Robin Hood’s Well began as a 100-acre holding. Francis Rockliff took up the property at Sassafras in about 1859. Once the land had been surveyed, the deeds record its purchase from the Crown on 13 February 1867 for £120 12s 6d.
From Yorkshire to Sassafras
The name is believed to come from Robin Hood’s Well, a hamlet in Yorkshire near the Rockliff family’s home district of Kirk Smeaton. A family story also connected the English property with a well said to have been used by Robin Hood and his merry men. When Francis established his Tasmanian farm, the familiar name travelled with him.
Francis was one of several Rockliff brothers who made new lives in Van Diemen’s Land. Henry was the first to arrive in the early 1840s and managed the property Wesley Dale at Chudleigh. George followed, and Francis and John later joined them. After gaining experience at Wesley Dale, the brothers selected or purchased rich land in the Sassafras district.
Henry and George settled neighbouring farms known as Skellbrook and Springfield. John established Westfield, while Francis created Robin Hood’s Well. The farms formed part of a close family network, and the Rockliff name became deeply connected with the development of Sassafras.
The land they found
The valley was fertile, but it was not easy country to develop. Dense timber, wet springs, mud and boggy ground made clearing slow and demanding. Extensive underground stone drains were built to carry water away and make the land workable. Some of those early improvements helped shape the farm for generations.
Water, dams and the flour mill
Francis used the permanent creek and natural fall of the land with remarkable ingenuity. He constructed two storage dams. Water from the upper dam powered a chaff cutter before passing to the larger mill dam below.
The lower dam fed a waterwheel about 25 feet in diameter. That wheel drove a three-level flour mill built into the slope. The lower walls were bluestone, while the upper structure was weatherboard with a shingle roof. Inside were heavy timber framing, gears, millstones and a flour separator. Family history records that Francis brought fine silk from England for the separating machinery.
The mill served the working farm and the surrounding district. Nearby buildings included a grain and produce store, a piggery, a large hay barn, stables and a chaff house. The waterwheel and ironwork were eventually sold for scrap in 1939, but the dams remain one of the most visible reminders of the farm’s early industry.
A home and a meeting place
Robin Hood’s Well was more than a farm. Before local congregations had their own buildings, some of the earliest Protestant services in Sassafras were held here. On 2 April 1860, the Reverend E. P. Adams conducted the marriage of George Rockliff and Anne Levick at the property. Baptisms were also recorded here in 1865.
These gatherings made the homestead a social and spiritual meeting place for nearby families. In a district where travel was difficult and neighbours depended on one another, the house became part of the young community’s shared history.
The historic homestead
The original homestead was built in an English-influenced style, with a steep gabled roof, tall chimneys and a north-facing entrance. Its front door was framed by distinctive ruby-red Venetian glass. Wide timber floors, attic bedrooms and a steep staircase gave the house the character that can still be felt today.
A detached bluestone kitchen and dairy stood beside the main weatherboard house. The walls were about two feet thick, helping to keep the dairy cool. The kitchen contained a broad chimney, a wood stove, a brick baking oven and a laundry copper, with a loft above for storage. Before later renovations, meals and hot water had to cross an open verandah between the kitchen and the house—a vivid reminder of everyday country life in the nineteenth century.
The farm buildings were equally substantial. The long stable and chaff house included stalls for draught, riding and cart horses. A bluestone cattle pavilion was used for winter feeding, while the hay barn and water-powered equipment supported a busy mixed farm.
“Long John” and the next generation
Francis and his wife Elizabeth had no children. He later brought his nephew John Rockliff from England as a young man. John became widely known as “Long John”. After Francis died in 1893, John purchased Robin Hood’s Well at auction and carried the property into the next generation.
John married his cousin Harriet Rockliff on Christmas Day 1879. They first lived at Scorthorpe and later moved to Robin Hood’s Well. Their family included Adelene, Isobel, Muriel, Alice, Hedley and Victor. John’s long life was marked by the hazards of farm work: he survived a serious horse accident and lost an eye after being struck by a bullock’s horn. He died in 1939 at the age of 90.
The name of our Long John’s Cottage keeps this memorable part of the family story alive.
Victor Rockliff and the First World War
John and Harriet’s younger son Victor left the farm to serve with the 12th Battalion during the First World War. He was awarded the Military Medal after attempting to carry a wounded corporal through deep mud to a dressing station. Victor was later reported missing at Bullecourt and was recorded as killed in action. His body was never recovered.
Among his belongings was a farewell letter to the farm he loved, titled “Farewell Robin Hood’s Farewell”. His story remains one of the most moving chapters in the history of Robin Hood’s Well: a young farmer and musician whose connection to home endured even in France.
The Ingram and Loane years
After John’s death, the property passed through the family. In 1946 his daughter Adelene and her husband, Charles Ingram, moved to Robin Hood’s Well with their daughter Joan and her husband Derrick Loane.
A small creek-side hut was shifted uphill by traction engine and joined to a garage to form a temporary cottage for Joan and Derrick. Newspapers dating from around 1870 were found lining its walls. The cottage was gradually enlarged into a permanent home, another example of the practical re-use that has always been part of farm life.
Joan and Derrick later purchased Robin Hood’s Well from the family estate. Their careful recollections preserved many details about the house, mill, farm buildings and people. Much of the story on this page comes from a history written by A. D. W. “Derrick” Loane in February 1981.
Roads, boundaries and a changing farm
The arrival and later widening of the Bass Highway changed the property’s access and boundaries. The original entrance had approached the north-facing front of the homestead. A newer road to the south gradually made the back of the house the everyday point of arrival.
Further highway works in the 1970s required more land and restricted stock movement across the road. In 1978, land on the southern side was sold to Richard and Geraldine Rockliff, descendants of George Rockliff of Springfield. Although the farm changed in size and layout, its history remained closely connected with the wider Rockliff family.
A living history
Today the homestead, the old bluestone work, the dams, gardens and farm landscape continue to tell the story of Robin Hood’s Well. Guests are not simply staying in country accommodation; they are spending time in a place shaped by generations of Tasmanian farming life.
We are pleased to share this history so that the names, stories and remarkable work behind the property are not lost. Historical photographs and further records are also displayed in the accommodation for guests who would like to look more closely.
This account has been prepared from family records, the history written by A. D. W. (Derrick) Loane in February 1981, a historical feature titled “Robin Hood”, Sassafras, and supporting Rockliff family-history material. Some dates and family stories are presented as they were recorded in those sources.