The Public Trustee time-line
1853 Tasmanian Curators Office established by statute as part of the Colonial Supreme
Court establishment under the Deceased Persons Estate Act 1853.
1912 Public Trust Office Act 1912 proclaimed. The then Curator, Hector Ross, became the first
Public Trustee 1912-1925.
1924Public Trust Office became a separate Government Department.
1927 Royal Commission investigated a claimed improper relationship between the then Attorney-
General and the Public Trust Office.
1928 Public Trust Office moved to Bursary House.
1929 Public Trust Office Act 1912 amended to become Public Trust Office Act 1930.
1942Fearing threat of Japanese Invasion into the Derwent the Public Trust Office moved to
Mimosa in North Hobart.
1973 Public Trust Office Launceston branch opened.
1986Public Trust Office Burnie branch opened.
1989 Construction began on Trustee House at 116 Murray Street, Hobart.
1990 Public Trust Office moved to Trustee House from Mimosa where it had been housed for the
48 years.
1994 Public Trust Office Devonport branch opened.
1995 The Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 proclaimed the Public Trustee a Government
Business Enterprise and an independent Board was appointed to oversee the management
of the Public Trustee. The position of Public Trustee was renamed Chief Executive Officer.
2003 The Public Trustee celebrated its 150th anniversary. A time capsule was created to hold
messages from Tasmanian primary school children describing their hopes and dreams for the next 50 years.
2003 A highlight of the 150th anniversary celebrations was the sealing of a unique time capsule on 29 August 2003 at our Hobart office. The capsule contained personal messages from over 500 Tasmanian primary school children about their hopes and aspirations for life in 50 years.
2008 The Public Trustee went through a rebrand which saw a new logo and a stronger focus on customer needs. The campaign message was ‘If it’s important to you, it’s important to us’.
The Burnie office moved to new premises.
2009 The Launceston office moved to new premises.
2015 The Hobart office was refurbished.
2016 The Public Trustee refreshed its branding to demonstrate their new estate planning services and capabilities. The new positioning statement is “every moment counts”. The Public Trustee also amended its estate panning fee structure and added to their existing services by also preparing Wills for those who do not wish to appoint the Public Trustee as their executor.
2019 The Launceston branch moved next door to a newly refurbished street facing office.
2021 The Devonport office moved to new premises.
On 1 December 2021, the Tasmanian Government released the independent review into the administrative and operational practices of the Public Trustee. Read the INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE TASMANIA – REPORT (PDF, 1.7 MB)
2021 On 25 May 2022, the Tasmanian Government released their response to the Independent Review of the Public Trustee Tasmania. The Public Trustee welcomed the Government support. Click here for more infomation