The pretty heritage village of Ross (listed on the Register of the National Estate) lies midway between the major centres of Hobart and Launceston on the Heritage Highway (Midlands Highway). This Highway follows roughly the track taken by Governor Lachlan Macquarie when he visited the Van Diemen's Land Colony in the years 1811 and 1821.
The Heritage Highway passes through the midland plains of Tasmania which have become renowed for their super fine Merino wool (call into the Tasmanian Wool Centre in Ross to watch the presentation at the Wool Museum) and Colonial towns. This area extends from the York Plains and Oatlands in the south (80 kilometres from Hobart) through Ross on the Argyle Plains to the Macquarie Plains and Campbell Town 135 kilometres north from Hobart. These three main townships have a special interest for those wishing to explore the history and architecture of Australia's colonial past.
Ross has two features which distinguish it from its contemporaries and enhance its charms. When moving around this pretty heritage village you can see that the roadways are much broader than most colonial towns and villages in Australia. The other feature is the number of beautiful old English trees which make the streetscapes so appealing and it is believed that the first plantings of these Elms were in the mid 1890's and continued until around 1930.
The Heritage or Midlands Highway runs through Campbell Town but, since its upgrading the mid 1970's, bypasses both Ross and Oatlands which has assisted them in retaining their colonial flavour. Ross has developed as a tourism centre although it is surrounded mainly be large, pastoral properties. In colonial times, the government established Military Posts along this main north south route and the first of these was established on the eastern bank of the Macquarie River at Argyle Plains in 1812. Travellers making the journey from Hobart Town and Launceston normally crossed the Macquarie River just south of the present day Ross Bridge. Stockers' Inn was built on the western side of the river to service those people although it later became The Man O'Ross Hotel and moved to the eastern side. The Man O'Ross is still in Ross today and opens 7 days a week to provide meals and refreshments.
