amendment
Link; https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/31649/ha1879pp75.pdf
Mrs. Cearns, fishmonger, Elizabeth St., Hobart [drawn by T. Midwood].
Author/Creator: Midwood, Thomas Claude Wade, 1854-1912.
Publication Information: [Hobart] : [Mercury], [1893?]
Physical description:1 print : b&w engraving ; image 108 x 120 mm., 1 of 4 on plate 239 x 274 mm.
Notes: "By appointment to His Excellency the Governor". and "Fish delivered to all parts of town".
Summary: Cartoon depicts a large fish recumbent on shells. Archives Office Tasmania
Link: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/AUTAS001126250844/AUTAS001126250844
Net fishing
Photograph - Derwent River at Plenty - Hugh John Ford fishing / photographer Jenny Ford [Jenny Ford collection]
Start Date: 01 Jan 1894
View online:https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Archives/PH30-1-6888
Description: Lantern slide - Net Fishing
Start Date: 01 Jan 1900
Format: photograph
Creating Agency: George Billing (Collector) (NG82)
View online:https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/NS2495-1-5/NS2495-1-5
FISHING GEAR RESTRICTIONS
These are the current restrictions applying to scale fish netting in Tasmania:
Source: https://fishing.tas.gov.au/recreational-fishing/rules/gear
Graball net
Graball nets and mullet nets, including flounder nets, are types of gillnet.
No more than three gillnets may be carried on, or used from a single boat.
A gillnet cannot be used as an encircling net, eg. as a beach seine net
One graball net (includes flounder nets) may be used and a licence is required. A graball net is a single mesh net:
- mesh must be between 105 mm and 140 mm; and
- must not be deeper than 33 meshes or longer than 50 metres.
A beach seine net licence allows you to possess and use one beach seine net.
A beach seine net must:
- be an encircling net that does not exceed 50 m in length;
- have a bag or bunt or a panel that forms a bunt with a mesh of at least 30 mm;
- not be pursed or drawn through rings into the shape of a bag; and
- be emptied while in the water.
Source: Maritime Museum Tasmania
Fishing net (graball?) used in southern Tasmania.
Object number A_2011-040
Link: https://ehive.com/collections/3906/objects/208171/fishing-net-used-in-southern-tasmania
Addenda: press reports and letters
1869: "One of themselves"
TRANSCRIPT
THE "SALMON ACT" AGAIN !!
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MERCURY
SIR, Parliament will shortly assemble for the despatch of business, and I beg to call your attention and that of your readers, to the great hardships the fishermen of Hobart Town have had to endure since the passing of "The Salmon Act," by the closing of the whole of the river Derwent against their vocations. There are, or rather there were, nearly 100 men engaged in fishing, and with families dependent on them and fishermen are prohibited under heavy penalties from labouring north of a line of demarcation, extending from the Commissariat Point to Kangaroo Point Bluff, thus virtually shutting up the river.
To tell you of the misery and hardships entailed by this to the poor men, might be here out of place, yet such is the fact, that numbers have been thrown out of employment and literally half-starved for years, and almost without a murmur, for the sake of " Salmonia Verax."
Again, fresh fish, such as are procurable in the river, are in great demand in the Melbourne markets, and may be taken in any quantities for that purpose or for our own tables every morning, but if taken, as it is termed, " down the river," they are generally two or three or more days old, and, consequently, unfit for shipment, so, of course, trade is thus prevented in exports.
Parliament in its last session resolved that unless salmon were actually proved to be in the River Derwent, it would not continue the conservative annual vote. Yet the restrictions as to netting will still be in force, and, as is well known, the penalties for taking salmon (were they in the rivers) without license, are extremely severe. The fishermen generally are not so foolish as to run the gauntlet ; the fish they want are not the English salmon, but those fish procurable during the night for dishing up next morning.
Petitions are in course of signature from the fishermen, praying that Parliament will enact its remedial measure, so that the river may not continue a "close river" south of Glenorchy, or even Risdon, if thought expedient.
Your powerful influence in eliminating these particulars of the hard case of the fishermen, is most respectfully solicited by,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
ONE OF THEMSELVES. Hobart Town, 1st August, 1869.
Source: THE "SALMON ACT" AGAIN! (1869, August 3). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.), p. 3.
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8860524
1870: New Regulations under the Salmon Act
NEW REGULATIONS UNDER THE SALMON ACT.
The Gazette of this day contains the following regulations under and by virtue of " The Salmon Act", to take effect from to-day; those hitherto in force being rescinded: -
1. No person shall fish or take fish in any manner in the River Plenty, in the River Styx, in in the River Clyde, in the Lachlan rivulet, in the Sorell Rivulet, in the Bagdad Rivulet, all being tributaries of of the River Derwent, or in the River Huon above Mosquito Point, or in the Meredith River in Tasmania, under a penalty of ten pounds for each breach of this regulation.
