Bagdad - TAS

Bagdad is a small town 37 kilometres north of Hobart on the Midlands Highway. The first Europeans settled Tasmania in the early 1800’s at Risdon Cove near where Hobart is today. The first land grants were issued in Bagdad in 1813.

In the days of the horse and buggy, Bagdad was an important rest area and horse-changing place for those continuing their journey up Constitution Hill. It is now an area of orchards and small mixed farms and a commuter settlement.

Previously this land was home to the Aboriginal people who lived here for many thousands of years.

The Bagdad area was originally known as "The Vale of Bagdad" which extended from the foot of Constitution Hill in the north to Brighton in the south. Bagdad was one of the first country areas to be settled and when the road was being put through to what is now Launceston, gangs of convicts and their overseers were housed in and around Bagdad.

In the early years there were mixed farms with labour supplied by convicts. Later, wheat growing was of great importance to the early settlements both here and on the mainland. Flour mills were built by the Bagdad Rivulet to grind the grain. Early in the 1900’s apples, apricots and small fruit took over.

In April 2003, during the early part of the Iraq war, the town's website was bombarded by confused internet users from around the world trying to contact Iraqis.