Woolmers Estate

Woolmers Estate is a historic pastoral property at Longford in northern Tasmania, within the Northern Midlands Council area. Established in 1817 by Thomas Archer, it was operated for six generations by the Archer family using assigned convict labour. It is one of 11 sites comprising the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites and retains an intact complex of homestead, convict buildings, outbuildings and formal gardens.

Visitors can explore the main homestead with original family furnishings and collections, a precinct of well-preserved convict and farm outbuildings including kitchens, stables and cottages, and extensive grounds. The estate includes the National Rose Garden with over 5,000 roses, heritage gardens, orchard and farmland. Guided tours of the homestead and self-guided walks of the outbuildings and gardens are available, with interpretive displays on colonial pastoral life and the convict assignment system.

Established in 1817 by Thomas Archer, a prominent colonial settler, Woolmers Estate was developed as a pastoral sheep property using assigned convict labour. It remained in the Archer family for six generations until 1994, preserving an exceptionally intact colonial estate complex. Together with nearby Brickendon Estate, it was inscribed as part of the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage property in 2010 for its representation of the convict assignment system.

The estate demonstrates colonial pastoral life, convict labour systems and Tasmanian rural heritage. It preserves original buildings, furniture, archives and gardens that illustrate 19th-century social structure, farming practices and domestic life in Van Diemen's Land.