Red Soil and Deep Clay: what comes from the abundant earth

Ulverstone Museum – Feature Exhibition

Over the next two years this evolving exhibition will grow and change, sharing stories of industry and creation — from the minerals extracted, to what grows in and is returned to the earth here on Tasmania’s Central Coast. Each season, new stories will be introduced, making the exhibition a place to return to again and again.

The vibrant red soils of Tasmania formed from volcanic basalt that weathered and crumbled over millions of years. Trees, plants, and animals grew, flourished, and returned their nutrients and remains to the soil, creating a cycle of fertility and abundance.

Minerals eroded from rock and reacted with water to form clay — dense, deep layers that waited quietly in the earth. Since the arrival of the First Peoples at least 41,000 years ago, the growing and gathering of food, the extraction of materials and minerals, and the building of our community have all come from this red soil and deep clay.

Red Soil and Deep Clay shares the stories of this place — of what we take from the land, what we create with it, and what we return.