Huon Valley

The Huon Valley, often shortened to the Huon, is a rural region and river valley in southern Tasmania, Australia. Centred on the lower reaches of the Huon River, its commercial hub is Huonville, with smaller settlements lining the river and its tributaries.

Historically renowned for its apple orchards, the valley's economy today also includes high-value cherry production, extensive salmon aquaculture centred on Port Huon, and a growing visitor economy. The valley's apple heritage is celebrated through events such as the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival and local “Apple Queen” traditions.

Administratively, the region is governed by the Huon Valley Council, which encompasses a population of 19,454 as of 2024.

Defined by the Huon River, the Huon Valley has a catchment area spanning approximately 3,800 km² (1,500 sq mi). The Arve River, one of the Huon River's main tributaries, also passes through the valley. Surrounding landscapes include rolling hills, temperate forests, and mountain ranges, with parts of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area forming the western boundary.

The commercial hub is Huonville, located 38 km (24 mi) by road south of the Hobart, typically a 30–40 minute drive from the central business district. Other notable towns include Geeveston, a traditional forestry centre and gateway to the Tahune Airwalk, and Cygnet, known for its arts and cultural community. Smaller settlements, including Franklin, Dover, and Southport, line the river and coastal inlets.

While the term Huon Valley usually refers to the natural valley of the Huon River, it also lends its name to the Huon Valley Council, a local government area that covers 5,507 km² (2,126 sq mi). The council area extends south from Huonville to Southport, the southernmost permanent settlement in Australia, a distance of 59 km (37 mi) (about one hour's drive). This administrative boundary includes a number of hinterland districts and coastal areas beyond the river valley proper.

The Huon Valley lies within the traditional lands of the Mellukerdee, who maintained kinship and language ties with the neighbouring Muwinina of the Hobart area, the Nuenonne of Bruny Island, and the Lyluequonny of Recherche Bay. These groups were interconnected through seasonal access, resource use, trade, and ceremony, and are sometimes collectively described in contemporary scholarship as forming part of the South-East nations.

Before British colonisation the Huon Valley was covered in dense temperate rainforest, with the Huon River and its tributaries lined by towering hardwoods and stands of Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii). The river flats and wetlands around areas such as the Egg Islands provided important resources for the Mellukerdee people. A traditional food of the Mellukerdee is laccocephalum mylittae, an underground fungus which forms a large subterranean body possessing a white, starchy interior and nutty flavour, which can be eaten raw or roasted. Known to colonists as "native bread", in 1922 a specimen weighing 28 lb (13 kg) was unearthed at Cradoc and later exhibited in Franklin.