Central Coast

Distinguished and Famous people from Central Coast

📚 Joseph Lyons

Joseph Lyons spent part of his childhood in Ulverstone, attending school and taking jobs to help his family after financial difficulties. He worked as an errand boy, farm labourer and printer's assistant before returning to education with help from relatives. His later career took him through teaching, the Tasmanian premiership and the prime ministership from 1932 to 1939. Born at Stanley, farther west, he carried experience from more than one north-west Tasmanian community into his later public life.

🧰 Roelf Vos

Roelf Vos and his family settled at Ulverstone in March 1951 after migrating from the Netherlands. He worked by day as a builder’s labourer and took evening cannery shifts, while he and his wife Miep struggled with limited English and homesickness. Support from local people and the Dutch migrant community helped them establish a new life. Gift shops, supermarkets and the Grindelwald development came later. Ulverstone’s connection is the family’s first Tasmanian home and a demanding working start, giving a recognisable human beginning to a career eventually associated with large retail ventures and philanthropy.