CHUDLEIGH is a small country town on the Mole Creek Rd, 16km from Deloraine and 64km west of Launceston. It was first settled in 1830 by Lt Travers Hartley Vaughan, who was granted land in the district. He sold it in 1837 to larger-than-life colonial developer Sir Henry Reed, who had arrived in Van Diemens Land in 1827, and within a decade had acquired considerable wealth through property, whaling and shipping. A property known as Native Hut Corner was renamed Wesley Dale and it was here that Sir Henry would retreat for the summer. It was later owned for many years by the Cameron family, from Nile, who also used it as a summer retreat. The population of Chudleigh, in 1877, was reported to be 1000. By 1901 it had dropped dramatically to 162 but by 2001, it had started to climb again to about 200. Industries in the area have always been farming and timber. It is believed to have been named after a town in the UK, in the county of Devon. Amenities today include a general store, second-hand book shop, service station and honey shop. A number of old homesteads in the district have been done up or are about to receive a new lease of life, including Bentley and Mayfield. Bentley was built in 1827, and is notable for the walls of the farmhouse which are reportedly three bricks thick. The Chudleigh Show, held in February each year, is one of Tasmania's oldest country shows. The town is known as much for its scenery as its hospitality. It sits in a fertile valley known as Chudleigh Flats dominated by the Western Tiers and Mount Roland to the east and Mount Gog and Gairdners Range to the west. The locals say that Caveside and Mole Creek, each a few kilometres away, have grown up as suburbs of Chudleigh, but Mole Creek and Caveside people have a different opinion on that.