Bagdad, Tasmania

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Bagdad
state = tas

---

caption = Bagdad Community Club
lga = Southern Midlands Council
postcode = 7030
est =
pop = 677
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Lyons
fedgov = Lyons
dist1 = 37
dir1 = N
location1= Hobart
dist2 = 12
dir2 = N
location2= Brighton
dist3 = 5
dir3 = S
location3= Dysart

Bagdad is a small rural community convert|37|km|mi|0|lk=on north of Hobart, on the Midland Highway, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2001 census, the town had a population of 677.Census 2001 AUS
id=UCL600300
name=Bagdad (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)
accessdate=2007-08-18
quick=on] In the days of the horse and buggy, it was an important rest area and horse-changing place for those continuing their journey up Constitution Hill. It is now an area of orchards and small mixed farms and a commuter settlement.

The town was named by the explorer Hugh Germain, a private and a well-educated member of the Royal Marines, who is said to have carried two books in his saddlebags while travelling, the Bible and the "Arabian Nights", and he was renowned for naming places from these books.

A railway line connected the town with Hobart from 1891 until 1947 ["A Short History of the Apsley Branch Line" Stokes, H.J.W. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, July, 1971 pp152-160] .

During the early part of the Iraq war in April 2003 the town's [http://www.tco.asn.au/oac/home.cgi?oacID=54 website] was bombarded by confused internet users from around the world trying to contact Iraqis.

Bagdad Primary School

Bagdad Primary School is located in Bagdad, in the Southern Midlands of Tasmania.

Bagdad Primary School was founded in 1867 and provides education for 140 students, from Kindergarten through Grade 6.

The original headmaster's house survives as a classroom for Kindergarten students.

From 2005 until 2007 the school underwent extensive construction and refurbishment. On 20 April 2007 the Tasmanian Minister for Education, David Bartlett, dedicated the new and rebuilt portions. Senator John Watson was scheduled to dedicate the school's new library, which was planned to open on 26 July 2007.

References

* [http://www.tco.asn.au/oac/community_overview.cgi?oacID=54 Bagdad community overview]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/05/1049459862442.html "Sydney Morning Herald" article, 5 April 2003]

External links

* View from near the top of Constitution Hill, Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). A print made by the artist Joseph Lycett, in 1825. [http://images.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/Fullimage.asp?Letter=C&Subject=Constitution+Hill+(Tas.)+-+History+-[phone]&ID=AUTAS001124073156]