Sheffield

Sheffield is a town 23 kilometres inland from Devonport on the north-west coast of Tasmania.

Sheffield is a town 23 kilometres inland from Devonport on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Sheffield has long been the rural hub for the Mount Roland area. The Sheffield area is well known for its high quality butterfat production via dairy farming. The area is suitable for lamb and beef production. The town of Railton is nearby. At the 2016 census, Sheffield had a population of 1,552.

Sheffield was one of the many early townships settled in 1859. The town was named by Edward Curr after his home town inSouth Yorkshire, England. Kentishbury Post Office opened on 1 November 1862 and was renamed Sheffield in 1882.The area grew slowly and the commencement of the Mersey-Forth Power Development Scheme in 1963 saw the town grow dramatically. The completion of the power scheme –- seven dams and seven power stations –- in 1973 saw the town's population decline.

Sheffield's revival as the Town of Murals began as a bid by a small group of residents determined to save their town.

Inspired by the story of Chemainus, a small Canadian town that had through mural art, rescued itself from ruin, the Kentish Association for Tourism (KAT) worked on the vision to combine the arts and tourism to revive and reinvent the town of Sheffield.

Sheffield has become a major tourist attraction due to it being promoted as a "Town of Murals", based upon the instrumental contributions of the Kentish Association for Tourism (currently known as Sheffield Inc) and local tourism pioneer Brian Inder.The first town mural was painted in Sheffield in December 1986. Since then over 60 murals depicting the area's rich history and beautiful natural scenery have been painted on walls throughout the town and buildings along the roadside. The murals attract an estimated 200,000 people to the town annually.A number of studios are open to the public where visitors can watch the artists work. There are artists of many disciplines, including photography, fine art, glass, woodcraft, pottery, ceramics and specialised crafts.The International Mural Fest art competition has been held annually since 2003 and returns in April each year. A poem is selected, which the artists use as their inspiration. After each competition the nine finalist murals remain on display at Mural Park until the next competition. In 2012, an interactive mural and workshops were added to the artistic activities of the festival for the Mural Fest 10th anniversary celebrations.

Sheffield hosts the annual two-day Tasmanian Medieval Festival every October.The festival includes sword fighting, fencing, archery, jousting and demonstrations of working cannons and trebuchets.The festival has grown in popularity since its inception, with 4000 people attending the event in 2018.