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The Prosser River mouth at Orford
Orford · East Coast Tasmania, Gateway to Maria Island
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The Prosser River mouth, or the Triabunna ferry to Maria Island

Founded as the mainland port
for a convict island.
Now its front doorstep.

Orford was founded in 1831 as the intended mainland port for the Maria Island convict settlement, and nearly 200 years later it's still the beach town every visitor passes through, now via the Triabunna ferry six kilometres up the road to a UNESCO World Heritage-listed national park.

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+13.4%
12-Month Growth*
$725k
Median House Price
4.03%
Gross Rental Yield
1831
Founded as Maria Island's Mainland Port
Why Orford

A convict-era river port, now the front door to a World Heritage site.

Orford was founded in 1831 when Edward Walpole was granted 1,000 acres at the mouth of the Prosser River, naming it Strawberry Hill after a London relative's home. Recorded as the post office town of Orford from 1837, it was established as the intended mainland port for the Maria Island convict settlement, and the Old Convict Road, built 1841 to 1855, still runs along the Prosser River to the ruins of the Paradise Probation Station.

Today, Orford is the beach town every visitor to Maria Island passes through, via the Triabunna ferry six kilometres up the road, up to five sailings a day in season to a UNESCO World Heritage-listed former convict settlement. Triabunna, the Glamorgan Spring Bay LGA's principal town, functions as Orford's local service centre.

Population grew 9.4% between the 2016 and 2021 Census to 685 residents, and median house prices sit around $725,000, on a market of 36 sales in the past year.

A package ready to present in Orford
1831
Founded as the mainland port for the Maria Island convict settlement
685
Town population, 2021 Census, up 9.4% since 2016
6 km
To Triabunna, the local service centre, about 7 minutes
UNESCO
Maria Island National Park, a 30-minute ferry from Triabunna

A Genuine Convict-Era Hook

Founded in 1831 as the mainland port for the Maria Island convict settlement. The Old Convict Road, built 1841 to 1855, still runs along the Prosser River.

Gateway to a World Heritage Site

Six kilometres from the Triabunna ferry to Maria Island National Park, up to five sailings a day in season.

A Working Local Service Centre

Triabunna, 6km away, is the Glamorgan Spring Bay LGA's principal town, functioning as Orford's local service hub.

Strategic Location

78km from Hobart, a little over an hour's drive, on the Tasman Highway / Great Eastern Drive.

A Growing Town

Population grew 9.4% between the 2016 and 2021 Census to 685 residents.

A Thin, Genuine Market

Only 36 house sales a year keeps this a small, real market. Figures move around, and we say so rather than smoothing them out.

Triabunna ferry to Maria Island
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The Triabunna ferry to Maria Island, or Orford's beach and foreshore
6 km / ~7 min
Triabunna, local service centre
78 km / ~1 hr+
Hobart, via the Tasman Highway
~30-min ferry
Maria Island National Park, from Triabunna
685
Town population, 35.6 sq km
The Pipeline

What's actually funded or already delivered, in Orford and the wider Triabunna / Glamorgan Spring Bay region.

Energy & Industry

No funded new energy or industrial project identified in Orford or Triabunna at time of writing. Tassal's historic ~$30 million Okehampton Bay investment (delivered around 2017) anchors the area's aquaculture cluster but isn't a current pipeline item.

Transport & Connectivity

Tasman Highway Triabunna package. Widening and realignment of a 1.3km section of highway north of Triabunna, part of the $125 million Great Eastern Drive Tourism Support project. Construction began April 2026.

TasWater Orford-Triabunna subsea water pipeline. A new 885-metre pipeline across Spring Bay, replacing a corroded 76-year-old pipeline, part of TasWater's broader $2 billion five-year network investment. Completed September 2025.

Great Eastern Drive corridor upgrades, Orford to St Helens. Listed as a funded East Coast commitment in the Tasmanian Government's 2026-27 State Budget; scope and dollar figure not separately published, we don't quote a total without confirming.

Community

$17 million Orford Sewerage Network Upgrade. Pipeline upgrade completed October 2024, five pump stations upgraded mid-2025, Wade Bridge Sewage Pump Station and foreshore remediation completed April 2025.