2. All nets and other engines, instruments, or devices used for taking fish in the above-mentioned rivers or rivulets shall be seized and forfeited, destroyed, or removed as each case may require.
3. It shall be lawful for any person to uses a seine net, with meshes measuring two inches and one half of an inch from knot to knot when wet, for the purpose of taking fish in the River Derwent, after such person shall have of obtained a certificate under the hand of the Chairman of the Salmon Commissioners setting forth that such seine net has been examined by the Salmon Commissioners.
4. No person shall be allowed to use any other net for the purpose of fishing in the waters of the River Derwent, or any of its tributaries above a line extending from Battery Point on the western to Kangaroo Point Bluff on the eastern bank of the said river, under a penalty of ten pounds for each breach of this regulation.
5, All nets used in contravention of the foregoing regulations shall be seized and forfeited, destroyed, or removed as each case may require.
Source: NEW REGULATIONS UNDER THE SALMON ACT. (1870, May 24). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.), p. 2.
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8863492
Photo copyright © KLW NFC Group 2014
This view at Hobart, Tasmania of the River Derwent taken from Battery Point (No. 1 Mona Street) across to Kangaroo Point Bluff on the Eastern Shore shows where the demarcation line was drawn, closing off the river to commercial fishing further north by the new 1870 regulation to the Salmon Act.
No. 3. Flounder
Gould, William Buelow, 1803-1853.[attributed]
Publication Information:[ca. 1832]
Painting : watercolour on paper ; 19 x 23 cm.
Link: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/AUTAS001139592208/AUTAS001139592208-P03
1873-1877: Morton Allport and the Salmon Act
Stephen Budden, commercial agent from Lyttleton, New Zealand for the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society arrived at New Wharf, Hobart, Tasmania, on 4th August 1873, the sole passenger aboard the brig Chanticleer under command of Capt. G. A. Phillips. His mission was to superintend a shipment of salmon and salmon trout ova back to New Zealand. With assistance from the Tasmanian Acclimatisation Society and naturalist and amateur photographer, Morton Allport, who was instrumental in the introduction of salmon ova and European fish to Tasmania in the 1860s, two shipments were sent: the first of salmon trout ova was accompanied by Stephen Budden on the Clematis, departing 29th August; and the second of 500 brown trout ova destined for the Auckland Climatisation Society left on the Bella Mary on the 23rd August 1873. As a result of Stephen Budden's successful mission, Morton Allport was made an honorary life member of the Otago Acclimatisation Society. In this letter (transcript below) published in the press, November 1877, he despaired that new regulations to the Salmon Act allowing pecuniary interests to prevail would lead to the eradication of young salmon in the Derwent.
Title: [Self portrait of Morton Allport]
Creator: Allport, Morton, 1830-1878, photographer
Publisher: [1854]
Description: 1 photograph : silver albumen print; 10 x 7 cm
Source: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
Link: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Library/SD_ILS-603598
TRANSCRIPT
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8957678
BILL FOR THE ANNIHILATION OF SALMON AND SALMON TROUT.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MERCURY.
SIR,- What has been done by this colony with a view to the introduction and thorough establishment of the above valuable fish is now a matter of history, and the immense gain which ought to accrue to Tasmania is no longer a mere speculation but a certainty.
In the early stages of the experiment a body of gentlemen were appointed commissioners, to whose care it was virtually entirely entrusted. As soon as the probability of success became assured, these commissioners obtained all the information they could collect from British blue books and reports, and all other available sources, and prepared the Salmon Act, 29 Vic., No 6, and under that Act power was vested in the Governor-in-Council to make such regulations as might from time to time be necessary by for restricting the fishing in all the waters of the colony.
The Governor-in-Council still has power to open or close any particular waters, and has hitherto exercised that power on the recommendation of the Salmon Commissioners, under the natural belief that a body of independent gentlemen having no interest whatever beyond the successful accomplishment of the work entrusted to them would, before advising, make themselves acquainted with the necessity for any restrictions recommended.
Large numbers of salmon or salmon trout or both having been destroyed in the Derwent in January, 1876, by the seine net men, the Governor-in-Council caused the lower Derwent to be closed, and the very men who then caused incalculable mischief are now desirous of completing their works and scraping out everything that may fall in the way of their nets.
To this end petitions have been presented to Parliament signed by some 50 persons, the majority of whom probably do not care one straw about the matter, and have never given the subject sufficient consideration to make their own opinions valuable.
Of the remainder about six are fishermen, two of whom have been already convicted of breaking the law, while the whole interest of the others is to sacrifice the permanent benefit of the public to their own immediate gain.
Will it be believed that on these petitions it is sought by the bill now before Parliament, to take from the Governor-in-Council, the power now most properly vested in him, and to hand the whole estuary of the Derwent over to the tender mercies of those very men, whose present pecuniary interest it is to destroy the young salmon, and some of whom have been already convicted of breaking the law?
