Back Roads: July 2

This week on Back Roads Heather Ewart is in Tasmania, visiting Scottsdale in the island’s north-east.

It’s a former timber town in a valley of rich, alluvial soil. However, after losing two major sawmills, a milk factory and a vegetable processing plant, the area’s unemployment figures doubled. With the only options to move or to innovate, locals started searching for alternatives.

Now an unlikely combination of beer, golf and perfume are amongst the locally-driven tourism and agriculture initiatives that are revitalising the community. And they’ve even created their own, new tourist attraction – The Big Thumb.

Amongst the young people returning to Scottsdale is Jess Carins – nurse and brewer. Jess and her husband Chris came back from Queensland to start a craft brewery in an old tractor showroom.

There’s a simple reason for their return. “I missed my friends and family too much!” says Jess. “Chris grew up on a dairy farm in Ledgerwood – about 20 minutes away – and I grew up in Scottsdale. We moved away in 2011 to the Gold Coast to develop our careers – Chris learnt to brew, and I was nursing up there.”

Now they’re not only doing what they love, but they’re creating local jobs.

“I think there’s room for other small businesses to open that don’t solely rely on the local economy.

We send our beer all the way around Tasmania and we’ve got a couple of distribution channels on the mainland. I think you jus need to think outside the square.”

8pm Monday on ABC.