$3.8 million Maria Island "re-discovered" project. Water, wastewater and electrical infrastructure upgrades at Darlington Township, construction began December 2025, expected completion November 2026.

New permanent breast screening clinic, Triabunna. Funded in the 2026-27 State Budget.

Key Metrics

Only 36 house sales a year, genuinely volatile as a result. We show the current figures and the swing, not just the number that looks best.

$725,000
Median house price. CoreLogic via YIP, current pull; older snapshots on the same feed show $660,000–$665,000, genuine volatility on a thin market.
+6.51%
12-month growth. HtAG Analytics; CoreLogic via YIP shows +13.35% over the same period on a thin, volatile market, see the full history below.
$480 / wk
Median weekly rent. CoreLogic via YIP; range across sources $400–$480.
4.03%
Gross rental yield, houses. CoreLogic via YIP; range across sources 2.77%–4.23%.
Not published*
Vacancy rate. *No suburb or LGA-level figure available; Hobart's vacancy rate sat below 1% through most of 2026, state-level context only.
Sources: HtAG Analytics (growth history) · Cotality/CoreLogic via Your Investment Property Magazine (36 house sales, most recent 12 months); RealEstateInvestar.com.au (listing-based); PropertyValue.com.au. Where sources disagree we favour the longer, more consistent data series and say so. Data changes, verify before relying on it.
Growth Over Time

HtAG Analytics, house price growth to Jun 2026.

6.51%
1 Year
21.13%
3 Years
46.00%
5 Years
122.49%
10 Years
Comparable Rentals

No Orford-specific vacancy figure is published at suburb or LGA level. Hobart's vacancy rate sat below 1% through most of 2026, useful only as broad state-level context, not an Orford number.

We favour the number we can defend. Orford sells only around 36 houses a year, so growth and price figures genuinely swing between pulls of the same underlying data, this is real volatility, not disagreement between sources. We lead with the current pull and still get a written local appraisal before any number reaches a client.

What's solid: this is a genuine convict-era river town, six kilometres from a UNESCO World Heritage site, at a median price of $725,000.

4.03%
Gross rental yield, houses, CoreLogic
National average sits around 4.2%
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Don't take our word for the rent. Orford sells only around 36 houses a year, small shifts in the mix of sales move the headline numbers a lot from pull to pull. We lead with the current data and flag the swing, and we still get a written rental appraisal from an independent local property manager for the actual home design and estate presented before any client commits.

Want the numbers for Orford?

Book a free 15-minute intro call. We'll walk you through the package, a local rent appraisal and build timeline for Orford specifically.

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Or call 1300 747 867

Straight answers, no fine print

Orford, explained plainly.

Why Orford specifically?
It's a genuine convict-era river town, founded in 1831 as the mainland port for the Maria Island convict settlement, and it's still the beach town every visitor to that UNESCO World Heritage site passes through today, via the Triabunna ferry six kilometres up the road. House prices sit around $725,000, with growth of 6.51% over the past year (HtAG Analytics).
Growth figures for Orford range from -4% to +13%, which is right?
All of them have been correct at different points in time. Orford sells only around 36 houses a year, so small shifts in the mix of sales move a single-source 12-month growth figure around a lot. We lead with HtAG Analytics (+6.51% over 12 months), a more consistent long-run series, and flag the volatility in other sources rather than presenting any one pull as a stable trend.
Why don't you show an Orford-specific vacancy rate?
Because none is published at suburb or LGA level, SQM Research's regional chart for Glamorgan Spring Bay isn't extractable in a citable form. Rather than estimate one, we say plainly it isn't available and lean on a written local appraisal instead.
Is the first call genuinely free and no-obligation?
Yes. It's 15 minutes, it's free, and there's no obligation. We'll look at your numbers and tell you honestly whether Orford is the right fit.
Take the first step

A convict-era river port.
A World Heritage site,
six kilometres away.

Book a free 15-minute intro call with a Property Investment Strategist. We'll walk you through Orford and tell you honestly whether it fits your numbers.

Book My Free 15-Minute Call

Or call us on 1300 747 867  ·  admin@pistore.com.au