If the opening of the river can be shown to be of no detriment to the salmon or salmon trout, the Governor-in-Council can now open it, but well knowing it would virtually eradicate those grilse, the fishermen coolly proposed to set all laws at defiance, and at once get rid of any opposition to their wishes.
Some of the Salmon Commissioners have been nearly 15 years engaged in carrying the experiment to its present successful state, and yet this bill - which will if carried entirely destroy their labours - has never been placed in their hands till this morning, although it is proposed to read it a second time to- morrow Comment on this courtesy is quite unnecessary.
In conclusion, I confidently assert that in this ill considered and unnecessary bill ever becomes law, the colony will be justly held up to the contempt and ridicule of the whole civilised world, for first spending about £15,000 over the experiment, and then, in defiance of warning, sacrificing the whole at the dictation of half a dozen fishermen and poachers.
I am, etc,
MORTON ALLPORT.
Source: BILL FOR THE ANNIHILATION OF SALMON AND SALMON TROUT. (1877, November 29).
The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.), p. 2.
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8957678
Mr Allport, who is poaching?
TRANSCRIPT
THE SALMON ACTSource: THE SALMON ACT. (1877, November 30). The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : ), p. 2.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE MERCURY
SIR, - In Mr. Allport's letter published in your journal this morning , on the salmon question, he refers to fishermen poaching on the River Derwent. Does he refer to those occasions when he actually went with them, and when flounders and other fish were caught in his presence, and sold at the fish market, Hobart Town?
The wonder is that fishermen, driven to such extremities as they at times have been, have not been guilty of poaching to a greater extent than they have been. And it is well known that this has been, and is still, carried on much more by others who do not get their living by fishing, and who can better afford to have their net seized than fishermen, who would thus for a time at least be deprived of the means of their living.
I am not aware that any quantity of salmon or salmon trout has ever been caught at one time, with the exception of the occasion when three old fishermen caught 54 (not 200 as reported), and this happened immediately after the flood of December 1875, which caused a very heavy fresh in the Derwent.
A FISHERMAN
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8957699
1878: seine nets confiscated
TRANSCRIPT
At the Glenorchy Police Court yesterday, the Bench gave their decision in the case against George Whitehouse, Daniel Whitehouse, Wm. Whitehouse, senr., and Wm. Whitehouse, jun., who were charged by Aaron Ashwood, Water Bailiff, with having fished with a seine in the Derwent at Sandy Bay contrary to the regulations of the Salmon Act, and with having assaulted the bailiff in the execution of his duty. The Bench fined each defendant £10, and ordered the seine net used to be confiscated.
Source: TASMANIA. (1878, August 24). Weekly Examiner (Launceston, Tas.), p. 16.
Link: https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article233682343
Photographs 1880s-1900s
These later photographs were taken a little further back from where Nevin placed his camera, to show visitors either standing next to the plank (on viewer's right) or on it from where they could watch the fish, or indeed catch one.
1880s: Alfred WINTER
Salmon Ponds, New Norfolk, Tasmania / Photographer Alfred Winter [Album page 14, Photograph 2]
Start Date: 01 Jan 1880 - End Date: 03 Jul 1882
Source: Tasmanian Archives
Alfred Winter [Photographer] (NG2694) 08 Jul 1837 13 Apr 1911
Series: Photograph Album of Tasmanian Views (LPIC35)
Link: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Archives/LPIC35-1-25
1900s: J. W. BEATTIE
Photograph - Glass slide - Salmon Ponds / J W Beattie Tasmanian Series 463a
Item Number:NS4077/1/210
Start Date: 01 Jan 1910 End Date: 31 Dec 1919
Creating Agency: Ash, Bester and Co (NG2887)
View online: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/Archives/NS4077-1-210
Films 1965 & 1975
At YouTube: https://youtu.be/kLMJVrN9PIE?feature=shared
Trout Country (1965) and Trout Fishing in Tasmania (1975)
Trout Country: Includes a brief history of Brown and Rainbow Trout in Tasmania, footage of the Derwent Valley and the Plenty Salmon Ponds, fishing supplies, fly tying and the Shannon Rise.
Trout Fishing in Tasmania: Michael Pate visits major trout fishing locations in Tasmania.
Please be advised that this footage may contain words and descriptions that may be culturally sensitive, which reflect the attitude of the period in which the film was produced, and which may be considered inappropriate today.
Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office:
Film - Trout Country – 16mm Ektachrome Release Print (colour, sound) - 10m 35s - (Reference: AB869/1/2878)
Film - Trout Fishing in Tasmania– 16mm Eastmancolor Composite Release Print (colour, sound) - 26m 68s - (Reference: AB869/1/2896)
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- Trout and salmon ova for New Zealand 1873
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- Samuel Clifford, Thomas Nevin and two cameras
- Elizabeth Allport nee Ritchie at Thomas J. Nevin's studio 1876
- The Chiniquy Riots, Hobart Town Hall 1879
- Miss Nevin and Morton Allport